West Nepal is one of the least developed places in the world and desperately needs support. It’s home to the country’s most vulnerable people, more than half of them living in poverty. Almost two thirds of children under five are malnourished.
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Empowering children through education is the best chance the people have to develop their lives, but until lifestyle, communication and transportation are improved, it won’t be possible to educate children in the villages.
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We have a goal to improve communications in the villages so that children can video chat with their parents during their years at school.
In the long term, we would like to help village conditions improve to the point that teachers will want to live there and therefore educating children in the villages will be possible.
West Nepal is one of the least developed places in the world and desperately needs support. It’s home to the country’s most vulnerable people, more than half of them living in poverty. Almost two thirds of children under five are malnourished.
​
Empowering children through education is the best chance the people have to develop their lives, but until lifestyle, communication and transportation are improved, it won’t be possible to educate children in the villages.
​
We have a goal to improve communications in the villages so that children can video chat with their parents during their years at school.
In the long term, we would like to help village conditions improve to the point that teachers will want to live there and therefore educating children in the villages will be possible.
ABOUT US
COVID-19 RESPONSE
COVID-19 RESPONSE
SAFEGUARDING
Safeguarding the children and young people is our priority and the priority of schools we work with.
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We have a programme of support from child to adult, which you can read more about here.
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In Nepal's most remote villages it is currently impossible for children to be educated at home, which you can read more about here.
We work with registered charity boarding schools, where children receive a quality education, with good child safeguarding policies.
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We have been actively supporting Himalayan children since 2014 and have overseen many fundraising projects and have ensured that they wholly benefit the children.
We work with in-country partners to support young people emotionally and to prepare them physically for their return home when they graduate school aged 16-18 years old, we are with them during their journeys home, and we offer post-journey support, to ensure they are given the support they need at all times.
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One of our fundraising tools to enable the reintegration of the young people, aged 16-18, to return home to their families, is to invite trekkers to participate in our treks, which financially enable the process of reintegration for the young people.
Their long journeys home require taking two plane flights, being led by an expedition guide and medic and social worker, camping and cooking equipment, buying food, porters and donkeys to carry luggage, equipment and food, and purchasing warm, waterproof clothing and boots - this is too costly for the young people and their families to afford alone. Without support, the young people would never be able to return home - sadly, this is the case for many young people in Nepal, who have to sacrifice family for education. Our mission is to enable young people to fulfill their rights to maintain contact with their families, communities and culture, alongside their right to education.
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All our projects include a training session to learn about cultural awareness, local customs and our reintegration process.
PROTECTING
Many families in the areas in which we work are being targeted by child traffickers and this is something we are working to combat.
Child trafficking happens when families - largely uneducated and illiterate - are persuaded to hand over their children to child traffickers who claim their child will get a good education and return as a doctor or lawyer with money for everyone in the village; in reality the child is thrown into an ‘orphanage’ which doesn’t educate or care for them.
In recent years, the global rise of 'orphanage tourism' - in 'orphanages' that simply exist to take money from tourists who volunteer thinking that they’re helping - and ‘voluntourism’ - volunteer projects that pretend to ‘fix’ long term issues through short term, insubstantial, sympathy volunteer work - has caused concern.
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We work with in-country partners and other NGOs, to help to educate villagers about the threat of trafficking and fake 'orphanages' and we help them avoid this threat.
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The children and young people we support attend registered charity boarding schools, where children receive a free, high quality education, with good child safeguarding policies.
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The Snowland School has been recognised as a safe place for children to get a good education by NGOs working in the field of rescuing trafficked children. It is sometimes the refuge to which these NGOs take children they rescue from traffickers if the child does not have a family to return to because they know the Snowland School will care for the child and provide them with a high level of education.
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We have been actively supporting Himalayan children since 2014 and have overseen many fundraising projects and have ensured that they wholly benefit the children.
​
In Nepal's most remote villages it is currently impossible for children to be educated at home, which you can read more about here.
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However, we can protect the children and young people from child traffickers by educating villagers of the risks and threats, and by ensuring young people attend proper schools and maintain contact with their families throughout education. Snowland Journeys is committed to ensuring this happens.
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