Children’s Home
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“Every good home needs a solid foundation.” -Maggie Doyne
What does it take to build a home? Mud, bricks, cement, and stones. Love, sweat, trust, and perseverance. It takes all that and so much more. The Kopila Valley Children’s Home opened in 2007, built brick-by-brick by the people of Surkhet and with the help of friends around the world. And while Kopila Valley has grown a lot over the years, this home will always be where the heart is.
WHY WE BUILT THE KOPILA VALLEY CHILDREN’S HOME
When Maggie Doyne arrived in Surkhet, Nepal was just coming out of a long civil war. A conflict that forced many families from their homes – and left many children on the streets. Without enough food in their bellies or enough money to attend school. Many are forced to work hard labor, breaking and carrying stones or sifting through garbage, to earn the 25 cents that gets them from one day to the next. This is the harsh reality many still face, even years after the war. For the children of Kopila Valley, our home provides a different reality. One that is still filled with hardships, but also filled with comfort, compassion and community.
WE BELIEVE EVERY CHILD DESERVES A PLACE TO CALL HOME
WELCOME! PLEASE COME IN
The Kopila Valley Children’s Home is all that the word “home” implies: cozy, warm, bright, cheerful. We don’t use the word “orphanage” around Kopila. Like any other house and any other family, we are brothers and sisters, mother and children.
Kopila is currently home to over 40 beautiful, happy and thriving children. Our children range in age and are under the care and guardianship of Maggie, Kopila Valley and a loving team of aunties and uncles. Step inside:
- First story for the family room and boys' bedrooms, plus the kitchen and storage room.
- Second story for the playroom and girls' bedrooms.
- Third story for the satsang room, sick room, meditation room, and study room.
- Fourth floor for the young adults' flat.
- Smaller building nearby for our live-in aunties, uncles, and staff.
- Yard and a playground where the kids play all their favorite games.
- Year-round vegetable garden where we grow some of our food, plus fruit trees.
- Two dogs, Nova and Nacho.
We live communally. We love and respect each other. Our kids happily do chores, go to school, and help with meals. The family always sits together for homemade, nutritious meals. You can also find the children reading under the gazebo, flying kites on the roof, jumping rope, or playing cricket, marbles, or badminton. Every evening, just before tooth brushing and lights out, we gather for a “satsang” to sing songs, talk about our day, and have quiet time as a family.
WE BUILT THIS HOME TOGETHER
What started as a one-story structure has risen to four, as our family kept growing. Walking through the house, you can feel all the love that went into its making. Every brick, every stone, every window, every door. The colorful paint on the walls. The bouncing balls in the playground. The seeds in the garden.
Our home is a source of safety, sanctity, peace, and happiness. And unforgettable memories. This is where our family eats meals together. Where we sing together. Where we read books at bedtime and rest our heads at night. In so many ways, we built this home together – one story at a time.