sonrisa update 2025

Dear Sonrisa supporters,

We are sorry that it has been a long time since we was in contact with you. It has been on our mind to write for a long time – but there was always something else we needed to do! Now, we really want to tell you about Sonrisa’s current situation and where we think we might head.

Firstly, thanks for all of the support that you have given to the Sonrisa family. This has meant so much to us. It has been a long and amazing journey. We have seen so many kids grow up and find their way in life. We are proud that so many completed their school education and learnt lots of skills. Things haven’t gone smoothly for everyone, of course. Young people have the right to make their own decisions and they have all done this in different ways. But they all had support and opportunities that they wouldn’t have had if the Sonrisa team hadn’t pulled together.

We always agreed with the idea that it’s better to support children in the community instead of putting them into care. We had no choice in the early days because we were handed a group of children in a home who needed our help. However, as soon as we could, we decided that we would support the children into independence and not take any more young ones. We were able to buy a great house in Kirtipur where they continued their education and learnt gardening, marketing and other life skills.

Now, we have reached the time when the group has grown up and there are no children staying in Sonrisa. We had to integrate them all to comply with government rules and regulations.  Only a couple didn’t get through college or + 2 so we are really pleased that most of them were able to complete this. Now they are independent and some still studying further courses at Uni. 

Bindu is a girl who came to Sonrisa children home when she was only 4 years old. She did + 2 college, studying business, but she thought she would like more challenge to study,  She got into Mathematical Science, what they call here Actuarial Science. She is in her 3rd year enrolment with about one and a half years to complete her bachelor degree.  All the exams until now are clear and I'm pretty sure she will do well for rest of her next semester too. 

Ramita is another Sonrisa girl who is still studying. Ramita also did her bachelor degree and is trying to go oversees for further study. 

The Sonrisa building is not fully in use but it’s been like a drop-in centre. For example, a person or a family who needed accommodation because a bad flood destroyed their home: we allowed them to come and stay until they got a new home to move in.  There are also some children from Sonrisa who have been integrated into the community for some time but have needed accommodation again: they have been back at the Sonrisa house until they can make another arrangement.

The government has been insisting that we get new children but we have decided not to. To get new children would mean another 18 to 20 years commitment. In any case, recent Nepal government policy discourages placing children in children’s homes like Sonrisa. They advise it is better to support children within the family, particularly by helping them to earn an income. We believe that children’s education is a huge part of this work.

So, we have been thinking of ways to make this happen. One project is to support an individual family by buying the family a goat that they can breed to build a small flock. This can generate some income for the family that means they can send their children to school.

The government has agreed to a second project, supporting a group of children within a village. This would work with the children who are vulnerable or deprived. These children often don’t attend school because they don’t have food, school clothes or stationery supplies. The plan is to feed them food at school, get clothes for them, and provide their pens, paper and books.  We are planning to hire a field officer to oversee and monitor this work. We are also planning to buy a big bundle of clothes and hire someone to sew school uniforms which Sonrisa can then distribute in the village.

Our third project will be to continue our work in village health camps. We have been running health and dental camps and have found these to be very successful in helping children and their families.

We would love to continue to use our house and land in Kirtipur in a really creative and useful way. If we run all of these projects then the Sonrisa house will be used as a base for storing materials. Our longer-term plan is to use the house as a skill-training centre for young people. We can also use it as accommodation for young people who are doing training elsewhere and need somewhere to live.

We couldn’t have reached this point without you. We really value your ongoing support for the house and those who are living and working there. As the board comes to its decisions about the future we will give you more detail and be able to outline what kind of support is needed and useful.

Please contact me directly if you with any questions and comments. I really want to give you whatever information you need.

Thanks again for all of the support that you have given Sonrisa.

 

Kind regards,

 

Bishnu Rai and team