The Ama Ghar Approach
The Ama Ghar staff are trained to make decisions based on what is in the best interest of each child. We have a holistic approach that goes beyond providing basic care like health and education. Every child does extracurricular activities, goes on field trips, receives tutoring as needed, has the freedom to practice their religion, and learns essential life skills that will help them transition into adulthood.
Ama Ghar provides children with basic needs such as a nurturing home, nutritious food, and clothing for school and play.
All children receive regular health, eye, & dental check-ups as well as immunizations & any necessary specialized treatment.
Children receive group and individual counseling from an experienced clinician to help them process their past trauma. Ama Ghar’s 3 dogs help provide comfort too!
All children attend school through Class 12 plus further higher education and/or skills training based on individual performance and interests.
All children take part in chores and develop other hard and soft skills to prepare them for living independently in the future.
Ama Ghar raises children in their traditional Nepali culture. Children are also free to practice their own religion and worship how/if they choose.
Children have daily time for unstructured play as well as for various formal extra-curricular activities such as art, sports, and music.
Staff members take children on community field trips both locally in Kathmandu (such as movies, temples, & museums) and further afield (like Chitwan National Park).
Children have a multi-year transition out of Ama Ghar, gradually taking on more financial responsibility for living independently.
Ama Ghar encourages family ties for children who may still have biological family members and provides a family and home for those who don’t.
Ama Ghar teaches life skills
Our large open kitchen allows for a rotation of five kids per day who help with the cooking and cleaning that allows our house to function. In the morning, they put out the mats for mealtimes and stack dirty dishes. In the afternoon, they cut vegetables, do dishes, and clean lunch boxes. We have cooks on our staff, but the children all rotate throughout the kitchen so that they learn these essential skills.
The children also have basic chores, like making their own bed, and they rotate through other household chores including kitchen duty, daily sweeping in the study room, and tidying other spaces in the house. Each child also has a bank account and has opportunities to work for money so that they can learn how to budget and save.
We believe that all children deserve a real childhood that sets them up to be successful, independent adults and productive members of their communities, and we support the children at Ama Ghar through all stages from childhood into young adulthood.
Once our young adults are ready to leave the home, they move into our youth apartments in Patan to start their transition into the real world. Typically, Ama Ghar children will move into the youth apartment after Grade 12. Ama Ghar subsidizes their rent and gives each person an allowance to help them budget and learn how to live independently. They stay in the apartment throughout their advanced schooling or training, plus an additional 9 to 12 months to ease their transition into the real world. We currently have two youth apartments, one which houses 4 girls and one which houses 3 boys.
After arriving at Ama Ghar, new children undergo a medical exam, including a hand x-ray to verify age. They also are tested at home and at school to determine in which class they should be enrolled.
Children settle into the structure and flow of Ama Ghar: study, chores, play, extra curricular activities, outings, counseling, medical and dental care, etc.
Ama Ghar’s minimum goal is for each child to earn a Class 8 Certificate, followed by passing Class 10. Children enroll in Class 11 & 12 or further skills training based on past academic performance and interests. Children go to town for education/training past Class 10, giving them more freedom and responsibility.
Children leave residency at Ama Ghar and live in an Ama Ghar-subsidized Youth Apartment with their Ama Ghar brothers and sisters for their skills training and/or further education. They receive an allowance to help them budget and learn to live independently.
Upon completing skills training, a certificate course, and/or a bachelors degree, children enter into a transition period. Ama Ghar subsidizes their expenses for 6-12 months while they get a job and find a place to live on their own. During this transition period they still receive full coverage of medical expenses.
Ama Ghar monitors those who have completed the program for 5 years, per government requirements and as family members. Ama Ghar encourages all alumni to keep in touch, visit the home, and assist each other as they enter adulthood.