Educating Impovershed and Trafficked Youth

Meet The Amazing Youth We Are Raising Funds For!

Please help! I am raising funds to help impoverished children receive an education and transform their lives. These children who've been trafficked or are living in dire circumstances in Nepal, one of the world's poorest countries. The COVID rate in Nepal--which has little to no medical infrastructure--has exceeded the much more populous countries of Pakistan and Bangladesh. Due to the collapse of the economy and people dying of hunger, they have lifted the lockdown. Right now, my charity is supporting numerous children, trying to keep them in safe conditions and ensuring they continue their studies.

For 15 years, our charity has built and worked in numerous schools and has educated hundreds of Nepali children. Below are 5 of the children who, after numerous traumatic experiences, dream of getting a college education. Many of these young people were exploited through child trafficking; some are victims of racial, ethnic and caste prejudice; all are survivors of crushing poverty. They are incredibly brave and resilient young people filled with hopes to create a better world. I have asked them to write in their own words why they want so much to get an education. Here are their stories:

Sangeeta Nepali

I am Sangeeta Darji. I come from a low class and low caste family. I have four members in my family. My parents have been tailoring throughout their lives. I have seen and faced many struggles in life, which is beyond imagination for many young girls like me. I have been abused by someone I thought was a parental figure and trusted most in the world. I have seen my own parents suffering as they tried to fill our empty stomachs, to having to take Rs.500 loan to pay rent and buy food.

Back in 2005, a foreign man came to volunteer at the same government school where I was studying. Seeing the condition of my family and my wish to study, he sponsored me and my brother to come to Kathmandu and study. He promised to take us to USA, but it never happened and I suffered many bad things.

But I met a beautiful soul mamma (Lauren Yanks) She has gone above and beyond to put me together while I was breaking down mentally and really struggling in my life. Everything I have been today is due to her kindness.

When I get a sponsor or donor for a better education I will work very hard with all my heart to support my family and many young girls like me. I will help girls like me to get educated and speak up for themselves. Thank you for reading my story.

Sanjay Basnet

My name is Sanjay Basnet and I am 18 years old. I was born in Jaypur, India. My dad is from Nepal and mom is from India. My dad used to work in a restaurant and my mom used to go to other houses to cook food and clean their house as a maid. My parents are both uneducated, but anyhow they managed to send me and my brother to public school.

My mom used to give me Rs 5 for lunch during school interval. But I never had any lunch and said I ate somewhere else and gave her back Rs 5. With Rs. 9000 monthly, the salary wasn't enough to fulfill our needs. However, little by little, we run our life. As time passed, I completed to grade 5 and met a beautiful soul, Mommy Lauren. She just bright up my life. She promised to send me to boarding school. She sponsored me for my further education in boarding school.

I want to complete my studies and work very hard. My goal is to establish a very good school for underprivileged children like I was. I want to educate to all those children. There are so many kids who have great ambition but no support. I want to work for them and make their childhood better than mine.

Kabita Karki

I was born in a poor family whose mother was an Indian and dad was Nepali. My mother was the only person who used to work to feed us. My father used to work in construction but when I was very young he fell off a building and was paralyzed. After that, we slept in a place with many rats. One night, the rats ate both my dad's legs while he was asleep. He could not feel it because he was paralyzed, so he had to amputate them because they were infected.

We were homeless and I spent most of my time collecting money for my family from one of the greatest Hindu temples called Pashupatinath. When I was 7, I started guiding tourists who used to come there. I told stories about gods and goddesses using my imagination. I knew the meaning of life from my small age.

One day when I was guiding tourists as usual, and I met a man who came to visit this Temple. I went to him and showed him different places and I think he was actually impressed (haha), so he gave me his number and the location to his place which was a hostel and told me to come visit him so that he can help me.

I came running to my parents and told the good news. So with the help of our uncle, we went to where the hostel was, all by walking, god it was really hard, and then searched for him for the whole day, but there was no luck and there were even some people whom I asked the address but they declined, and I was really tired and hungry but finally found him.

After that I met this man, we talked about me staying at his hostel. From then I started living with other kids, I was so happy and thought of getting a good education and food. All I dreamed for finally happened.

Everything was going okay for a few years, but then the hostel became an unsafe place and I had to leave and was very upset and scared.

