Giving street kids a chance
Making a difference to the lives of young people in Nepal.
In the West we often think that the problems in developing countries are just too big to overcome. But if you can help even one kid who otherwise mightn’t get a chance… is that not a good thing to do? I reckon it is.
Interview with Declan Murphy
Originally from Clonakilty in West Cork, Declan Murphy is now at home in the streets of Katmandu, Nepal.
Why did you decide to set up a support organization in Katmandu, Nepal?
I first came here to volunteer to teach in a rural school in Nepal in 2003. When I came to Katmandu I was shocked by the poverty in front of my face. I would ask 7 and 8 year old kids on the streets why they couldn’t go to school. They told me they couldn’t afford the 400 rupees per month (5 euro) to pay for fees and purchase school uniforms and textbooks.
I returned to Ireland to finish my teaching degree and then decided to return to Nepal with money that two schools in my native West Cork had raised for the project.
How do Nepali kids end up on the streets?
Kids can run away from a life of poverty in the hill villages or kids as young as 10 can be sent to Katmandu to work to support their younger brothers and sisters still in school.
Another common way that kids end up on the street is through becoming beggars. Kids from poor families might start skipping school and hanging around tourist areas like Thamel. Generous Westerners feel sorry for these kids and give them money, which they use to buy glue or marijuana. It often just takes a few weeks before they start living rough on the streets.
What advice do you have for people coming to Katmandu?
Enjoy your holiday and go back and recommend Katmandu to your friends but in the time you are here give nothing, even to the street kids with angelic faces. Tourists are simply empowering these kids to remain on the streets even though there is no shortage of support organisations geared towards helping them. I recently met a 21-year-old ex-street kid who is now a drug dealer. He told me that when he was a street kid “he refused to give up his life of freedom, now he is a prisoner of the streets”.
What sort of risks to street children face?
Health risks include drug abuse and unhygienic living conditions. Personal safety risks include getting beaten by the police or caught up in gang violence. A street kid who has no family to check up on him can also fall prey to sexual abuse.
What kind of support are you able to offer?
Our focus is educational support. We provide the means for them to go to school by sponsoring their school uniforms, schoolbooks and paying their exam fees. We also try where possible to return the kids to their family. Quite often, however families need more support. I have a full-time social worker employed with me and we spend a lot of time trying to fix social problems such as a father with an alcohol addiction or a local bully.
What are your hopes and plans for the future?
I’ve begun to look at the overall picture and how Nepal has become dependant on foreign aid and charities, which in many ways do more harm than good. One option we’re looking into is creating a commercial company, which would create sustainable cottage style craft industry and micro loans for impoverished Nepali families and therefore ensure their kids get a good education.
My dream scenario for the organisation is that the 12-year-old street kid or 15-year-old domestic servant we helped support would one day take over the running of it.
It's amazing to see the Irish kids’ faces when I put on a projector slide show. In one slide they might see a street kid dressed in dirty rags sleeping in a doorway and in the next slide a smiling kid in a school uniform. They are often amazed that their few cents allowed that transition to happen.
Therefore I think not only do we help Nepali kids get an education but help Irish kids become aware of what’s going on in the world and realise that they can make a difference.
Support Declan Murphy's charity, Just One by clicking here.
By: Keith Corcoran
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