It was both our first time to fly to Nepal and we do not know anybody from there.  Pres and I just recently connected with one amazing woman with a heart of gold who takes care of people in prisons across Nepal including their families.

Pres and I are very fortunate to have had this rare chance to finally meet Indira Ranamagar in person and to spend an entire day with the children under the care of Prisoners Assistance Nepal!

Indira grew up in extreme poverty in rural Nepal and had to fight to be able to attend school.  It is commonplace for Nepalese families to send their sons to schools and just have their daughters take care of the family home and help out with the chores.

Though she first began working with prisoners as early as 1990 along with human rights activist Parijat, Indira officially founded Prisoners Assistance Nepal (PA Nepal) in 2000, a non-profit organisation providing basic needs of prisoners and their families that has rescued over a thousand children from cramped and dirty prisons with less than basic facilities.

Over half of Nepal’s population lives below the poverty line and women do not have the right to education.  Most these uneducated women get married off at a very young age and with no education, they are often used as tools for drug trafficking.  When they get arrested, their children are forced to stay with their mothers in jail.

Pres and I decided to pay Indira and these children a visit and spend some time with them.  Thankfully, Indira had one Saturday off and she toured us to 3 of the homes under the care of PA Nepal.

 

“All I ever wanted was to reach out and touch another human being not just with my hands but with my heart.” ― Tahereh Mafi