Mitrata Organization
Mitrata Boarding Hostel
The District of Sindhupalchok
Nepal is currently listed in the top 20 poorest nations on earth with 35% of its people living below the poverty line (estimated at earning less than $1.50 a day). Over 80% of its population are engaged in rural agriculture.
Although this district is close to Nepal's capital Kathmandu, it is one of the least developed districts in Nepal. Bordering with China/Tibet, the district is easily accessible from Kathmandu by public bus or private car.
Families living in this district, depend entirely on agriculture for their survival. Since the district is hilly, the land is not very fertile, therefore the yield is very low.
In 2015, two major earthquakes devastated the area. In the villages close to Mitrata, almost every house was destroyed and over 250 people were killed and many more injured. The Mitrata Boarding Hostel and the nearby school were severely damaged and it has taken over three years for the area to recover.
What we do
Mitrata’s main aim is to help disadvantaged children and their families in Nepal. We try to do this by providing free board and lodgings at the boarding hostel for girls who show a desire and determination to gain an education but, for reasons of locality or financial hardship, find it difficult to attend school.
We believe that with the right education, opportunity and involvement, young people will not only improve their own lives but also the lives of others, ultimately contributing to the development of their community and their nation.
With the help of our sponsors, we also support the nearby local school as well as a number of local communities.
By offering impoverished families a free education for their children at Mitrata, the girls will be given an opportunity to start or complete their education. We believe this programme has the potential to change the lives of these girls as well as the lives of their families and the wider community.
Mitrata today
The boarding hostel was built in 2005 after it was recognised that some children in the district were unable to receive an education because they were living in impoverished circumstances. While many parents were aware that their child would greatly benefit from an education, families in these situations were unable to pay school fees and other associated costs and, without an education, the child would most likely follow the impoverished lifestyle of their parents.
The boarding hostel is a 'girls only' facility and contains a kitchen, dining room, recreation area, classroom, four dormitories, toilets, showers, an office and a volunteer accommodation area.
Housemothers look after the children and stay at the hostel overnight.
The housemothers and the children have a large garden where they grow their own crops and tend a few goats and chickens. This year, Mitrata successfully applied to their local government to provide wages for a full-time nurse and an assistant.
Sponsors from our Australian charity, ChEd Nepal, then held a fundraiser which provided funding to stock the facility with medical equipment and first aid supplies.
The nurse at the medical facility looks after the health of the children and staff and also provides medical care and attention for the three communities which are close to Mitrata - approximately 15,000 inhabitants.
Bishnu, the Director of Mitrata, with their new nurse
Funding for Mitrata
Mitrata's funds are managed by an Australian Charity called ChEd Nepal. This charity sends every single donated cent to Mitrata and they do not use any of your funds for their own administration.
Working with the Board of Mitrata and the elders in the local communities, ChEd Nepal coordinates the child sponsorship program providing donations to Mitrata from sponsors all around the world.
If you would like some more information, please visit their website www.chednepal.org or email them at 'enquiries@chednepal.org'
If you would prefer to make a one-off donation to support the Mitrata Boarding Hostel, please press our Donate Now button below which will provide you with details on how you can make your donation.
Why Girls Only?
In mountainous districts in Nepal, farming is the main source of income for over 80% of the inhabitants. Unfortunately, children are often forced into child labour, especially during planting and harvesting seasons, where they are forced to work for less than $1.50 a day.
A young Nepali girl being taught to harvest
Of course, girls face a number of additional hurdles such as the reluctance of parents to let their daughters continue in school beyond puberty. Restrictions during menstruation period through age-old practices such as ‘Chaupadi’ make it difficult for young girls to attend school.
Sometimes the girls are prohibited from participating in normal family activities because they are considered to be ‘impure’. In extreme cases, they are banned from the house and are required to live in a cattle shed or in a menstruation hut (a makeshift dwelling) for the duration of their period.
A young girl forced to spend her period in a cow shed
How Can Mitrata Make Necessary Changes?
In 2018, the Nepali government decided to set up a local council system in Nepal for the very first time and the general public then went to the polls to vote for the members of their Coordination Committee.
Bishnu Lama, the Director of the Mitrata Organisation, was voted Head of his District Coordination Committee and now has responsibilities for the development of primary and secondary education within his district.
With his eyes firmly focusedon supporting marginalized girls and women in his district by ensuring that they be given the right access to opportunities and resources, particularly in education, his first job was to change Mitrata to a ‘girls only’ hostel.
Bishnu has now asked elders in local communities to identify families who are suffering severe financial hardship and to nominate young girls from those families to take up a part or full scholarship at Mitrata.
With these elders now putting forward lists of young vulnerable girls in their district who are desperate to gain an education, the responsibility has now fallen on our Australian Partner, ChEd Nepal, to find more sponsors for these girls.
ChEd Nepal is seeking more sponsors to support the girls at Mitrata's Boarding Hostel.
If you would like to sponsor one of these young girls so that they can receive a full education and move on to a better life, please contact us by pressing on the link below.
There are volunteer programmes at Mitrata on a wide range of projects, including Teaching, Nursing and Construction.
Please click on the link below for more information.