Nepal Orphans Home, Inc.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Nepal is a poor country. Many children are not properly provided for, which perpetuates generational cycles of poverty and hinders the development of the nation. Nepal ranked 146 out of 195 nations in the UNDPs 2022 Human Development Index. The mean years of education for the population over age 25 in Nepal is under five years. Nepal Orphans Home began in March of 2005 when a friend took Michael Hess, a carpenter from Florida, volunteering in Nepal, to an orphanage that needed help in Dhapasi, a village in the northern outskirts of Kathmandu district. He found a small, rundown house with two dozen destitute children. Malnourished, in poor health, and not attending school, the children were forced by the owners to beg on the streets. Michael assumed management of the home, renovated the building, and began Papas House to care for the children. Michael (Papa) and Nepal Orphans Home have since transformed the lives of hundreds of poor children in Nepal.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Papa's House
Harmony House, the first Papa's House, opened in 2005. Over the years, Papa's House grew providing for over 140 children in five Papa's Houses in 2014. With the aging of our children, progressing from elementary school to college preparatory classes to young adults leaving Papa's House for university or transitioning into independent living, by 2023 far fewer children were directly provided for by Papa's House.
Last year was pivotal in the transition of NOH, with new leadership of Papa's House NGO and the phasing out of childcare at Papa's House. In accordance with mandates of a new act passed by the National Child Rights Council (NCRC) of Nepal that children with parents or guardians capable of providing care should return to their families, Papa's House began phasing out childcare. At the beginning of 2024, there were ten young children living at Papa's House and attending Skylark School, an English-medium primary school, and an after-school academic enrichment program.
Chelsea Education and Community Center
In 2013 Nepal Orphans Home established the Chelsea Center to provide vocational and life skills training, with a primary mission of supporting the transition of our children to young adulthood and productive, fulfilling lives.
According to its new mission statement: The Chelsea Education and Community Center supports children in their development through academic enrichment programs and community based psychosocial child care. The Center also promotes the empowerment, personal growth, and social connection of local community women.
In the late afternoons after school, Sunday through Friday, the Chelsea Center holds classes in math and computer, as well as study halls with tutoring, for the Papa's House children and select other local school children. There are also career workshops and life skills training.
For adult literacy and female empowerment, the Chelsea Center offer free classes in Nepali, English, and math in the mornings to over hundred community women.
Nepal Orphans Home Outreach
As part of its mission, Nepal Orphans Home has long supported other local charities. With the earthquakes in 2015, Nepal Orphans Home set up the NOH Earthquake Relief Fund for both short term humanitarian assistance and longer run reconstruction and development. In 2020 and 2021, NOH also provided COVID-19 relief, mainly support for Papa's House children who had returned to their home villages during the lockdown and young adults living independently while in their university studies, as well as other local families in the community.
Much of our outreach is funded by designated donations from friends, former volunteers, and board members of Nepal Orphans Home. In 2023, NOH Outreach provided over $20,000 in charity assistance. Among those supported were a children's hospital in Kathmandu, homes for blind children and orphans from the earthquake, as well as the school tuition for dozens of local children from poor families outside of Papa's House.
Where we work
External reviews
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Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of Children Provided For
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Papa's House
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Decreasing
Context Notes
In 2023, thirteen children were provided for in Papa's House and nineteen adolescents were supported living independently while studying in college and university in Nepal.
Number of Children Educating
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Young adults
Related Program
Papa's House
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Decreasing
Context Notes
In 2023, thirteen Papa's House children were enrolled in an English-medium primary school; seven and fifteen Papa's House young adults were in college preparatory study and university respectively.
Amount of Outreach
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Nepal Orphans Home Outreach
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Decreasing
Context Notes
In 2023, NOH Outreach provided over $20,000 in assistance to other non-profits organizations, including Kanti Children's Hospital and Goldhunga Blind Children's Home, and families in need in Nepal.
Number of community women in adult education
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Women and girls
Related Program
Chelsea Education and Community Center
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Decreasing
Context Notes
The Chelsea Center was open weekly, Sunday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., for adult education. Over a hundred local women regularly attend the free classes in English, Nepali, and math.
Children in Academic Enrichment Programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Chelsea Education and Community Center
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Decreasing
Context Notes
Papa's House children and select local community children in primary school attended the Chelsea Center after school, for academic enrichment, including math and computer classes.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Nepal Orphans Home (NOH) attends to the total welfare of children in Nepal who are orphaned, abandoned, or not supported by their parents. Papas House provides for the children's basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing, as well as schooling and health care, and administers to their emotional needs with love and compassion. Papa's House allows children to grow up in a nurturing environment. The mission of Nepal Orphans Home is not just to rescue children from abject poverty, but to enable the children to develop and realize their potentials.
