Saturday 18 April 2009

Kusum

In my post of 24th February, "Raw Poverty", I described my visit to a trafficking-prone community in Makwanpur District which had left me profoundly shaken. This followed my seeing a little four year old girl, Kusum, hiding under a quilt inside a grubby hut. Her mother had died three months previously and she was refusing to speak and hiding from all visitors. We had the dilemma of what to do with this acutely traumatised child. Many aid organisations would maintain that this child should be supported within her community and kept close to her remaining family. That's easier said than done in a Nepalese rural community. On top of that her father had little time to dedicate to his daughter; he had to labour during the day and Kusum was keeping company with a young couple who had their own children to look after.

We decided, with her father's blessing, to bring Kusum and her ten year old sister Anisha to our Kathmandu refuge and I saw her there on Friday, the day after she arrived. She's still not speaking but is in the loving care of the refuge staff, surrounded by curious and exuberant refuge children. This is the first traumatised child we've admitted to the refuge in a long time and her rehabilitation is going to be a challenge; my daughter Alisha is looking forward to doing her bit and plans to buy her a teddy before going to see her again on Monday. Within a month Kusum will be a totally different child. The cost of care for the two girls will be £1080 per year but that's a small price to pay.

Any sponsors out there?