Left to care for herself at 6 years old

When we met Deepa she was around 6 years old. She was living with her mother who suffers from severe mental illness. Unable to care for her child, Deepa had been left to care for herself. As you would imagine, she was suffering profoundly.

Deepa (second left) with her new sisters

Deepa centre playing at Birgunj

Deepa today

After much planning and consultation with government organisations and local officials in Nepal, our in-country partner Sano Paila arranged for Deepa to be placed into their care, with Beyond The Orphanage providing long term financial support to meet her needs.

Deepa now lives in the dedicated family home in Birgunj along with her new sisters and brothers.

The first 24-hours were deeply upsetting for Deepa, but her house mother Anu and others warmly welcomed her and worked with Deepa to make sure she felt safe, secure and loved. They also attended to her immediate needs providing her with new clothes and a healthy meal.

The resilience of this little girl has shone through and she is making amazing progress.

No longer scared and silent, she has made friends with the other children who consider her their new sister. She is still quiet but has the most precious smile and gentle manner. She is now playing and laughing with the other girls who live in the house – Binu, Chandu, Kittu and Sudha. They have made her feel so welcome and loved.

Deepa had never been to school so to make sure she had learned basic skills we organised for home tutoring. This has given Deepa the confidence to start kindergarten and provided her with an important foundation for her educational journey ahead.

Happy, healthy and engaged, this year Deepa started school and is enthusiastically joining in with the other children and enjoying learning.  We are excited to see how quickly she is progressing and how Deepa’s emotional and physical wellbeing has improved dramatically since she joined the house in Birgunj.