When children arrived at Papas House, NOH committed to providing for their shelter, clothing, nutrition, education and health care until they reach adulthood and are ready to live independently in Nepali society.
NOH funds and advises Papa's House NGO, the operations in Nepal. There are three divisions: Papa's House, Chelsea Education and Community Center, and NOH Outreach.
In 2024, Nepal Orphans Home (NOH) begins its twentieth year, providing for young children living with Papas House, supporting adolescents living in transition housing while attending college preparatory classes, and funding the higher education of young adults living independently and studying in university. The Chelsea Education and Community Center (CECC) enters its twelfth year of academic enrichment and life skills training for the Papas House children and its tenth year of free literacy classes to over a hundred local women in Dhapasi, a community outside Kathmandu. NOH Outreach continues providing assistance throughout Nepal, including to the Goldhunga Blind Childrens Home and Kanti Childrens Hospital.
Last year NOH was able to provide:
-- primary education at Skylark School, an English-medium private school, for our thirteen young children from Papas House and support for more than twenty local children from poor families to attend Skylark and other primary schools in the Kathmandu Valley
-- college preparatory education for our ten adolescents in grades 11-12.
-- academic enrichment classes in math, science, and computer, as well as life skills training for Papas House children and adolescents at the Chelsea Center
-- after-school basic English and computer classes at the Chelsea Center for students in grades 6-8 from the local Dhapasi School
-- university education for young adults from Papas House: fifteen studying in Nepal and thirteen others studying in Australia, Germany, Finland, Canada, Japan, England and the United States
-- free literacy classes in Nepali, English, and mathematics and workshops at the Chelsea Center for more than a hundred local community women
-- initiation of a Chelsea Center International Child Development Program for the community women, a psychological care initiative to foster the holistic development of children
-- assistance through NOH Outreach to Kanti Childrens Hospital and Goldhunga Blind Childrens Home.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
To monitor the progress of the children, detailed files are kept, consisting of guardianship information from their villages and how the children came to Papa's House, school and health records, the vocational training and life skills workshops completed, as well as anecdotal information.
Papa's House children are encouraged and supported to continue their schooling for as long as they are willing and able. In Nepal, upon completing grade 10, students take a Secondary Education Examination, and upon passing, they may enroll in college preparatory classes, known as Plus 2 (grades 11-12). After successfully finishing Plus 2, young adults may advance to university.
According to the NOH Continuing Education and Transitional Support Policy, Papa's House young adults can expect support for the tuition and fees for their college and university studies, subject to satisfactory performance. Those not on a university track can receive support for vocational training and internships. Those choosing to work abroad with a secure job are supported with their international travel fees and initial living expenses.
The Chelsea Education and Community Center (CECC) supports Papa's House children and young adults in their transition to adulthood, empowering each individual to create and lead a uniquely meaningful and productive life.
Life Skills Training is an important part of effectively preparing our children for their lives after Papa's House. Workshops at the Chelsea Center for Papa's House children and young adults range in topics from information technology to sex education, mindfulness, health care and personal fitness. The workshops are led by CECC staff, volunteers, local professionals, and members of the Nepal Orphans Home board.
Instead of attending university or vocational training programs, some young adults may feel ready to leave Papa's House, live independently and seek employment in Nepal. These young adults must first consult with the Director of Operations with a rationale for their plans. They will need to establish a bank account and NOH will provide a one-time payment of Rs. 240,000 (approximately $1,800) for their transition, which might also be used for apprenticeships or to start their own businesses.
In 2022 seventeen young adults from Papa's House, who had completed Plus 2 and were then in their early twenties, decided not to pursue university and took advantage of NOH final stipends for their independent living. In 2023, another eight young adults received their final support.
The Chelsea Center also promotes the empowerment, personal growth, and social connection of local Dhapasi women. In the CECCs International Child Development Program (ICDP), participants learn about the importance of the care which needs to be given to children, helping them understand the children's perspectives, rights, and choices.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Nepal Orphans Home has good management of its operations in Nepal and dedicated boards of directors and advisors in the United States. Nepal Orphans home also has many loyal supporters across the world.
The Director of Operations of Papa's House NGO, Sushmita Thapa, is a bright, diligent, and organized young woman. She has earned a masters in gender studies and a master's in psychology. Before coming to Papa's House NGO in 2023, Sushmita was serving as a senior counselor with TPO Nepal, one of Nepal's leading psychosocial organizations. She has spent many years working with children and women's issues.
Jesika Maharjan is the Assistant Director of Operations. Sushmita had earlier worked with Jesika at CAP Nepal, a non-profit based in Kathmandu with a mission to emancipate women and girls from gender-based violence and discrimination. Jesika has a bachelor's degree in development studies and a master's degree in gender studies.
