If Nepalese child advocate Pralhad Dhakal could think of anything to say to Bermuda it would be ‘Thank You’.

Thanks to generous donations from the public to the ISIS Foundation, Mr Dhakal’s team has been able to improve the lives of thousands of children and families in a rural part of Nepal.

Mr Dhakal is on Island this week sharing stories about his past eight years with the organisation, which was founded in Bermuda 16 years ago. But he also has a message for residents on the Island who have generously supported his work.

“I am here to thank Bermudians on behalf of those 136 rescued children,” he said. “The majority of funds come from Bermuda, and I want to thank Bermudians for all this generosity and the changes they have been able to make.

“These 136 individuals are going to be very skilled, capable, representatives of Humla (the third most remote district in Nepal) and my country as well. They may even go global, that’s what I believe.”

Ten years ago Mr Dhakal was someone who trained people on how to assist victims of child trafficking, but he had very little in the way of hands-on-experience dealing with such children.

“I was giving speeches on children’s rights, talking about it, showing the slides at presentations and all these things, but you hardly practice that in your reality,” he said.

Then when he got a call one day from a nurse asking him to help two boys found on the streets of Kathmandu, Mr Dhakal knew he had to act.

“When I was there both boys were admitted and taken to the emergency,” he said. “One died and the other was suffering from big bed sores and meningitis and I just felt like I had to do something. He was maybe nine years old and was in a pathetic condition.

“We reunited him with his family and it was like a connection for me because I knew their story and knew the children. Before that I had been working with others in child rights, but at the same time dealing directly with a life is very different.”

Since then Mr Dhakal has taken on a practical role with the ISIS Foundation, helping to rescue child trafficking victims and provide them with education, healthcare and a safe place to live.

He explained that children in Humla started being trafficked during the Nepalese Civil War.

The South Asian country is made up of 75 districts; Humla being one of the most remote and the last one without road connections.

“When you go to Humla, which is in the mountains, you feel like you live in the 16th Century because of the conditions and quality of life there,” he said.

“The people work the whole day for a single meal and despite that they cannot feed all the stomachs in their home.

“During the Maoist war, many children got trafficked because their parents were told by traffickers that they would take their children to a safe place in Kathmandu. But they ended up being in terrible living conditions and begging on the streets.”

Mr Dhakal said that the ISIS Foundation was well known throughout Nepal for its work helping children and families.

In addition to rescuing children, the organisation has set up projects in the community, such as a greenhouse so that villagers can grow vegetables. It has also provided ways for people to get basic healthcare and clean water to drink.

Once the family’s situation has improved, young people are often returned to their home and monitored in that environment.

“We make sure that the village and home is safe for the children and they have basic, minimum rights to enjoy,” he said.

Many of the young people go on to teach their parents about good health and hygiene practices. They also encourage them to enrol their siblings into school, so they also have a chance at a brighter future.

Mr Dhakal said: “Enrolment is a big challenge in Nepal and literacy in Humla is very low. The children we rescue attend the school thanks to help from your Country, and they really put the emphasis on their parents to send their brothers or sisters to school, rather than herding the cattle.”

The school is currently made up of around 65 percent girls.

It’s a noteworthy milestone considering that females aren’t normally educated in the region.

“For the first time last year two girls finished their schooling and were at the top of Humla district in terms of marks,” Mr Dhakal said.

“They both have a full government scholarship to study in Kathmandu for further education. One is studying to be a health assistant and then after she can become a doctor; the other has got a full scholarship for nursing. That was the first time two girls passed the SAT with top marks in Humla.”

Mr Dhakal said working with ISIS has brought a deeper meaning to his life.

One of the most rewarding parts is seeing the children persevere, despite their very difficult start in life.

“The level of coping that these children have is more than what many adults have,” he said.

“My belief is that if people can still run in a difficult circumstance, then they can fly in an easy circumstance. The young people are behaving like the change makers of that district. There are 136 change makers.”

The ISIS Foundation aims to provide healthcare, education and infrastructure to villagers in mountainous north-west Nepal.

ISIS also keeps formerly trafficked children in Kathmandu safe from the sex trade and lives of poverty, sickness and forced labour, as well as delivers healthcare services to children and families in Uganda.

To find out how you can donate to the organisation, visit www.isisgroup.org.