Nurturing A Flower Bud

 

Kopila- it’s a pretty word to say, and even more meaningful when you learn its meaning. Kopila- a flowering bud, something about to bloom. Often, in Nepal it’s a word used to describe a young person, a “kopila” a young person, with the potential for growth and limitless possibilities.

Walking through the front entrance of Kopila Nepal, I wasn’t sure what we would see. I knew this was a place where children were brought who had their childhoods stolen, who’s dreams for a loving and caring life had been shattered by domestic violence, by child trafficking, and by abusive adults. This was where the broken found shelter, love and help. We were met by bright sunlight shining through the front windows as Kavita and I were greeted by a house manager holding small bouquets of flowers out to us, greeting us with a smile and a Namaste. Children were busy reading, working on computers and chattering among themselves, pausing to look up at the strangers entering their home. A quick tour of clean and tidy rooms, walls decorated with educational charts and symbols of peace and hope. There was a cheerful atmosphere despite the ugly underlying reason the children were here- who wants to think someone would treat a child cruelly or act as if they have the right to make a slave out of a child?  Or discard them like trash because they are of no use to the adults who should be giving unconditional love? But please don’t turn away from reading this post. These children we were about to meet are Kopila. They get a chance to bloom again, and this time with nurturing care through this compassionate program.

Kopila calls itself a safe home. They are also a shelter program, a place where counseling and medical care is given. They offer mental health and social rehabilitation and advocate on behalf of marginalized people who often don’t have the ways or means to advocate for themselves. As we were introduced to the girls and women who found a haven here from gender violence and extreme poverty, stories coalesced. One young girl had been abused by male relatives for years. She became pregnant because of the abuse and was “discarded,” no longer of use. She is now at Kopila with her baby, getting much needed therapy and support. Another girl we met shared a similar background. Her toddler son sat on laps and moved among the circle of young girls who sat on the floor talking to us. Another was a victim of the tradition of preferring sons and rejecting female babies, Her mother had to leave her husband’s home when her baby was born a girl, not the boy her in-laws wanted, and forced to struggle on her own with a new baby. Others who suffered from physical disabilities were forced out of homes and treated like animals. One girl was beaten for having poor eyesight that made it difficult to perform certain tasks. There were also stories of the girls struggling with mental issues due to the childhood trauma they suffered. Self-harming, depression, selectively mute- all had found their way to Kopila and finally healing.

A nearly new baby was held and shushed by a woman who looked as if she came in from the wild, and in many ways she had, explained the house mother. She was found starved on the streets, suffering from all forms of abuse, mute and withdrawn, living among a rubble of trash. Brought to Kopila, she was healing - slowly. She had taken it upon herself to nurture the babies there, holding and walking with them until they drifted into a peaceful sleep.

Watching this scarred, rescued woman,  I felt such an upwelling of compassion for her, the newly born child, the suffering these women and girls have had to endure, but now they had a place to heal. “She does a good job with that baby,” I said to the house mother, who had just told me the background story of how the woman came to be at Kopila. “We say we are all mothers here,” she added.  Absolutely, I thought. Buddha said, at one time, over many lifetimes, we were all the mothers of each other. Perhaps that’s why there is so much compassion and love in the hearts and souls of women. 

Hands in Nepal is interested in supporting programs such as Kopila. We are happy to take donations and send them on to this wonderful organization. Our project manager Kavita has started her own way to help- she has employed 6 young women from Kopila in her bakery! They are learning a vocation there, and earning money. They are blossoming!

You can learn how to donate at:

Handsinnepal.org

To learn more about Kopila and see more photos of what they do, the house, and people involved in this wonderful program, go to: Kopilanepal.org.np