Summary: Bina Basnet was only five when she arrived to SETU Nepal with her mother. Her father was from India and denied looking after them after Bina was born. As Bina’s mother eloped and married her husband when she was just 17, she could not return to her family. At Kathmandu they tested Bina and found out that she was infected with HIV like her mother. Bina’s mother was in dilemma as she could not return to her family and did not own any property as well. Bina Basnet, a 12 year old girl, was admitted to a centre that treats children with HIV in 2008 when she was 2 years old. She is originally from a small, rural village in eastern Nepal, around 350km from Kathmandu. Bina has been infected with HIV virus from birth as her mother Balkumari is also a carrier.
When Bina’s mother was 10, her parents sent her to another home to work as a servant. When Balkumari turned 17, she met a man from India who frequently visited Nepal. They got married without the consent of their parents. 4 years later, she gave birth to Bina. Bina’s father has been estranged from the family for 5 years, and they do not expect to see him again.
Bina’s life has been tumultuous over the past 5 years. As the organization only offers temporary support, every child gets discharged from the centre once their health status becomes stable. So Bina was discharged from there and referred to SETU Nepal for her shelter as Bina and her mother had no place to return back after the treatment.
In spite of Bina’s recovery, she and her mother Bulkamari have faced significant health challenges each time she got discharged from the centre and now they are in the shelter of SETU Nepal, However, she faces several obstacles: they have no family support, as Bina’s father is no longer in contact with the family, and her grandparents are unavailable. The rural community are reluctant to help them, due to the stigma attached to HIV carriers.
Now, Bina is studying in grade 6 in a reputed Private school and she is working hard to compete with her classmates. As SETU Nepal is not able to afford for her overall nurturing that she deserves, we appeal for the financial support for her entire nurturing (education,food, health and other). However. we are very grateful with the organization"The Small World" who had support partially (10%) (http://www.setunepal.org/sponsor-a-child/) for Bina's education for last two academic year 2016-2017 and 2017-18.
SETU Nepal welcomes the kind heart and helping hand to encourage her to do better for her future. Your any kind of support will be highly appreciated.