Kathmandu, Sept 13 : Of the total 3,658 children gone missing during last fiscal year 2020/21, three thousand and nine were reunited with their families, according to the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizen.    

The government, in coordination with the National Centre for Children at Risk (104), searched the missing ones and reunited them with their families or close kins, said spokesperson at the Ministry Umesh Dhungana.    

Also, 297 stranded children, 355 street children and 58 children involved in risky and hazardous work were also rescued and rehabilitated during the same period, informed spokesperson Dhungana. 

   
Among the missing ones and those not found must have gone to India which makes it hard for the concerned officials for search and rescue, according to the Ministry.    

The National Child Rights Council continues search, rescue and rehabilitation of the missing children and stranded ones. Those rescued ones above 13 years are being sheltered at Shuvar Recovery, Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre and those below 13 were being housed at Bal Awaj, an organization in Lalitpur, said the Ministry.    

Concerned authorities try and find the families of the rescued children while the children whose families could not be ascertained were sheltered in designated shelters. They are enrolled in the school and are completely taken care of by the government’s agencies.    

As of mid-July this year, altogether 1,788 stranded, missing children (1,536 boys and 252 girls) have been rescued and rehabilitated since the campaign ‘Street Children-Free Nepal’ initiated in 2016, the Ministry said.    

Likewise, 868 children were reunited with their families, 214 were sent for vocational and skill-based training and 59 have already entered the job market upon completing their training, shared the Ministry.    

Similarly, families of those 50 children whose families were not found have been patronage by the concerned agencies.    
Council’s executive director Milan Dharel said that 188 rescued children completed 18 years and were living off themselves.    

The government has claimed that it provided COVID-19 awareness information to over 260,000 population. Likewise, it held interaction on role of local levels and preparedness for saving and protecting children from the infection. Six hundred twelve people of 542 local levels of all seven provinces participated in the interaction.    

The Ministry has communicated to all 753 local levels to save children from the deadly virus. One hundred eighty COVID-19 crisis volunteer groups to help children of 60 districts have been mobilised and necessary minimum medical equipment have been supplied to 28 temporary protection service centres.    

Assistance has been made available to set up a 10-bed child friendly quarantine facility in the premises of the Nepal Children's Organisation.    
Monitoring, coordination and facilitation of 11,332 children at 457 children's homes across the country has been done.