Manisha’s father died when she was one year old and her mother, Manju Tamang, is illiterate and has no job. Manisha grew up in the care of her grandfather who, no longer able to offer her the support she needs, brought her to us.

When Manisha first came in she was malnourished and much smaller than her age. She is a quiet, thoughtful child

Manisha has now adapted well to living in a ‘Home’ where she is looked after and loved and thrives in this atmosphere. She has already been admitted to the nearest school in Upper Kindergarten where she is a keen student. She wants to be a teacher. and is a big sister to the younger ones.

She enjoys playing with toys and sings songs.

However, that was all they managed and Bhupen was always just ‘an extra mouth to feed’. He was ‘given’ to the Home by the last relative he lived with.

Underdeveloped and malnourished, Bhupen does not react according to his age. Rehabilitation of body and mind is the most important first step the Home needs to take when the children come in. It is helpful that there are other children who look, talk, function, basically the same way each does, given the circumstances they have come from. Their bodies gradually respond to the better food and care and their minds open up more to the friends around them at first and then gradually to those in authority.

This was the case with Bhupen. After an initial 3 months of ‘settling in’ and a lot of whining and constant crying, he has now been admitted to school where is very slowly adapting to his new surroundings, friends and to the new world of learning.

However, since the time he has come to us, we find that he is gradually opening. Behind the scared and scarred frontier we have found an innocent and tender child who loves to laugh and play with toys. He now reaches out to loving hands that hold him close and love him. He eats well and thoroughly enjoys being the baby in the family. He is learning to speak and shows signs of being intelligent and a quick learner.