6000 Street Children in Nepal: Give Them a Home

Thankfully all our boys at the Birgunj home are safe and in one piece after the earthquake. The schools were closed for a while over there as many of them got damaged and also, many families have been rebuilding their homes or assiting their families/friends in other, more affected, areas. Now, most things in Birgunj are back to normal and the boys are able to study again. 

With the temperatures reaching 45 degrees over there now, it is sometimes difficult to focus on studying but they all have loads of energy and are always keen to play. 

Our home has become a part of the Birgunj community which is amazing. Many children from the neighbouring schools or children of the nearby families, come and celebrate their birthdays and other occasions with our children. This makes our boys feel very welcome - so a lot of dancing and singing on a daily basis! 

We have just had a new pump installed which means a much healthier water for the boys. One of the largest problems in Nepal is the quantity of arsenic in the water - so our team worked hard on digging a deeper well. 

One of the biggest successes of the past few months is the fact that 4 of our boys will be linked with their families anytime now. We will be sponsoring their education, materials and clothes but the families are now able to look after their basic needs. We will monitor them closely, together with the local authorities and will be posting updates as to how they are doing. We will also be helping some of the families with training and findign employment so that they can care for their children better and do not need to send them to the streets to earn the living by begging.

This is very exciting news for all of us and we want to say thank you to all those that have supported the project as it has only been possible thanks to the great support we have received. 

Firstly, I want to give you a quick update on our home and more importantly the education and development of the boys who are with us - now 19 of them, in full-time education living in a loving home and helping in building themselves and many more street children a sustainable future off the streets.

Our chickens and buffaloes couldn't be happier, our vegetable patch is growing fast, the boys are all very independent in their passions - some excelling at guitar lessons, IT lessons or just enjoying the challenge of school maths and English lessons! It is safe to say the boys are loving the fresh supply of chicken eggs and buffalo milk, the boys are in fact so fighting fit and healthy that they have taken it upon themselves to start the first ever cricket tournament between some of the other children homes in Nepal! They have been training hard and the first match has come around very quickly....

Our cricket tournament for street children in Nepal starts today!

The 4th April sees children's homes across Nepal come together to start the 2015 cricket tournament, running up to the celebration of International Day for Street Children on the 12th April.

Find out more about our Cricket Tournament Global Giving project here

Our Sansar are very excited about the cricket tournament and the opportunity it gives the children to experience something that, to other kids, is a normal part of growing up.

Preparing for the competition has already had a positive impact on the boys at the children’s home. 13 years old Samjad said: “We will make new friends and meet big brothers. We will have lots of fun.”

This unique, first of its kind competition will bring together 18 children’s home teams from across Southern Nepal. This memorable day we will also raise awareness of the plight of street children in Nepal where an estimated 5,000 young people suffer on the streets. Living on the street means children are unable to attend school, eat regular meals or make solid relationships. The tournament is a great chance to learn vital skills, such as team spirit, sportsmanship and determination. But we urgently need your support...

Julia Krepska, founder of Our Sansar, said: "We are very excited about the cricket tournament and the opportunity it gives the children to experience something that, to other kids, is a normal part of growing up.

"Living on the street has meant that, before now, these kids have been unable to attend school, eat regular meals or make solid and lasting relationships. The tournament is a great chance to learn vital skills, such as team spirit, sportsmanship and determination.

"We hope that the tournament will have a lasting impact on the children taking part and will contribute to a secure foundation for their future development."

The cricket tournament is being held to coincide with the Consortium For Street Children's annual International Day For Street Children, which aims to give a voice to the millions of street children around the world.

Have you been keeping up with the team announcements on our blog?

If you missed it, check out our blog and read the team player biographies. We have been introducing all the boys and they have all been very excited to have their first official interviews as cricket players. Most recently we caught up with Nikhil, Ryan and Sajan - our official Team Our Sansar bowlers. 

The boys are so excited about the tournament and it gives them a welcome break from their education, and a chance to meet new friends! Of course none of this would be possible without your ongoing support - THANK YOU! 

The fact is, it isn't all fun and games and there are many many more children in desperate need living on the streets of Nepal. Our project is initially about a bit of fun for the boys in our children's home - but everything we raise goes towards not only keeping our children's home open, but our dreams of expanding it in the very near future. We WILL make this happen - and we sincerely hope you will be there with us when it does.

As always, thank you from the Our Sansar team!

PS. for all of you extra keen cricketers out there - we will be posting live updates from the matches on our Twitter account, follow us @OurSansar.

The 2015 Tournament Matches:

Chitwan - 4 April starting at 9am (Nepalese time) and last game at 5pm (Nepalese time)

Hetauda - 9 April at 8am (Nepalese time) and last game at 2pm (Nepalese time)

Hetauda - 10 April at 9am (Nepalese time) and last game at 1pm (Nepalese time)

Hetauda - 11 April Girls team at 9am (Nepalese time) and last game at 1pm (Nepalese time)

Hetauda - 12 April - THE FINAL kicking off at 11am (Nepalese time)

Links:

• Meet the Our Sansar Cricket Team
• Cricket for Street Children - check out the campaign now