Thirty years ago Visma Raj Paudel was born in a small village near Chitwan National Park in Nepal. One day, when Visma was 10 years old, he and some friends were playing in a nearby river when Visma was suddenly swept away by the current. He might have drowned if a courageous stranger had not rescued him, carrying him to the safety of the river bank.

For Visma, this near death experience was life-changing. The little boy without a care in the world was replaced by one with a sense of purpose who was inspired to use his gift of a second chance at life to improve the lives of others. This sense of purpose has stayed with him since.
When Visma was 20 years old, he was given the opportunity to work for a non-profit organization in Pokhara that was dedicated to the welfare of Nepali children. The seven years he spent with this organization again impacted him profoundly for it was there that he began to truly devote his life and career to helping those less fortunate. For several years Visma dreamed of establishing a new orphanage that could provide even more needy children with a home, healthcare, and an education. So many children in the nation had lost their parents due to floods, landslides, disease, and drugs, as well as from the increasingly violent conflict between the Maoist insurgents and the government of Nepal.

In 2003 Visma’s dream was realized, with the help of many friends, with the establishment of Namaste Children’s House in Pokhara, Nepal. Namaste Children’s House is legally registered in Kaski-Nepal and is affiliated with the Social Welfare Council in Kathmandu. The organization is dedicated to providing a loving home, proper nutrition and healthcare, and a good education to the poor, needy, abandoned, and orphaned children of Nepal.

Over 92 children are living in our two rented homes called Namaste Children's House and Onni Children’s House, located in Lakeside and Damside, Pokhara, respectively.

Another one hundred twenty-five children are supported by an education scholarship program. Also there is a program to empower single and desperate women, micro credit also started very recently to support some poor Nepalese families to establish small business for their future sustainability (Click here to learn more)

From the moment we registered we began searching for children and a suitable home to house them and the organization. We put together an incredible staff and within three months we had leased and furnished a large house which can accommodate beds for 65 children and also rented the adjacent playing ground. We hired and trained staff and proceeded to set up our office.

Namaste Children’s House is a home based on the idea that quality of care should be the most important goal. This means that we strive to provide high quality care to our children while slowly expanding the number of children we provide support for through our other non-residential programs. We hope to  support more single desperate women under our existing  Women Handicraft Center and more poor Nepalese people under Micro Credit (Click here to learn more) . We have a concrete plan for the future and are excited to enlist supporters and volunteers of all types. Between our big-hearted staff, caring volunteers, and generous supporters, we believe that Namaste Children’s House will be able to continue to grow and move forward.