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Based on GDP,
Nepal ranks as one of the world’s ten poorest nations.
With the economic slowdown, diseases, natural disasters, poverty
and the current Maoist “People’s War”, there
are a growing number of children orphaned or made homeless. |
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Some are left with relatives,
who often are unable to cope with additional numbers, or join
the thousands of homeless street children, who usually end
up in the cities living a life of misery and squalor.
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Many young girls (estimated
at up to 5,000 per year) are abducted and forced to work as
prostitute in India and the Middle East where their comparatively
fair skin is considered attractive.
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Nepal’s cultural practices
are often responsible for a child’s plight, particularly
in the case of second marriages. If a couple separates or divorces,
or one of the parents die, the parent with custody of the children
often remarries. Usually the new spouse will want little to
do with the children who are treated like household slaves or
are cast out. Often, the children end up left to their own devices.
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It is children from such environments
who have found their way to orphanages funded by Child Action
Nepal. |
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