On 21 December 2020, Advocacy Forum Nepal visited Child Correction Home (CCH), Bhaktapur and handed over sports materials worth fifty thousand rupees to the management committee of the Correction Home. Handing over the sports materials, Om Prakash Sen Thakuri, Director of AF said that the main objective of distributing sports materials to the children kept in Correction Home is stengthen their psycial and metal well being. As the children are kept away from their parents and parents can’t visit them due to COVID-19, there are chances of mental harms like feeling loneliness, anxiety, feeling of exclusion, fear of COVID-19, detachment etc. on them. So, sports can make them engaged, active and keep them physically fit and mentally alert.
Receiving the sports materials Bipin Acharya, Executive Director of CCH, Bhaktapur thanked to AF for providng important supports to the children kept in the correction home. He remembered how the COVID-19 response materials provided by AF, helped to keep the children safe from COVID-19 infection. He said that the sports helps not only for physical development but also balances mental health and reduces stress. Sports helps to maintain discipline on children. He further said that in some petty crime cases, the court asks for nominal bail amount but the children can not deposite it and are sent to CCH. But in some cases, the court withdraws its decision of asking for bail amount but the concerned child is not aware about it and are kept in CCH for a long time. In this condition AF lawyers can bridge the gap. He requested AF to provide legal education to the children kept in CCH.
AF has been providing free legal aid to the children kept in Correction homes all over the country. The program was supported by DKA Austria.
