Saving the Life of a Child in Nepal:
The Story of Ishwori K.

In February 2002, Nanda and I went to a small village in Nepal to see about a girl who was reported as homeless. The Mitrata-Nepal Home for children was just a dream at the time. It was Ishwori K.’s desperate situation that helped move us to action. When Nanda and I returned from the village with Ishwori, I wrote this email to my friend Nancy who was the first Mitrata child sponsor. Ishwori is now happy, healthy and living in our home with 7 other children. Here is her story……….

Hello Nancy.

Congratulations! You now have a new daughter! Nanda and I went into a small village west of Kathmandu to see about a young girl that a friend said lived in the village but had no home. She had been going from house to house after her parents died.

Her name is Ishwori K. We are not sure how old she is. She looks about seven yrs old. She has never been to school. She has been severely poor and neglected. We decided to take her to Nanda's house until we can get her placed in the group home because she seemed so sick and undernourished. She was wearing no shoes or underwear. She is coughing and very skinny. So we will take her to the clinic on Monday. I bought her clothes and we are getting her hair cut because she has lice. Nanda kept saying: "She needs meditation for her slice". What she meant was- medication for her lice. Very Funny! We laughed a lot even though the situation was heartbreaking.

When we were walking down the hill behind Ishwori on the way to the main road, I kept looking at her bare feet and tiny thin bony shoulders. She is so shy and sad; yet there is strength in her that she has even survived this long. She has the most beautiful long eyelashes.

We had an even more interesting time on the road back. It is very winding and through the mountains. She had never been in a car before so she promptly threw up all over. I think the taxi driver was wishing he had never seen this crazy American woman and her Nepali friend! Poor Ishwori! But now she smiled when she got a hot bath at Nanda's house and we bought her warm clothes and a little huggy bear to hold onto for now. So she is on her way to a better life. Thanks to you.

I was thinking all the way back, what must she be feeling now? So alone in her world, made fun of by other children and beaten by others in the village because she had no parents. Now she is safe and warm with a hot meal. This is true Dharma work I feel. Nanda and I laughed but then we also felt very sad and moved by how brave and yet vulnerable Ishwori is. So thank you for helping her. I have pictures to share with you when I get back.

Love Christine

By the way—Ishwori means “goddess” in Nepali.

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