Hem

Twelve years of 14-year-old Hem’s life have been spent on the streets of Kathmandu. He’s never known his father, who left the family not long after he was born. Unable to keep the house after her husband left, Hem’s mother moved them onto the streets where she became reliant on alcohol to cope. Her alcoholism made her abusive and Hem can recount numerous times when she was physical towards him and his sister.

"Once, my mother pushed me from the stairs of a public waterspout, and I was badly hurt. I know she was probably drunk."

A few months ago, Hem’s mother passed away and he is now living with his elder sister, her husband and children. Despite everything, he misses his mother but is very happy to be with his sister. The family now live in a house with five other families after the police were given new powers to take anyone living on the streets into custody. A few weeks previous, they were removed from the tin shelter they had been living in and placed in the house where they are now. Although it’s different, Hem has no complaints – the families are all living harmoniously together.

“My sister took care of me ever since I was a small kid, so I love her more. I just wish my mother was still alive to be here too.” Hem

Education for a future away from the streets

Despite being on the street, Hem has managed to attend school and was in Year 6 before the pandemic. His favourite subjects are IT and science. "Why? Because it’s technology. I will be a mechanic or an engineer when I grow up. I want to make bikes, repair machines and motors."

Hem has already learned how to repair small machines by watching YouTube tutorials, but a lot of the time, there aren't the necessary scrap items for him to practise on most of the time. His hobby for fixing things has kept him busy since his school hasn’t yet reopened after Kathmandu’s second lockdown. His nieces have returned to classes, so it is now his duty is to take and pick them up from school each day. He is the “big brother” in the family and helps them each day with their homework. When his school reopens, he will move to live in a hostel closer to the school, where there are 40 other children who have been on the streets.

“I will miss my sister and this family very much when I go to the hostel, but it will be good for me.” Hem

Support through the pandemic

Just like Hem, his sister spent her childhood on the streets of Kathmandu too. When she was a teenager, she married a man who also lived on the street and the whole family remained street-connected for a long time. Today however, her husband works as a labourer on construction sites around the city which generally brings in enough money to support the family and provide them with food and shelter. As well as his labouring work, he also sometimes dives in the Bagmati River near the city’s crematorium to search gold, which is sometimes left on dead bodies by family member, before cremation.

But life isn't always easy. Hem has seen days where there was no food on the table. However, over the last couple of years, Hem and the family have been receiving support from one of Toybox’s partners in Nepal, CWIN.

"When we didn't have food to eat during lockdown, CWIN provided us with rations. Some of the people living in the same house also got medical support along with the emergency relief."

He and the other kids living in the house got winter clothes and blankets this winter. He is thankful that his sister didn’t have to worry too much about keeping him warm during the winter. Hem continues to be supported by CWIN and is looking forward to getting back to school so his future looks bright again.