In early 2005, the ISIS Foundation found Surendra, his brother, and 54 other children in a home that was barely providing them enough food to eat.

They were not going to school, malnourished, covered in scabies and lice, and many were being sent out to beg for money on the streets. All of the children were uncared for.

ISIS general manager, Leonie Exel, said: "Surendra was skeletal, coughing and bent over in pain. ISIS immediately took him to the hospital where he was diagnosed as having severe septicaemia, pneumonia, and bacterial infections."

"He was put on oxygen and a drip. The hospital was draining a litre of fluid from his body every two days. He could not eat and was wasting rapidly. He had daily fevers of 104 degrees."

Surendra was in the Nepali Government Hospital for three weeks, but showed little improvement.

ISIS felt his treatment was substandard and decided to consult doctors in the United States.

"After some tough negotiating with the government hospital, who initially refused to let us take Surendra elsewhere, we moved him to Patan Hospital, which is now the place we take all seriously ill children," she added.

Ms Exel said Surendra recovered rapidly with the new treatment, and within a week he was released.

"The doctors at Patan Hospital stated that he was so unwell when admitted that had we not brought him to them, he would have died within days."