Photo - Kala who received support from Toybox thanks to donations from the Radio 4 appeal
Thanks to your kindness, over the next twelve months Toybox will be able to register hundreds of children. Children like 13-year old Kala - whose story we first shared in our appeal".
Toybox would like to say a heartfelt thank you to all the Radio 4 listeners who gave so generously to our appeal from the Reverend Richard Coles. Your amazing donations helped to raise a total of £59,330 – and have enabled us to begin our life-changing work in Nepal to register children on the streets with their birth certificates.
After her mother left Nepal in search of work, Kala was left in the care of her grandmother however this wasn’t a safe place for her. Here, she was physically abused by her grandmother and sexually abused by a male lodger staying in the family home. Fleeing this violent, Kala was eventually found and taken in by a neighbour who discovered her sleeping in an abandoned car.
Whilst living with this neighbour, Kala was supported by Toybox’s local partner who were able to help her to go back to school. However, she soon had another obstacle to overcome when she faced not being able to progress to secondary school because she was not registered.
As you may remember from our appeal, the outreach team in Nepal were working tirelessly alongside the local government to try and locate Kala’s mother so she could provide the necessary paperwork for Kala to be registered, however this proved to be a long and difficult process.
Now, we are delighted to share with you that the outreach team persevered and were able to find Kala’s mother who soon returned to Nepal to support her daughter through the registration process. Now, not only is Kala registered and has her birth certificate, she is living with her mother again where she is safe and cared for and the outreach team are continuing to support her with counselling and school supplies.
Despite everything that has happened to her, Kala is determined and excited to be going back to school and has big dreams for the future. She says, “I am so happy my mother is back with me and that we can be together. I love school and want to be a teacher one day!”
Along with the Reverend Richard Coles who made the appeal on behalf of Toybox, we would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who generously gave. Thanks to you, Kala, and hundreds more children like her, can look forward to a brighter and more hopeful future where they officially exist, are protected, and can access vital services like healthcare and education.
Your support is invaluable to our work and our ability to reach and change the world for street children.
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