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ChoraChori Child Trauma Management Centre, Nepal
Mandala Trust supported the ChoraChori trauma management centre, providing psychosocial care and skills training to Nepali children rescued from sex work and other abusive situations. Our grant is being used to furnish bedrooms, office, art therapy room and sensory room.
ChoraChori rescues Nepali children from abusive situations in Nepal and India, and aims to manage their trauma and reintegrate them with their families and communities. When this isn’t possible, the charity provides for the children’s care, education and training until they can look after themselves as young adults. The charity also works to bring child abusers to justice.
Mental health issues are heavily stigmatised in Nepal. With very few child psychiatrists in the country, there is a massive need for additional support. Against this backdrop, in 2016, ChoraChori set up the first residential child trauma management centre in Nepal, on the edge of the Kathmandu valley. Mandala Trust contributed to this centre by providing the funding to furnish and equip bedrooms, an office, an art therapy room and a sensory room, as well as to provide a security camera.
At the Child Trauma Management Centre, staff counsellors are supported by specialists from around the world to provide a range of therapies for child sexual abuse survivors. It is a daunting challenge as they are supporting children who lack the vocabulary to describe what has happened to them. Part of the centre’s approach is for girls who might be lured by traffickers to find out firsthand what it was like from girls who have survived having been trafficked, as peer-group exchanges are more likely to be believed.
Art and craft therapy is also provided. In the centre’s first year, British fashion and design graduates volunteered to teach a group of girls screenprinting, feltwork and basic tailoring skills. They produced goods that were sold at Christmas fairs in the UK.
Additionally, a Dutch volunteer with a degree in product design taught the girls how to work with recycled materials, including techniques for making carrier bags out of sacks that had been used for rice, corn and lentils. Sales of these products in Europe have already raised further funds for the centre, helping towards its longer-term sustainability.
