Our History

Our founder, Shrawan Nepali, brought the original 14 children to our first Ama Ghar rental home in 2001. Since then, Ama Ghar has grown to a family of 52 children and 13 staff members living in their own beautiful home. In addition, 53 have completed their upbringing at Ama Ghar and have accomplished Shrawan’s dream for them: a productive, independent life. In total, over 100 children have been or currently are enrolled in the Ama Ghar program.

Ama with Shrawan and his daughter Soniya.

Shrawan spent part of his childhood at Paropokar orphanage in Kathmandu. With the support of his godmother, Ama Tika Basnett, and Peace Corps volunteers, he completed his college degree and established a successful career in the USA.

Influenced by his childhood experiences, he always wanted to give back to Nepali children, so in 2001, he established The Ama Foundation, a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and Ama Ghar, a Nepali NGO in Kathmandu. At that time, excellent Boards were created for each of those entities, and both boards continue to manage today and into the future.

large group of kids at Ama Ghar — The original group of kids at Ama Ghar

bonnie and santosh — Bonnie with Ama Ghar alum, Santosh on his graduation day in July 2025.

At that time, Shrawan met Bonnie Ellison, who had grown up in Nepal as part of a USAID family. He shared with her his concept of Ama Ghar and they agreed that she should be part of it. As she was intending to return to Nepal, she left her life in the US and arrived at Ama Ghar in February 2002. She has been working with the children and staff voluntarily in various management positions ever since, and the entire Ellison family has been supportive from the beginning.

In Nepali, the name Ama Ghar means “Motherly Home”, which is appropriate as it has become a forever home for over 100 children. The name Ama Ghar was also chosen to honor Ama Tika Basnett, Shrawan’s godmother, who was one of the first Nepalis to work for USAID in Kathmandu. In addition to mentoring Shrawan, she was his co-founder at Ama Ghar. She lived in the home and cared for countless children until her passing in 2010. There would be no Ama Ghar today without her guidance of love and care for the children.

Ama Ghar staff — Staff members who have been with Ama Ghar for over 20 years