CEDAR is our longest-established programme for children we have rescued from the streets and prisons of Nepal and the circuses of India. It aims to exceed the basic expectations of childcare and education and in the process recognise the diverse range of talents and interests Nepali children have.

We will support the children in our refuges in the pursuit of any activity which enables them to find their own route to happiness and rehabilitation. Education, art and sport are just examples of fields in which we have encouraged some of our children to develop their natural talents, offering them therapy, personal development and a freedom of expression previously unkown to them.

Reintegration into society is a formal objective of the CEDAR programme. We believe this focus serves the best possible path to normal lives. It is imperative that they do not become institutionalised and consequently on the margins of Nepali society all over again.

Similarly, we endeavour to improve the support structure offered to deaf and physically disadvantaged children and young people in Nepal, people who are traditionally marginalised as ‘lato’ (‘stupid’) and denied access to quality education. We are committed to specific initiatives designed to reintegrate these children into society through education and participatory activities.

The CEDAR programme offers scholarships to 30 students at a school for deaf children in Bhairahawa in addition to funding capital projects which have to date led to the completion of a new kitchen and dining block.

We also fund the Home Visit Programme of a Disabled Daycare Centre in Butwal for around 65 students whose physical impediments prevent them from accessing the centre’s facilities.