Balkendra - namely «Children’s house» - 
opened may 2003, just like Kalimati, in Basantapur,
in the heart of the tourist area, very frequented by the children.
It was designed as a «drop-in center», i.e. a center fully opened to all
children, all day long and seven days per week.
This shelter provides the children with a staff and activities other
than those they know in the street. It constitutes for many the first step to a normal life: re-socialization, re-schooling, family contact.

About  80 children come daily to Balkendra.
Since June 2004, we welcome them in a new house located
in Durbar Square, in the center of Kathmandu. It comprises 6 rooms
(1 office, 1 kitchen, 2 classrooms, 1 dormitory, 1 room for activities).

Balkendra welcomes on the one hand children living in the street, but who still have a place they can call « home », where they usually go and sleep at night.
On the other hand, it also welcomes those who live and sleep in the street. Although there is no point distinguishing these two categories during daytime (they have the same friends and activities, work or beg for food, sniff glue, and are, the ones as much as the others, left on their own devices) the support we offer will be different whether or not they have a place where to sleep, and whether or not they keep even minimum family links.

For the former, our action follows two main directions:
schooling and family contact/support. Indeed schooling constitutes
one of the main activities of Balkendra. Despite its failures, school remains the natural place for these sometimes very young children (from 5). We see to the registering, and provide if necessary uniforms, bags, school stationery, as well as scholar control and from time to time clothing and nutritional complements (tea and cookies, even full meal for those who have nothing to eat at home). 

For the children who have no more family support either because they stopped all contacts, or because the family stayed in village (often several days far from the capital) schooling – or re-schooling – in Balkendra is a transitory step: our housing capacities are limited and Balkendra is not designed to lodge the children for a long term. They must sooner or later go back in their families or, if it appears to be really impossible, join a shelter like Poonhill , in function of the available room there.

For more details and updated information (pictures and text) visit Balkendra’s website:
http://balkendra.free.fr