Founded in 2000, Mitrata Nepal Foundation is a Non Governmental Social Organization (Regd. No: 555-056-057, SWC No: 10012) based in Nepal. This foundation which was stirred by a drive to help underprivileged children and orphans is based in Kathmandu. When it began, there were just a few children but today the foundation supports many abandoned and less privileged but nonetheless special children; all of them in need of a home, care and support.This organization is dedicated to giving help to needy children through home sponsorship, school sponsorship and general donations.
Mitrata, which means friendship in Nepali, was born out of the deep connection between Nanda Kulu from Nepal and Dr. Christine Schutz from the USA, people of different cultures but with the same heart. Traveling together in the mountains outside Kathmandu, they found a homeless girl and decided to bring her into the city and care for her. With only a few hundred dollars that Dr. Schutz had brought from friends’ donations in the USA, they opened a children’s home in Naya Bazaar, Kathmandu. Mrs. Kulu, who had originally founded the NGO in Nepal in 2000, had always had a dream to establish a good home for underprivileged children. With the help of Dr. Schutz in the USA, this dream became a reality.
The word Mitrata means “friendship” in Nepali; a word that epitomizes the meaning of love, care and support and essentially defines the principles on which Mitrata’s founder and caretaker Nanda Kulu lives by. It has been long since the Mitrata children’s home started at Naya Bazar, Kathmandu after a decision to provide shelter to a homeless girl but the mission to serve, love and uplift the less privileged has remained.
Nepal is filled with children who are not fortunate enough to even have access to basic necessities of life. About fifty percent of them are malnourished without any means of proper food, sanitation, medical care and education. Statistics reveal that there are a staggering 2.6 million child laborers in Nepal and because of the country’s poor economy and 10 years of civil conflicts more children have become homeless and are compelled to live in dilapidated conditions. Education too is difficult. As the country’s economic conditions get worse, many children do not attend school at all or drop out before finishing high school equivalent.
The community is positively affected by the organization. Working with local Nepali people, single women is given a good amount of economic benefits to the local community. Mitrata is an established organization with mission oriented work with a mission to serve, love and uplift the less privileged. The children are taught overall life skills in a warm and loving family atmosphere. After they leave Mitrata, they take with them valuable life lessons, education, and the ability to be self-sufficient members of the local community. The needs of children are great in Nepal and there is much to do to help. The Mitrata motto is “Children First, They are our Future”. Please join the Mitrata family and help save the life of a child in Nepal. You can make a difference.
