{"id":4960,"date":"2026-09-22T06:43:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T06:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=4960"},"modified":"2026-09-22T06:43:01","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T06:43:01","slug":"orphaned-by-floods-more-than-500-nepali-children-face-uncertain-future-floods-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=4960","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Orphaned\u2019 by floods, more than 500 Nepali children face uncertain future | Floods News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dhading; Rasuwa; Nuwakot, Nepal<\/strong> \u2013 As nine-year-old Ram Thakur walked uphill with his mother and dozens of others fleeing floodwaters on August 26, he looked back and saw brown water surging up.<\/p>\n

So they started running. His mother, who had been holding his hand until then, helped him climb faster. Then, as the sounds of the swirling water mingled with the shouts of those around them, she yelled to her son: \u201cChhito maathi hinda, pachhaadi na-hera,\u201d Nepali for \u201cClimb up faster, don\u2019t look behind.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what Thakur did, climbing higher and higher, until he finally looked back. The water was still gurgling close by, but his mother wasn\u2019t there any more.<\/p>\n

Nearly four weeks later, Thakur is still waiting \u2013 hoping against hope \u2013 for his mother and father. He is currently living in a government primary school turned temporary shelter house in Nuwakot district in Nepal, with 26 other children.<\/p>\n

They are among more than 500 children living in different temporary shelter homes across Nepal\u2019s flood-affected districts, their parents either dead or missing. Under Nepali law, a person must be missing for 12 years before they can be declared dead. The law offers an exemption from this rule during disasters, but for that, relatives need to apply to a district court for what is known as a judicial declaration of death.<\/p>\n

So for now, Thakur and the other children live in limbo. Legally, they\u2019re not yet orphans. But in practice, they are without their parents \u2013 and have been since the floods that killed more than 1,400 people and left at least 5,000 others missing.<\/p>\n

\"A
A toy truck, one of many playthings provided by nonprofits for children at Nepal\u2019s shelters who are without their parents [Jigyasa Mishra\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018They should have come by now\u2019<\/h2>\n

The morning of August 26 began like any other school day for Thakur. He was on his way to school with his mother about 8am when the disaster struck. Thakur\u2019s father, who worked as a guide and driver, was at home: His work began at 10am.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, they heard people shouting: \u201cDaudanu, baadhi\u201d (\u201cRun, flood!\u201d)<\/p>\n

They walked, climbed and ran until Thakur was separated from his mother. Then, he was stuck on a hill for a day with 13 other people until an army helicopter came to rescue them. \u201cI was so scared and hungry. I thought I will also die,\u201d he said. \u201cMy school bag, which had biscuits and a lunchbox, was also gone [in the flood].\u201d<\/p>\n

As he sat eating dal, rice and saag \u2013 their lunch for the day \u2013 with the 26 other children at his shelter, Thakur explained that he\u2019s confused about why his parents haven\u2019t turned up to find him yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cMummy and papa knew how to swim so they should have come by now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A counsellor present with him said Thakur still runs into the open whenever he hears a helicopter hovering nearby, hoping his parents have been rescued.<\/p>\n

A post-flood assessment this month by Nepal\u2019s National Child Rights Council and the nonprofit Save the Children found that more than 1,000 children were living in temporary shelters, including more than 100 who were unaccompanied by any relatives and 439 who were without their parents but had other relatives with them, Ayush Joshi, programme director for Save the Children in Nepal, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

In all, more than 32,000 children were displaced by the floods, and officials and nonprofits are working to trace and reunite them with their families, said Leon Muwoni, in charge of child protection at UNICEF Nepal.<\/p>\n

So far, 18 children have been reunited with their parents, Muwoni told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

\"Bedding,
Bedding, relief materials and packaged food are kept inside a child-friendly shelter tent in Nuwakot [Jigyasa Mishra\/Al Jazeera]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018She does not speak to anyone\u2019<\/h2>\n

