In countries like Nepal, the situation for mentally handicapped children is especially difficult. Often they are living in remote villages with no one to help them or support their parents. Often the families are poor or broken and the parents struggle to make ends meet. In studying the situation of mentally handicapped children in Nepal and the services available them, our organization found miserable conditions. They are a neglected and abandoned group without any rights. Many local and foreign organizations are setting up projects for people with needs but hardly any of them advocate for children with mental disability. Thus our project was born: we decided to start a project by ourselves, helping at least a few of these children.

“Maitri Grihaˮ is run under the management of Buddha Jyoti Social Service Home Nepal. It is a non-profit organization, which has been working in the sector of social service for more than 15 years. It is a government-registered organization and works in co-operation with the Social Welfare Council.

Our main aims for this project are:

• To provide an atmosphere of love, acceptance and personal care.
• To empower the handicapped people‘s potential to grow, to help them achieve personal independence and to live with respect and dignity.
• To give counseling, guidance, emotional and social support to the parents and familymembers.
• To promote service for mentally handicapped people in general.
• To rehabilitate mentally handicapped people in the community.