Papa's House NGO employees are committed to their work. At the beginning of 2024, there were twenty employees at Papa's House NGO, including the Director and Assistant Directors of Operations. Nearly half of the staff are former Papa's House children, including four who are instructors at the Chelsea Center, while also attending college or university; two assistants with NOH Outreach to Kanti Childrens Hospital; the Papas House bookkeeper; and a staff member at Hope's Cafe.
All the bank transactions of Papa's House NGO are administered and reconciled by the Director of Operations every month and the bank records are sent to the Finance Committee of Nepal Orphans Home. All the bills are collected and are submitted to the Papa's House NGO bookkeeper on a weekly basis for maintaining the accounting records.
The Director of Operations maintains a daily log of transactions. The Papa's House NGO bookkeeper enters all The Director of Operations maintains a daily log of transactions. The bookkeeper enters all expenses in vouchers and ledgers, which are also sent to Nepal Orphans Home Finance Committee monthly.
The Papa's House NGO board of directors in Nepal supports and guides the organization. The board gives the authority to the Director of Operations to make decisions for children and the staff, and for the renewal of Papa's House NGO in the government offices. The board members are updated with all the activities of Papa's House, the Chelsea Center, and NOH Outreach when board meetings are held.
Michael Hess, Papa, who had been the onsite Director of Operations from the founding of NOH until 2017, has retired to North Carolina. He is still involved in strategic planning, fundraising efforts, and advising the NOH Board of Directors and Sushmita Thapa.
Over the year, the NOH board is informed about operations of Papas House NGO, receiving regular reports from Director of Operations. The NOH boards Strategic Planning Committee works with the Director of Operations and Founder in planning and setting policy.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Early in 2008 NOH began collaboration with Society Welfare Action Nepal (SWAN), a Nepali nongovernmental organization operating in the Dang district to rescue Kamlari girls from their indentured servitudes. NOH renovated two buildings in Narti and opened the Lawajuni (New Beginning) Home, providing shelter, food, clothing, and health care for girls freed by SWAN. During the year more than sixty girls who had been sold into servitude came to the Lawajuni Home, gaining their freedom, recovering their childhoods and attending school. NOH was able to bring twelve of these girls to Dhapasi, raising the number of children provided for in Papas Harmony and Sanctuary Houses to seventy.
In early 2009, NOH brought another twenty-six rescued Kamlari girls from Lawajuni to Papas House, opening up a third home, Papa's Imagine House. Our boys were relocated to a newly expanded and renovated home on the same grounds, becoming Papa's Possibilities House. Later in the same year, twenty-eight more girls came from Lawajuni to live in a fifth home, Papa's Rainbow House. Over the next few years, the number of children in Papa's Houses rose to over one hundred and forty.
In 2013 the Chelsea Education Center opened, providing vocational training classes for the older children of Papa's House. In 2014 NOH opened a transition house for our college girls allowing them to begin living independently as young adults.
A devastating earthquake outside the Kathmandu Valley shook the nation on April 25, 2015 with the loss of thousands of lives and extensive damage. NOH quickly set up an earthquake relief fund and as donations from friends around the world poured in, NOH began rendering assistance. Volunteer Nepal sent out staff to villages where we had placements to provide cash for food, as well as supplies (tents, tarps, and blankets).
In the summer of 2015, the Chelsea Center began offering adult literacy classes to local women in the community of Dhapasi, becoming the Chelsea Education and Community Center (CECC). Nepal Orphans Home purchased property for Papa's Possibilities House. In the fall of 2015, Nepal Orphans Home received a grant for constructing the Chelsea Education and Community Center on the grounds of Papa's Possibilities House. The new Chelsea Center campus was dedicated in April 2017.
In the spring of 2019, the NOH Board of Directors approved a transition plan whereby Nepal Orphans Home would evolve to a public charity with the primary purpose of advising and funding Papa's House NGO in Nepal (which includes Papa's Houses, the Chelsea Education and Community Center, and NOH Outreach). This would allow Papa's House NGO to operate more independently and efficiently in Nepal.
In 2023, Papa's House began phasing out child care, according to the mandates of a new act passed by the National Child Rights Council of Nepal. In the future the Chelsea Center will be the main operations.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Nepal Orphans Home, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 03/27/2024
Peter Hess
Professor of Economics Emeritus, Davidson College
Term: 2006 -
Peter Hess
Retired Professor of Economics, Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina
Carola Drosdeck
Retired Elementary Teacher, Interlochen, Michigan
Ted Seymour
Photographer, Northern California
Anne McCadden
Homemaker, Marin County, California
Laura Handy-Nimick
Teacher, Lake Tapps, Washington
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes