Big Sisters Home

Change

The students who attend Kopila Valley are some of the most at-risk children in our community of Surkhet. We noticed that some of the teenage girls at KVS were being abused at home, living in flood camps made from plastic tarps, or working as domestic servants. Others were at risk for child marriage or suicide.In conditions like these, the girls did not have enough time for their studies and their grades were suffering. We realized that school counseling was not enough for these young women. We were educating and supporting them at school and then sending them home to the same toxic environment that was causing their problems in the first place. We needed to change their living situation

After three years of hard work and planning, our dream of creating a Big Sisters’ Home was achieved in August 2017. There are currently 10 girls living in the safe house. We provide them with healthy food, a cozy home, extra counseling and tutoring, and a loving community of support and friendship. The girls maintain active communication with their families through phone calls and home visits, and we are preparing them to reintegrate into their biological families after they finish 12th grade.

Empowering the girls means teaching them basic life skills such as keeping financial records, advocating for themselves, shopping for groceries, using public transportation, maintaining personal and household cleanliness, establishing healthy study habits, practicing English writing and public speaking, and learning about sexual responsibility.