Like Riya, there are 24 other children aged from four to 12 who live in the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC), founded by Pushpa Basnet. At 25, she is “Mamu” to all these kids in this small project of hers. The parents of the children are nowhere to be seen, because they have been jailed for various offences in different prisons of the Valley.
How did it happen that Pushpa came to devote her life to these young gems? A college field trip to the Central Jail at Sun Dhara in 2004 led to a shocking discovery. There, inside
the walls, she found herself staring at an eight-month-old baby, Sanu Kanchee. Shocked as she was then, Pushpa still can hardly believe it: Kids inside a jail!
“Why should a child pay for the crimes committed by the parents?” she questions. “Moreover, a small kid of that age?” She adds, “I could feel the child telling me to take her out of the prison.”
Now Kanchee is four-and-a-half years old, attends school, and is very dear to Puspha’s heart.
Initially, with the help of a few friends, Pushpa started ECDC as a daycare center where four children of jail inmates were brought one early morning and rehabilitated by evening.
Then the fear that the children would end up with a dark future jelled with the drive to do more. As a result, what had been a part-time compassionate urge became a complete calling and a full-fledged habitat.
In a two-storey rented house where ECDC is currently located, there is a playroom, a kitchen, a changing room, and five bedrooms. All have special names, such as Spider Room, or Butterfly Room.
“When you’re with kids, one has to understand their psychology,” observes Pushpa. A bit of magic is necessary, too, because to the children, ECDC is a warm hostel where they live, share rooms, and eat together with other young people. Yet in their minds, prison remains home, since that is where their parents are.
After serving their terms in the jail, parents get their children back. “But before doing this, parents should be independent and able to support themselves,” says Pushpa. The system seems to work. So far, 12 of the children have already returned to their parents.
And the need for more help remains pressing. Along with the children’s residence, a daycare center has also been created in her family home and functions under ECDC. It currently looks after 10 children of inmates of the Central Jail.
“At first, my parents were against my taking care of these kids,” notes Puspha. But it did not take long for Pushpa’s parents to understand her dedication to her wards. Now they are the enthusiastic ones and use their own problem-solving skills when needs become urgent.
“When I was in search of space to open a daycare near the jail, my parents emptied the apartments of their house,” she says. “Additionally, they renovated the space to make it more child-friendly.” Still, the challenge continues. Adjusting the window-net torn by the children, Pushpa muses, “There have been times when I’ve broken down emotionally.”
Among other things, lack of funds is one of the major headaches. “The budget for running ECDC has doubled, as there is a residence and a daycare to look after. But my parents have come to the rescue now and again,” says Pushpa, adding, “And I want to do the same for these children.”
For a more secure future for the children, she has been requesting that the government provide ECDC with land so that the money for the rent can be transferred to the children’s bank account.
“There are donors who are willing to provide a sum of money with which I can build at least two rooms,” analyzes Pushpa. “But buying land in the Valley is expensive. At least, the government can provide a piece of land outside the Ring Road. The land will be in the government’s name.”
Navigating such speed bumps is all part of the journey. For now, Pushpa’s dreams call for setting up an ECDC-like center in Pokhara. “A few women inmates who have been transferred to cells in Pokhara want me to open a similar place over there,” she adds.
Pushpa, though a graduate in Social Works from Xavier’s College, is now pursuing her Bachelors in Education. Her Xavier graduation ceremony photo hangs in the house.
“Even after these kids leave this place,” she exclaims, “I want them to realize the importance of education. That’s why, for their sake as much as my own plan, I’ve taken up further studies.”
One day, Pushpa plans to pass down this legacy to one of these children. “I want them to learn to give to others,” says this young merciful soul.
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