The person who was there for me was this wonderful lady whom I met when I was around 12 years old. Her name is Lauren Yanks, I call her Mum now, she has been my fairy godmother, and she was there in my good and my bad times, too. She was there to wipe out my tears and she made me to believe in Love, whenever I see her, there is this different positive aura that takes all the pain away.

I now work in a bank and am want to study business, and following Mummy Lauren's Steps, as to never give up. I want to do many things in my life but helping other children like me. I am still experimenting with many things and I am ready for the challenges that life will bring from now onward.

Kamlesh Baral

The Story of My Life in Short.

My name is Kamlesh Baral. I was born in Himachal Pradesh, India. When I was 2 years old I was brought to Nepal. I was taken to our village where people discriminate on the basis of caste, colour, gender and so on. We were very poor and looked down upon.

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When I was 3, my dad went to Malaysia to earn money as a laborer. After he left, my mom also left me alone.
I was then left with the people in the village. I did not go to school in the village because there was no school. I used to play in the mud, dirts, and all. My uncle was very upset by this, so he brought me to Kathmandu for study when I was 7 years old.

I was very naughty at beginning days in Kathmandu. I hadn't seen vehicles in my life, so I used to run behind cars and buses. My uncle and aunt were very worried about me at that time, but slowly I began to go to school.

My uncle used to work as laborer. My aunt didn't have job. My dad sent money from Malaysia for my studies. Our condition was very poor. I still remember at that time my friends used to eat dumplings in hotel. I also wanted to eat, but I didn't have money. So I used to watch that and walk away and went to room and eat leftover rice of morning. We used to eat rice three times a day. I used to wear clothes given by our landlord.

My dad stayed for 18 years in Malaysia and I never saw him that whole time.

One day I was in class and I met mommy lauren, an angel of my life. [Lauren Yanks, director of Blue Butterfly Foundation]. She gave me foods to eat and pen and books to write. I was very happy. I started going to her apartment to eat and study. She told me about herself and I also told her about my life.

At that time I felt she is my mom. I started calling her mom. She helped me in my study. She bought beautiful clothes for me. She took me to the restaurant on my birthday. I hadn't been to restaurant before that. And I was so excited to eat. It was the best night of my life.

She paid my school fees and bought books and copies for school. She came as an angel in my life. She is my role model. When I needed someone to cry then she was there for me and is now also. I became someone who I never thought of. It's all because of her.

[Lauren Yanks, director of Blue Butterfly Foundation] always supported me wherever I went. Now Mom is supporting me for my rent, food and so on while I study.

I am studying to prepare to have my dream: to go to college. I don't have a good family background to support me. I want to study and have the best education. I love drama and want to become a human rights lawyer and learn so much, so I can help other kids like me.

Ram Saran Khanal

Hello, it's me Ram Saran Khanal. I am from one of the closest districts from Kathmandu but far more underdeveloped, where people have to depend on only agriculture and that also does not grow well. We cultivate paddy, millet and maize, but we hardly get to eat rice, we have to sell paddy to buy the household stuff and the clothes to the family.

Since we had five members in my family and we depended on agriculture only and that also we had to sell to get money for other work to be done. We had hardly managed to feed ourselves. We didn't have a large field to cultivate.

My parents did not have enough money to send us even to government school, where we don't need to pay school fees and just had to buy books and other stuff.

As I said that I wasn't going to school the whole day--I used to go to the river to catch fish so that we can eat in the evening.

In the meantime, one of my aunts heard about a hostel in Kathmandu and I was brought to Kathmandu to study.

After I came to Kathmandu, my life got totally different from the past, but at the same time my mother again gave birth to two more sons, since our condition was already poor, it only turned worse. When they got to the age of 6, they both were sent to become priests where they can learn and stay free of cost since they are from a poor family.

During the time in Kathmandu I met with an idol person in my life, mummy Lauren ( Lauren jody yanks) even though I was small and could not speak English well, I tried to have a conversation with her.

And now I have been planing for further study in China where I can get proper education in low cost and become what I want to be in my life. I have a dream of having my own small restaurant. Since my parents can't afford my studies, I would like to ask support to meet my dream come true.

Thank you,

Ram Saran Khanal