Waiting on
airplane departures gives opportunity for reflection, so just one last footnote
on my Nepal adventure:
Behind
the awe-inspiring mountain vistas and Kathmandu's kaleidoscopic chaos lay some
of the reasons why I do what I do - too many children who do not get the
opportunity to go to school, jump in puddles or play on swings.
For too
many children their imaginings and their dreams are not of adventures in fantasy
worlds with super heroes - their dreams are of home, of family, of school, of
being a normal kid.
Girls,
and boys, as young as 9, but more likely about 14 or so are being married off,
for all kinds of reasons, but many because it’s
a way to keep them alive.
Young
girls from the rural districts are being sold into domestic service in the city
so that the rest of the family can survive on the pittance that they will be
paid for her.
All over
the city vans and busses that provide public transport have young boys hanging
out the doors yelling the destinations and collecting the fares. These kids
will grow up on the busses.
Many
restaurants and food outlets have at least one child employed to do whatever
job needs done, from carrying stock to washing dishes.
In some
places, where tourists gather, companion children are for sale.
I don't
believe that any parent willingly sells their child - but what if that's the
only option left to feed them or keep them and the rest of the family alive? Is
it ever right? No, of course it’s not - so how does it change?
One way
is by convincing privileged people, like you and I, that for the cost of three
coffees a week we are keeping kids at home and changing the life for the whole
family. For the cost of one movie ticket a week families are sending their kids
to school, with shoes, books and pencils. For less than the cost of your Foxtel
subscription per month we are training and assisting parents to increase their
household income and become self-supporting and proud of themselves.
It’s about giving kids hope that is possible to dare to dream
different. It is possible to re-imagine the future – changing the nightmares into
dreams of nursing, teaching, soldiering and farming. Giving parents of Nepal
the same choices that I had for my kid. Every kid has the right to be bored at school!
That’s part of why I do what I do.
