“The big winners of the pandemic were the human traffickers”

Since the earthquake disaster in 2015, Brigitte and Heinz Söllinger from Meggenhofen in Nepal have been involved. In the meantime, 276 children, mainly girls, attend the three schools initiated by the teacher couple in a slum, a leprosy village and a prison. “We provide everything that the children need, education, books, uniforms, warm clothing and medication,” says Brigitte Söllinger, who after two years of Corona was able to drive the projects on site with her husband again this year. The two pay for a lot out of their own pockets and through donations. Support has also come from twelve volunteers from Austria who have been working in Nepal.

With the pandemic and the current inflation crisis, the lives of many Nepalese have continued to deteriorate, says Söllinger. “The big winners of the pandemic were the human traffickers who abduct children and young women into brothels. Or the victims end up in illegal Indian hospitals as organ donors or end up as slave labor.”

Girls are considered “worthless”

The biggest hurdle in Nepal is the patriarchal way of thinking. Girls and women from the lowest caste are considered “worthless”. “Again and again we have to fight the fathers to send their daughters to our schools,” says the teacher. Because educated women are seen as a threat to patriarchy. The Söllingers have managed to get children of the Badis ethnic group, who live from prostitution, into their schools. 82 children are cared for in the leprosy village. “They are happy that they can learn with us and get a warm meal every day,” says Söllinger.

15 girls who were orphaned during the Corona period were accommodated in a hostel in November. They are therefore not defenseless street children and avoid the danger of ending up in brothels as prostitutes.

Information on the projects at www.childvisionnepal.com

Donation account: IBAN: AT 97 34313 003 000 19315, password: Nepal

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Michaela Krenn-Aichinger

Local editor Wels

m.krennaichinger@nachrichten.at

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