OUR HISTORY

In August 2003 the Star Children Foundation was conceptualised by a group of Nepalese and Dutch citizens with the idea of assisting and supporting homeless and orphan children. Some of them had no parents, and some others were affected by their parent’s incarceration or HIV/AIDS infection.

At this point, the concept matured to focus on children specifically infected and/or affected by HIV/AIDS in line with the 1989 United Nations Convention on child rights.

Star Children Kaski Nepal was formally established in February 2004 with the support and the setup of its first home, housing a total of fifteen (15) children. The target was always to have ten (10) children per house, but due to high demand and the difficulty represented in rejecting applicants, the total was increased to fifteen (15). Three (3) house mothers were hired to support the home and provide all the necessary care children needed.

In December 2007, our programme was expanded with the opening of a second family house, and in a matter of eight months, the new unit was already housing ten (10) more children. Soon after in November 2008 with the support of Child Welfare Scheme Hong Kong, Star Children increased its services to other ten (10) children through the setup of a third home. Making the total number of children supported to be thirty-five (35).
By the end of the decade, we started seeing program results with two of the children moving into careers as nurses (Anu and Abina). Similarly, one other student secured a job after completing a cookery vocational course (Check), and another one was re-incorporated with his extended family and provided proper training (Arjun); these days, he works as a waiter.

By the year 2011, we had our first casualties, when our family was further reduced with the death of three of our children: (Sandhaya, Neelam and Samjhana).

During the following years, children continued to be supported and nurtured; four of them reached adulthood and moved into different roles:

  1. A successful primary teacher (Yamuna).
  2. Two government hospital workers assisting HIV/AIDS infected patients (Asmita and Shunita).
  3. A Star Children House Sister – Caretaker (Sita).

The organisation efforts were also recognised when in 2016 the District Child Welfare (Nepalese Government) awarded Star Children with the Best Guardianship Award and also rated a score of A, the maximum grade available for providing children with proper care standards. Later that year Star Children welcomed a new supporting partner: Beyond the Orphanage (BTO) a foundation based in Australia and also registered in the United States of America.