Written by: Nishan Shrestha - 25008, Grade X
Posted on: 20 December, 2022
Pushpa Basnet is a famous personality and a role model renowned for her social and non-profit work. A savior of children behind the bars for no reason. Pushpa Basnet is the founder of the Early Childhood Development Centre (ECDC). She was born in 1984 in Kathmandu. She graduated from St. Xavier’s College. She started her career at the age of 21. As part of her college assignment, she visited the women's prison in Kathmandu. There in the prison she was concerned when she saw children living with their parents in the jail. Then she decided to start an organization.
In 2005 she started a non-profit organization Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) to provide a program to the children. During the 2015 earthquake, the building where the daycare was located collapsed as well as the Butterfly Home that was going under construction. But again on 3rd February 2016, she opened a residential home for kids as a day care for them also known as butterfly home. In the residential home, children get to play, go to school, and have a normal childhood like any other children. This also gives hope and motivation to the parents to continue to provide the children with the same treatment once they are out of the prison. Her organization focuses on children reuniting with their families. Till now, she has provided shelter to more than 100 children of imprisoned parents. She runs a day care center for the prison children and a residential home for older ones. Recognizing her effort many local organizations have pledged their help to raise funds for her social work. Major donations for ECDC have come from Shikshya Foundation Nepal and Sundar Sansar. In 2012, a local organization helped to raise 370,000 rupees for her organization through various national and international donation programs. In 2009 she started a program to coach parents to make handicrafts inside the prison. The main objective of the program was to make the female prisoners involved in income generating activities through which they could continue their livelihood and contribute towards their children. Her organization coordinates with prison administrators to rescue children behind bars throughout urban and rural areas of Nepal. She has contributed a lot for the childrens and old people. She was awarded with CNN Hero award 2012 on 2 December, 2012. In the interview with CNN she said "It's not fair for children to live in the prison because they haven't done anything wrong. My mission is to make sure no child grows up behind prison walls”. Since her 20’s Pushpa Basnet has been contributing for not only children but for the whole society. She has been the role model for the teenagers to help in social work. She has been a strong woman to fight for the children. Undoubtedly she is not only CNN’s but our hero as well.
References
(“ECDC”,Early Childhood Development Center)
https://ecdcnepal.org/pushpas-journey
“Pushpa Basnet: “No child should have to grow up behind bars.”” Nepal Live Today, 18 September 2021, https://www.nepallivetoday.com/2021/09/18/pushpa-basnet-no-child-should-have-to-grow-up-behind-bars/. Accessed 28 November 2022.
