DistantNews
Support us
🇳🇵 Nepal /Disasters & Emergencies

Rescued from the streets, they returned to them

From Kathmandu Post · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Sources not specified Context piece
  • Vinay, now 20, has spent most of his life on the streets of Dharan, Nepal, after leaving home at eight due to family conflict and neglect.
  • Despite attempts by an organization to rehabilitate him and reintegrations with his family, Vinay repeatedly returned to street life, which offered a sense of freedom but led to substance abuse and danger.
  • Like Vinay, Roman Karki also ended up on the streets due to family breakdown and poverty following his father's death during the Covid pandemic.

Home became unbearable for Vinay long before he turned eight. Constant quarrels and a sense of insecurity pushed him to leave his home in Dharan, Nepal. He found himself on cold pavements, terrified by unfamiliar faces and hunger. Over time, he met other children living on the streets, and a sense of community began to replace his fear.

"Street life started to feel enjoyable once I made friends," Vinay recalled. Days were spent wandering markets, begging, carrying loads, and collecting recyclables. The earnings initially covered food but soon funded addiction, with glue tubes replacing books. Street life offered freedom from rules and questioning, but this same freedom led him toward violence, danger, and substance abuse.

Street life started to feel enjoyable once I made friends.

· VinayVinay described his initial experiences and developing friendships on the streets.

Vinay's father remarried after his mother's death, and he felt neglected by his stepmother. "She beat me, made me work and even discriminated against me in school," he said. "My younger brother went to a private school while I studied in a government school. I used to wish they loved me the way they loved him." The mental stress became too much, and he left home.

My stepmother never loved me. She beat me, made me work and even discriminated against me in school. My younger brother went to a private school while I studied in a government school. I used to wish they loved me the way they loved him. Eventually, the mental stress became too much, and I left home.

· VinayVinay explained the family circumstances that led to him leaving home.

At nine, Vinay was taken to Voice of Children, an organization that tried to rehabilitate him. However, institutional life felt like a prison. He was used to the openness of street life and struggled with routines. After a year, showing behavioral improvement, he was sent home, but returned to the streets within days. This cycle repeated: streets to institution, back home, then back to the streets.

Now 20, Vinay's journey continues. He still survives on the streets, collecting plastic bottles and still using illegal substances. Roman Karki shares a similar story, pushed onto the streets by family breakdown and poverty after his father died during the Covid pandemic.

It felt like being imprisoned.

· VinayVinay described his negative reaction to institutional life at the Voice of Children organization.
About this summary

Originally published by Kathmandu Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog