My name is Meeta and I am the Programs Manager at Unatti Foundation Nepal and I want to share how it is that girls come to live at the Unatti Group Home for Girls. This process begins when the Social Welfare District Offices shares information about girls in dire situations. It is then my job to do a social work assessment, gathering family histories, cultural values, childhood traumas, and examine social or behavioral issues. It is both my burden and privilege to travel across Nepal and meet people from all walks of life. I see extreme suffering and recognize the responsibility I have in assisting them in their journey of recovery.
This past February, Nitu, the Unatti House Manager, and I had 10 girls to visit, all experiencing extreme poverty, poverty often unseen by people living in the west. The journey to visit the girl at their respective villages was profound, traveling long hours across the Nepali countryside, bus rides lasting 14 hour each way.
We met with ailing grandmothers, and disabled fathers, all of these girls are without mothers. It was an honor for me to be allowed to meet them, to be allowed to hear their stories in their language and enter their lives albeit briefly.
It was an absolute joy to see smile and happiness on their faces when things turn out the way they hope, when I was able to tell them “Yes, she can soon become and Unatti girl.” I love my work but when I see family who struggle so, I sometimes question whether my work is enough, are my efforts too small or insignificant to really effect change. But in those moments, I recall the truth of Mother Teresa’s words: “We cannot do great things- only small things with great love.”
I am looking forward to 8 of these young, deserving girls meeting their new 28 sisters and becoming part of the Unatti in just a few weeks, Covid permitting.
Thank you all for giving me the opportunity to do this important work!
Meeta- Programs Manager at Unatti Foundation/ Trained Social Worker