The shelter where Thakur is currently living has eight rooms. Six of them have been set up by local nonprofits, with waterproof mats, bedding and soft toys. Workers are building bunk beds for the children. A seventh room serves as a store for rations, and the eighth as the kitchen. Most of the staff on duty are Nepal police personnel, while the rest are representatives of nonprofits. One counsellor is with them, too. All are women.<\/p>\n

Some 100km (60 miles) away at another children\u2019s shelter in Dhading, four-year-old Shibani Tama does not speak any more. Both her parents are confirmed dead.<\/p>\n

Caregivers at the shelter say she barely remembers the neighbourhood she lived in or her relatives, none of whom have come for her so far. All Shibani has told the rescue team and the counsellors is that she was at school when teachers made her rush uphill with other students.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe does not speak to anyone. Doesn\u2019t let anyone comb her hair, too. Barely lets us change her clothes in two to three days after insisting,\u201d said Yamuna Bhattarai, a caregiver at the shelter. \u201cIt is very disturbing to see her and others who are in extreme shock. All of them are in dire need of psychosocial help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Corn
Corn sprouts from a mud-covered storage place, alongside a toy doll in Devighat, Nuwakot district, Nepal, September 9, 2026 [Tyrone Siu\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018Only ones for each other now\u2019<\/h2>\n

Many children who have lost both parents have never known how to wash their hair, change their clothes or feed themselves. Others have become responsible for younger siblings while still children themselves.<\/p>\n

Ten-year-old Sanju Lama was going to her grandmother\u2019s house with her two-year-old brother in Rasuwa district \u2013 the worst affected in the floods \u2013 when strangers helped them escape the flood by pulling them along. Her home was swallowed by the water. Her parents, who should have been home when the floods struck, are missing.<\/p>\n

\u201cSanju gets shocked by loud sounds, even when her name is called out,\u201d Bhattarai\u00a0said. \u201cShe keeps holding her little brother\u2019s hand tight, almost all the time. At night, she often wakes up scared.\u201d<\/p>\n

The young girl spends most of her day reading English poems to her little brother. \u201cThey are the only ones for each other now,\u201d said Bhattarai.<\/p>\n

According to UNICEF, across the affected districts, 18 schools have been destroyed and a further 20 have sustained damage, depriving children of safe spaces to learn, play and recover. Dozens of schools are located close to riverbanks in the affected areas and remain at risk. An estimated 10,000 school-age children now face an uncertain educational future.<\/p>\n

\"People
People light candles and pray during a day of mourning for those killed in the August 26 floods in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday, September 7, 2026 [Dar Yasin\/AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Help falling short<\/h2>\n

Nonprofits, counsellors and childcare staff at the primary schools converted into shelters in Dhading say that efforts to make children feel safe and comfortable are often falling short. Toys, books and play materials have been distributed, but very few children are actually using them. Many remain withdrawn, distracted or too overwhelmed to play.<\/p>\n

Joshi of Save the Children said the group had distributed toys and study materials to children in shelters. In some cases, he said, volunteers have seen children whose parents are missing \u201cmaking and setting up families with parents in the dollhouses\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese children probably don\u2019t even understand what exactly has happened or why,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are clueless about the next day, and the future in totality.\u201d<\/p>\n

In many cases, children are now living in overcrowded shelters with little privacy. At the same time, authorities and nonprofits say they need to be careful about handing children over to people who say they\u2019re relatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the children whose relatives have been located are kept in shelters if those relatives cannot provide sufficient documentation or proof of guardianship, to avoid the risks of trafficking or child labour,\u201d said Leon from UNICEF.<\/p>\n

Back at the shelter home in Nuwakot, Thakur sat on the front porch with an evening snack. His eyes gazed into the orange sky of the setting sun, hoping for a helicopter to arrive, carrying his parents back to him. But it was darkness that came, and it didn\u2019t bring a chopper with it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Dhading; Rasuwa; Nuwakot, Nepal \u2013 As nine-year-old Ram Thakur walked uphill with his mother and dozens of others fleeing floodwaters on August 26, he looked back and saw brown water surging up. So they started running. His mother, who had been holding his hand until then, helped him climb faster. Then, as the sounds of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t