Our first project was to provide aid to an orphanage known as ‘The Hope Centre’ in Kathmandu, which was being run by Nepali volunteers. The Hope Centre was home to thirteen disabled and orphaned children and 2 disabled adults. Learning of its precarious financial position in 2002, we decided to help rather than see the home close and the children be forced to take their chances on the street. We raised funds in the UK to pay off the arrears of rent, enrol the children at schools and provide them with regular nutritious meals.
As our support grew we were able to focus on other areas of hardship and deprivation in Nepal. In 2003 we funded the employment of a full-time general manager for the Hope Centre. We have also appointed a Regional Director in Nepal to oversee the charity’s work and ensure that our funds are spent as intended and we are getting value for money.
In 2003 we were also able to make some real differences to the lives of certain individual disabled children by forming an association with the John Grooms charity and funding some medical operations. We raised funds to pay for the restoration of one little girl's eyesight and improved mobility for two more children.