Kathmandu, June 19:

The Central Child Welfare Board is preparing to reintegrate 20 boys it rescued from Manav Adhikar Tatha Bal Adhikar Abhiyan Kendra Nepal, a shelter home in Thankot, to their families in Humla, Kailali and Surkhet.

The Child Home Monitoring Committee on May 30 rescued 22 boys from the shelter run by Dal Bahadur Phadera. Only two of them were orphans.

Five of the rescued children were malnourished and have been sent to the Nutritional Rehabilitation Home, while the 17 others are being lodged at a transit home belonging to Child Workers Concerned Centre in Nepal.

Of the rescued, 19 are from various VDC of Humla, two from Kailai and one from Surkhet.

“Along with the reintegration, the status of the children’s families would be identified in coordination with the local authorities in Humla. The community would be sensitised regarding children’s issues and preventive programmes will be introduced to check outflow of children from the region,” said Shiva Poudel, acting executive director of Central Child Welfare Board (CCWB).

Despite having their parents alive, children from far-western regions are found in more than 90 per cent orphan shelters in Kathmandu.

It is estimated that there are more than 1,500 children from the far western region living in various shelters in Kathmandu.