An INTREPID Enniskillen-born mother of three, Jackie Rooney-Broxton has raised in excess of €5,850 for the street children of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, home of Everest.
Originally from Killesher, and married to Adrian, she and her family now live near Belturbet.
Jackie recently fulfilled a lifetime dream of volunteering abroad when she spent three weeks in Nepal, doing Everest Base Camp Trek as a method of fundraising, and some time volunteering with the street children.
Having researched the charities to donate to, she decided on two, Umbrella (www.umbrellanepal.org) an Irish charity, and Child Street to School (www.child-nepal.com).
“I felt it is very important that the money raised went directly to the children.”
Once in Nepal, she was able to help with medical checks on the street children at a drop-in centre and in a residential home managed by Child Street to School.
“The Umbrella children have been in care for 5 years, and there is a very apparent and positive difference between those children and the children who come off the streets to the drop-in centre for food, and medical checks.”
Jackie fundraised through a charity website http://www.mycharity.ie/event/jacqueline-broxton-everest-base-camp-trek-2013.
The charity website will remain open until the end of next month for anyone who would like to make a donation.
The money raised by Jackie was shared between the two charities.
It was used to buy the children clothing and footwear as well as floor covering for the drop-in centre.
The money was also used to buy school uniforms, and €1,200 sponsored two brothers Dimish (5) and Deepak (8).
“These boys were taken off the streets”, Jackie explained, “and will be provided with food, clothing, accommodation and education for a full year. The remainder of the money will be used to sponsor another street child and, also, to pay daily expenses, such as food and rent.”
Readers who would like to help Jackie can do so in Enniskillen’s ASDA store where she has organised an in-store collection on Wednesday, 19th June.
She has no doubts that their donations will bear fruit.
For instance, she had the pleasure of seeing Arjunwho (21), a former street child rescued by Umbrella, currently training to be a guide.
For the record, Nepal has a population of more than 26 million people, with children aged below 16 years making up 41% of that total. But, the hidden statistics make for very grim reading.
“More than 50,000 children die annually in Nepal, and malnutrition is the underlying cause in more than 60% of those deaths. Some 31% of children aged 5 to 14 are involved in some sort of child labour, and it’s estimated they contribute 6% of Nepal’s total domestic production.”
An even more harrowing statistic is that 12,000 Nepali girls are sold in India every year, and about 95% of street children have an addiction to glue.
Jackie’s charity website is: http://www.mycharity.ie/event/jacqueline-broxton-everest-base-camp-trek-2013 will remain open until the end of June this year. All donations will be spent directly on the children.
