The Nepal Farmhouse Project under EBW-UCLA is working to support and sustain the education of children at high risk of human trafficking and child marriage in Ramati, Nepal. We are building an industrial-sized chicken farm to provide the Freedom School with food sovereignty (for the students and community) and income for women operating the school.
Farmhouse
- Size: 1000 square feet
- Cost: ~ $35,000
- Location: Ramati, Nepal
- Basic Timeline: August 2023-December 2024
Freedom School aka Hasta Memorial School
- Services 125 kids and 30 parents in adult education programs
- Founded by survivor-activist and author Anjali Tamang and opened in Fall 2021
- Additional 25 girls in residential care, who are at particularly high risk
- Employs survivors and provides counseling to families, with a goal of changing the community mindset around trafficking
In 2019, the National Human Rights Commission estimated that 1.5 million Nepalis are vulnerable to human trafficking. Traffickers target young, uneducated individuals. The growing Freedom School opened in 2021 and services 125 kids and 30 parents in adult education programs to prevent trafficking, which is a norm in Ramati. The Freedom School founder, Anjali Tamang, grew up in the community and was sex-trafficked at the age of 12. Years later, she came back home with the dream of preventing this for future generations.
We are in the fundraising and preparation phase of our project and anticipate starting construction in Winter 2024. We hope to complete the project in the 2024-2025 school year. The UCLA Nepal team of over 20 students is excited to start this project. With the help of our partners, Her Future Coalition and Freedom and Hope Nepal, the UCLA chicken farm will ensure that, through stable income and food supply, the Freedom School can run forever.
