
Smile Nepal project
concentrates its efforts on the children in the brick
kilns.
The
project plans to give children a formal school education
that complies with the curriculum of the Government of
Nepal.
We will also offer them the opportunity to be trained as
photo journalists.
The
purpose is to enable the children to document their
lives as child laborers in the brick yards.
This
will lend great insight to their plight. Until now
different organizations have raised the issues and
problems of child laborers, but none of them have been
very effective in solving their problems, because they
are “outsiders.”
They
do not have the insider's view of the poverty and
conditions surrounding the children. The children and
adults of these brick kiln communities are unable to
express their problems and feelings properly.
This
is the first project of its kind in Nepal. As a result,
we hope to achieve a truer picture of the child
laborer's life. We believe that this is a more effective
way of finding a sustainable solution to the problem of
child labor.
Vision for
Smile Nepal
Smile Nepal
plans to raise funds to purchase and develop at least 3 acres of land in a residential neighborhood like Bhaktapur or Lalitpur in the following ways:
-
Build a family home for the children
.
-
Build a
school for the children who live here as well as offer schooling for the community children.
-
Create and organic garden--teach the children agricultural skills.
-
Raise farm animals for use in the family home--for milk, ghee, and meat as well as using the
methane by-product of the animals as a bio fuel.
-
Build a library--for the school and the community as a lending library.
-
Build a guest house for volunteers--volunteer teachers
will get credits by working at the school in an
exchange program. Volunteers will also be
invited to work in the garden and other areas of
the compound doing repairs.
-
Set
up a studio room--here the students learn to
create their own films concerning social issues in their country.
The
vision is to create a self-sustainable community as a model for other
family homes for needy children without families and other children from the neighboring community.
These children be able to go to school, learn
life skills, and empower their lives through education on many levels.
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