Woman Fights to Get Kids Out of Jail in Nepal

They sometimes go to prison with impoverished parents
By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 17, 2012 8:23 AM CDT
Woman Fights to Get Kids Out of Jail in Nepal
A file photo of a child in Nepal.   (Shutterstock)

Nepal's extreme poverty rate leads to an unusual prison situation: Kids sometimes go to jail with their incarcerated parents because there's no alternative—it's that or the streets. CNN profiles a 28-year-old woman who has made it her life's mission to get these kids out of jail. Pushpa Basnet spearheads a group that has helped more than 100 imprisoned kids since 2005. She manages both a daycare program and a residential home, providing education, medical care, and a sense of normalcy.

"It's not fair for [these] children to live in the prison because they haven't done anything wrong," says Basnet. All of the children in her program received consent from the jailed parent, and most reunite with the parent once the jail term is over. "It's amazing, I never get tired," she says. "The smiles of my children keep me motivated." Click here for the full story and photos. (More Pushpa Basnet stories.)

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