Seven children of the Baadi community of Karnali province in Nepal are selected for the Punya Foundation scholarship, for the first time. These children from hill districts of Jajarkot and Dailekh are under the care of Baadi Sarokar Manch (Baadi Concern Forum) in Birendranagar, Surkhet. They are provided food, shelter, clothing and sent to different local boarding schools of Birendranagar.
Some of these children belong to families who are affected by earthquake that hit Jajarkot and Rukum last November. Notably, five of these children do not have either father or mother in the family. Most of their parents live out of hard labour, even being expatriated to India for menial works.
Baadi Sarokar Manch manages a hostel facility for 120 children belonging to this socially marginalized community predominantly living in Jajarkot, Rukum, Dailekh and Salyan.
Children of Baadi community are vulnerable to social exclusion, sexual exploitation, early marriage and finally thrown into vicious cycle of poverty. The selected children between age of 7 to 15 are provided full scholarship fund covering food, shelter, clothing needs, school supplies and fees, medical, and a little pocket money.
Punya Foundation US developed a partnership with Baadi Sarokar Manch for the implementation of the project for initial period of three years. Punya Foundation Nepal will be responsible for the monitoring and evaluation of the project, as well as oversees the fund disbursement. Mr Buddha Mani Dhakal from Kentucky USA leads this project.
One child selected by the Baadi Sarokar Manch and Punya Foundation is directly sponsored by Teknath Dhaurali of Louisville, Kentucky. Punya Foundation welcomes his generous sponsorship and be grateful for joining the mission of Foundation that aligns his interest of philanthropic work he already did in Jhapa, Nepal.