A second family
Protecting, supporting and educating girls at risk
in family homes in a rural village near Pokhara
Youth
Today, 24 children aged 6 to 16 are welcomed and accommodated in the village.
We will be able to accommodate up to 30 with the construction of the new houses,
And provide vocational training for 160 students a year in the central building.
OUR THREE PILLARS
Integral Development
To heal, to feed, to clothe, to blossom, to love.
The village is a safe and loving place for children to grow up, where they gain the strength to overcome their traumas and move on to a better life. Nannies take care of them in a house, which becomes 'their home'. A playground, pets and the opportunity to return to their families of origin from time to time when possible.
Training for independence
Local and mixed schools in Nepali and English, with support courses in English and IT in the village.
Dance and singing training.
Psychologist on duty.
Eventually, vocational training in the renovated central building: IT, Hairdressing/Beauty and Dressmaking.
Some students are supported in setting up their own micro-businesses.
Sustainable development
Farm, vegetable gardens, fruit trees, water, solar panels, waste treatment.
The village has been designed to blend harmoniously into its natural environment, ensuring optimum food and energy independence .Vegetables, milk and eggs are produced on site. Water comes from the mountains, houses are heated by solar panels and waste is recycled by a biogas system that supplies the kitchens with gas.
The village
The village under the stars is called Opportunity Village in Nepal.
It is located some fifteen kilometers from Pokhara, on the Annapurna road, at the foot of the mountains.
Pokhara is the country's second-largest city, on the shores of a lake that attracts many tourists.
The project was launched in 1998 by the Good Shepherd Sisters to provide care and a fresh start for vulnerable girls at risk, and to protect them from the risks of rape and human trafficking.
These children are placed by Nepal's social services. They have all experienced tragedy in their childhood.
Today,thanks to the association 'Un village sous les étoiles', which is developing and financing the entire village, the village was declared a MODEL VILLAGE by the authorities in November 2023.
2 houses were rebuilt and inaugurated in August 2021. Two new houses were built and inaugurated on April 30, 2023, one for children andanother larger house to accommodate staff and volunteers.
The existing central building is to be converted into a vocational training building open to other young people from the surrounding area, and an adjoining building is to be given an upper floor for teachers and volunteers.
The project was completed in July 2024. The center will be inaugurated in March 2025.
The village includes two vegetable gardens, an orchard and a small farm with 4 cows and a buffalo.
Nepal
Nepal is one of the world's poorest countries, with a population of 29 million, an average annual income of $730 per capita and a development index ranking of 147. Its economy is heavily dependent on the salaries of young men working abroad and on tourism. Families are often broken up. The status of women and girls is still ancestral. Significant efforts have been made with international aid to rebuild the country after the major earthquakes of 2015, but the Coronavirus crisis is a new ordeal for the country.The country was confined at the end of March 2020, causing a deep economic crisis. Air transport only resumed in mid-September 2021, and trekking has only just been re-authorized;
