Pushpa Basnet of Nepal has been named the 2012 Hero
of the Year. Why? Because she recognized a need in Nepal and
strives to right the wrong against children.
When adults are incarcerated in Nepal, their children are also
incarcerated with them if they have no other family member available for the care
of the irchildren. Say what? I’ll be the first person to say that children
need to be with their parents, but not in a prison! Basnet started a home in Kathmandu where
those children can receive food, education, medical care, and a caring environment
while their parents serve their sentences.
Sometimes those parents will be there well into their children’s
adulthood.
"It's
not fair for (these) children to live in the prison because they haven't done
anything wrong," said Basnet in a CNN interview with Kathleen Toner.
"My mission is to make sure no child grows up behind prison walls. I had a very fortunate life, with a good
education. I should give it to somebody else."
Basnet’s journey to this endeavor began when she was
21 as an undergraduate majoring in social work.
For one of her assignments, she had to visit the women imprisoned in
Kathmandu. The living conditions of the
children there appalled her. They were
dirty, hungry, and uneducated. So, with
the help of friends and family, she raised 70,000 rupees (about $885). In a poor, underdeveloped country, that was
quite an accomplishment. (According to UNICEF, 55% of
the population lives below the international poverty line.) In 2005, she used that money to start her
nonprofit organization – The Early Childhood Development Center. This center provided day care to preschool
children. The children returned to their mothers
at night.
Two years later, she realized the need for a
residential home. There, the children
live in a house without bars called Butterfly Home. All the children are there with
their parents’ consent. They are allowed
to grow, mature, and learn in a more natural environment. The children visit their mothers on
school holidays. Basnet has helped more than
100 children of incarcerated parents. She has expanded her efforts to find
alternative residences for some children while helping with school enrollment,
free meals, and medical care for others.
Seeing the need to rehabilitate the parents of these
children, she began Change Fusion Nepal.
This organization teaches the inmates to make handicrafts inside their
cells. Basnet sells these handicrafts so
when the women are released, they will have a sustainable livelihood for
themselves and their children. Sixty of
the children she has helped have been successfully reunited with their parents
after they were released from prison.
Pushpa Basnet is only twenty-eight-years old, but
she is making a huge difference in the lives of Nepali women and children. Without
Basnet, the children of incarcerated parents would have been destined for a
life similar to their parents – theft, drugs, and prostitution. Now the
children are receiving an education and the parents have legally marketable
skills. Because Basnet has been honored as the 2012 CNN Hero of the Year, she
has received $250,000 to continue her work. That is in addition to the $50,000 that
each of the top 10 Heroes are receiving.
Want to get involved with Basnet’s work?
Check out the Early Childhood Development Center website at www.ecdcnepal.org and see how to help.
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