Today more 130 Nepalese children ? victims of a bitter civil war ? have a reason to believe in the future.

A mountainous country, nestled between China and India, it has been torn apart for the last ten years by fighting between insurgent Maoists and the Nepalese military.

But one of the greatest tragedies is the fate of many Nepalese children who have seen their families and friends killed, been abandoned and suffered abuse at the hands of child traffickers.

The plight of these innocent victims was brought to the attention of the ISIS Foundation of Bermuda two years ago and after reading and hearing heart-wrenching stories of child abuse and neglect, the charity decided to extend a helping hand.

It was the start of a long two years to win custody of dozens of traumatised children, to give them a new life.

The mission of the ISIS Foundation is to make a positive difference in the lives of children in the developing world. ISIS Limited and the ISIS Foundationwere formed in early 1997.

Audette Exel and Sharon A. Beesley are best friends and founders of the foundation.

They began work on the ISIS Foundation in late 1997, and funded it fully themselves until the end of 1998. At the same time, they established a corporate finance and consultancy business, ISIS Limited, so that the business could pay the ongoing administration and general management costs of the ISIS Foundation.

Leonie Exel, General Manager of ISIS and Audette Exel?s sister, said: ?A volunteer working in Nepal brought to our attention that there were children living in dreadful homes in Kathmandu.

?They were underfed and sickly, and begging on the buses and streets for food and money.?

ISIS immediately set to work to get the children released from the homes, but the charity soon became embroiled in lengthy and difficult negotiations with child traffickers. ?When the children fled from the mountains of Nepal, they ended up under the control of a child trafficker in Kathmandu,? Ms Exel explained. ?They were living in overcrowded, dilapidated, depressing homes.?

ISIS spent two years negotiating and working with police and government agencies in Nepal and finally won custody of the traumatised children.

Ms Exel said: ?It was a very difficult and emotionally draining situation. The child trafficker was clearly abusing the children.

?But we still had to negotiate and play hardball in order to win their freedom.?

Ms Exel is reflective when she remembers the condition the kids were in when ISIS first took custody of them.

?In the two years we spent negotiating for their release, these children had been beaten, some had been sexually abused, many were unwell and malnourished and most had become accustomed to living unsupervised in filthy homes,? she said. ?One of the last homes they lived in had 64 children under one roof - they were a sea of unhappy kids, without proper care or love.?

The charity currently rents nine foster homes for the children, aged between four and 17.

Ms Exel explained: ?We managed to set up nine ISIS children?s homes in Kathmandu.

?Our objective is to provide quality ongoing care for these children, so that they can live healthy, happy full lives.?

Another Bermudian, Kim Carter, travelled to Kathmandu and experienced first hand the dreadful circumstances under which the children lived.

He said: ?The children were living in horrible, dirty homes. The roofs leaked and the children would get wet when it rained.

?The children would wade ankle deep in filthy, disgusting water. There eyes were always sad.?

Mr. Carter was so moved by the experience that he established a charity, ?The Kathmandu Kids Club? to raise money for the ISIS Foundation.

?Our mission is very clear ? it is to help and support Nepalese children in serious need.

?By joining our club, members make a direct and positive contribution to ease the plight of children in a country ravaged by poverty and war,? he explained.

ISIS has made a financial and ethical commitment to the children that will stretch over many years.

Ms Exel said: ?We are legally responsible for the children until they are 16 years of age, This means that we have a minimum responsibility for the next 12 years, as the youngest child is now only four.

?However, we are ethically responsible for the children until we can move them into the next phase of their lives in a healthy way.?

Running the ISIS homes and looking after the children is very expensive and Ms Exel said the charity urgently needs financial help from members of the public.

?It?s expensive to run these homes, especially at the moment, as we are setting up, buying new clothes, paying school enrolment fees, and buying large items like huge water filters to make sure even the water the kids bathe in is safe from disease.?

Providing foster homes for the Nepalese children is just one of many projects the ISIS Foundation manages in Nepal. Other projects include:

Supporting two health care workers and a laboratory technician who work out of a Monastery and provide heath care to over 6,000 impoverished people

Supporting the wages and children?s support costs (medical, dental and family support) of ?Hands in Outreach,? a small but very effective charity which provides support to 106 children

Funding for the Nepali ?Women?s Foundation? Women and Children?s shelters in Kathmandu.

These shelters help dozens of women and children, all of whom are the victims of violence.

ISIS helps with funding for staff wages, school costs for the children and furnishings for the shelter.

The ISIS Foundation also raises funds to support a number of charity projects in the country of Uganda.