Tikapur Municipality Becomes Guardian to Orphans and Destitute Children

Kailali. Tikapur Municipality has started fulfilling the guardianship of orphan and destitute children.

The municipality is providing guardianship by bringing orphan and destitute children residing permanently within the municipality into the reach of basic needs including education and health, and protecting such children. Since the Orphan and Destitute Children Protection Center Operation and Management Procedure came into effect in 2081 BS, the municipality has been providing guardianship to 17 children.

Since August, such children have been housed with accommodation at Saraswati Secondary School in Ward No. 1 of the municipality. Orphan and destitute children studying from class 1 to 9 are studying there by taking shelter in the school. According to the procedure, the municipality spends Rs. 60,000 annually per student. Children receive Rs. 6,000 in cash annually at the rate of Rs. 500 per child for the purchase of essential materials.

“We are taking care of the children here in a homely environment so that they do not feel the absence of parents,” said the school’s principal Khagendra Bahadur Gharti. “They are being provided with facilities as per their needs. More attention is being given to education.” According to him, the school administration is responsible for all the necessary management of the children. The municipality pays the budget to the school based on the total number of students. Principal Gharti said that the school spends the amount according to the standards.

It is estimated that fewer children have come because the Orphan and Destitute Children Protection Center has not been in operation for a long time. “It has not been a year since the center came into operation,” he says, “The number of students will increase. It might be that fewer students have come now because many people don't know about it.” The municipality had allocated a budget of 20 lakhs for the center in the current fiscal year.

The Chief Administrative Officer of the municipality, Suman Dhital, said that the children's protection center has been operated with the objective of connecting orphaned children with education. “Although children of parents with financial difficulties are not deprived of education, many children are out of school due to the absence of parents,” he said. “The municipality has started working as a guardian for children who are outside of school and are seeking support.”