Stichting Veldwerk at Nepal

Secretariaat: Stichting Veldwerk Postbus 163 1850 AD Heiloo The Netherlands

Tel:+31 (0)72-5339585 veldwerk@wlink.com.np IBAN nr. NL51ABNA0543703266 Attn. Stichting Veldwerk, p/a Egmond Binnen Bank: ABN-Amro 543703266

Sandip and Puja…..

Two days after our Bhim Laden returned to his home to be reunited with his family, we received an urgent question from people from the Terrai, an area that is situated at the Indian border. They came with this 5 year old boy, without parents, and asked if we could take care of him.

We found out that his father had died, leaving his mother without any income. So the mother left her son at her neighbours house and then left to find a job, probably in India, and didn't return. Because of their own poverty, the neighbours were not able to take care of Sandip for much longer which is how he ended up in our house. Sandip can be regarded as an orphan, but there is the possibility that one day his mother might turn up out of the blue, although we're not really counting on that.

At first, Sandip was not at all happy with the new situation, on the first day there were lots of tears. But our children showed a lot of care towards him. They played with him, held his hand and showed him how to blow soap bubbles after which he calmed down pretty fast. Now we see a happy little fellow, very quiet and sweet.


On the picture Sandip is sitting on the right, enjoying his meal, next to our little troublemaker Niran.

One day after Sandip came to our house there was a women with a child knocking on the gate. This 24 year old mother told us that she was suffering from a serious blood disease, and that she was desperately looking for a place where her 4 year old daughter could stay. She also had an 11 year old son (a 24 year old mother with an 11 year old son, you do the maths!) but he was already working in a carpet factory, so he would be alright according to her. When her husband heard about her serious condition he left and never returned, it was too much for him to handle, being unemployed and an alcoholic.


After a long talk we decided to take the child in and send the mother to the hospital where she could receive the medical help she needed. From there she visited us three times to see if Puja was really doing well and told us that we should concider it our child now and take good care of it. Before she left she gave us a nice photo that she had of Puja and herself.


Secretly I wondered if she was really that sick because of her frequent visits and the fact that she looked quite happy and healthy, was she trying to trick us for the benefit of her child?
The answer came one week later when Puja's mother died of her illness in the early morning.
(shame shame Rene.....)

Read Samjana's story