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Thousands of carol singers will again be out and about shortly after Christmas. According to the Epiphany Campaign (DKA), the donations collected this year will particularly benefit child protection and the education of young people in Nepal, the focus country.
DKA’s partner organizations, Yuwalaya and Opportunity Village Nepal (OVN), are fighting poverty, exploitation, and human trafficking with local projects. Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. Almost half of the population lives in poverty. “A lack of jobs and low wages keep many people trapped in a spiral of poverty,” explained DKA in a press release.
Malnutrition, a lack of medical care, inadequate drinking water supplies, and a lack of sanitary facilities are putting people’s health at risk. In addition, the climate crisis has worsened the food supply. Children and young people, in particular, are affected by poverty, exploitation, and human trafficking. DKA reports that there is often not enough money to send them to school, and minors are forced to work in hotels, on construction sites, or in brick production, where they are exposed to exploitation and violence.
Strengthening children’s rights
In the cities, criminal gangs lure children into dance bars and massage parlors with false promises, where they are sexually and economically exploited. They often fall victim to human trafficking and are taken abroad. The consequences are often severe trauma and illness.
The organizations Yuwalaya and Opportunity Village Nepal, supported by DKA, work locally to protect the rights of children and young people. Yuwalaya works closely with schools in the Kathmandu Valley to make them safe places for children. Teachers are trained in children’s rights and can learn to advocate for them in so-called Child Clubs.
Local campaigns draw attention to the right to education, adequate nutrition, and medical care. 21-year-old Karuna K.C. got married at the age of 17 and worked in a restaurant as a dishwasher, where she was repeatedly harassed by men, as she told ORF in an interview. Opportunity Village Nepal helped her open her own vegetable business and thus also supported her disabled father.
Victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation
Opportunity Village Nepal focuses on supporting girls and young women who have fallen victim to human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Prostitution is prohibited by law in Nepal and is seen as an act of human trafficking.
Nevertheless, working in restaurants, massage parlors and dance bars is accepted and largely tolerated by the police. In dance bars, young women have to entertain the guests and dance on stage, which often leads to harassment.
In the dance bars, the young women have to face harassment.
Social workers offer them psychological and medical care to help them deal with the trauma they have suffered. They also receive vocational training and start-up capital to build up their own livelihoods through crafts or other activities.
Support for around 50 poverty-stricken regions worldwide
In Austria, around 85,000 carol singers are out and about in almost 3,000 parishes. At the turn of 2023/24, 19.5 million euros were collected for people in need. Since 1954, children and young people have raised 540 million euros in donations.
DKA works with partner organizations, church institutions, and NGOs to strengthen children’s and young people’s rights and secure food supplies and a sustainable economy. The aid organization of the Katholische Jungschar supports around 50 poverty-stricken regions worldwide.
- source: orf.at/picture: sternsingen.at
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