by Kathleen Toner

Pushpa Basnet doesnt need an alarm clock. Every morning， the sounds of 40 children wake her up in the two-story home she shares with them. As she helps the children dress for school， Basnet might appear to be a housemother 1）of sorts. But the real story is more complicated.All of these children once lived in Nepals prisons. This 28-year-old woman has saved every one of them from a life behind bars.

Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world—according to 2）UNICEF， 55% of the population lives below the international poverty line—so it lacks the social safety net that exists in most Western nations.

So when no local guardian is available， an arrested parent often must choose between bringing their children to jail with them or letting them live on the streets.

Basnet is one of several in Nepal who have started groups to get children out of prison. Since 2005， she has assisted more than 100 children of 3）incarcerated parents.

Basnet was just 21 when she discovered her calling， she said. While her family ran a successful business， she was studying social work in college. As part of her studies， she visited a womens prison and was 4）appalled by the 5）dire conditions. She also was shocked to discover children living behind bars.

One baby girl grabbed Basnets 6）shawl and gave her a big smile.

“I felt she was calling me，” Basnet said. “I went back home and told my parents about it. They told me it was a normal thing and that in a couple of days Id forget it. But I couldnt forget.”

Basnet decided to start a day care to get incarcerated children out from behind the prison walls. While her parents were against the idea at first—she had no job or way to sustain it financially—eventually they helped support her. But prison officials， government workers and even some of the imprisoned mothers she approached doubted that someone her age could handle such a project.

“When I started， nobody believed in me，”Basnet said. “People thought I was crazy. They laughed at me.”

But Basnet was 7）undaunted. She got friends to donate money， and she rented a building in 8）Kathmandu to house her new organization， the Early Childhood Development Center. She furnished it largely by convincing her parents that they needed a new refrigerator or kitchen table； when her parents replacement would arrive， shed 9）whisk the old one to her center.

Just two months after she first visited the prison， Basnet began to care for five children. She picked them up at the prison every weekday morning， brought them to her center and then returned them in the afternoon. Basnets program was the first of its kind in Kathmandu； when she started， some of the children in her care had never been outside a prison.

Two years later， Basnet established the Butterfly Home， a childrens home where she herself has lived for the past five years. While she now has a few staff members who help her， Basnet is still very hands on.

“We do cooking， washing， shopping，”she said. “Its amazing， I never get tired. （The children） give me the energy. ... The smiles of my children keep me motivated.”

Coordinating all of this is no easy task. But at the Butterfly Home， the older kids help care for the younger ones and everyone pitches in with household 10）chores. The atmosphere feels like an extremely large family， a feeling thats fostered by Basnet， who smothers the children with love. The children 11）reciprocate by calling her “Mamu，” which means “Mommy.”

All the children are at the Butterfly Home with the 12）consent of the imprisoned parent. When Basnet hears about an imprisoned child， shell visit the prison—even in remote areas of the country—and tell the parent what she can provide. If the parent agrees， Basnet brings the child back.

She is still eager， however， for the children to maintain relationships with their parents. During school holidays， she sends the younger children to the prisons to visit， and she brings them food， clothing and fresh water during their stay. Ultimately， Basnet wants the families to reunite outside prison， and 60 of her children have been able to do just that.

In 2009， Basnet started a program to teach the parents how to make handicrafts， which she sells to raise money for the childrens care. Both mothers and fathers participate. It not only gives them skills that might help them support themselves when theyre released， but it also helps them feel connected to their children.

“Often， they think that theyre useless because theyre in prison，” Basnet said.“I want to make them feel that they are contributing back to us.”

Making ends meet is always a struggle， though. The children help by making greeting cards that Basnet sells as part of her handicraft business. In the past， she has sold her own jewelry and possessions to keep the center going.

Her biggest concern is trying to find ways to do more to give the children a better future. She recently set up a bank account to save for their higher educations， and one day she hopes to buy or build a house so theyll always have a place to call home. Their happiness is always 13）foremost in her thoughts.

“This is what I want to do with my life，”she said. “It makes me feel good when I see that they are happy， but it makes me want to work harder. ... I want to fulfill all their dreams.”

普希帕·巴斯奈特不需要鬧鐘。每天清晨，和她同住在這棟兩層樓房里40個(gè)孩子的聲音會(huì)將她叫醒?？粗障Ｅ翈秃⒆觽兇┖萌ド蠈W(xué)的衣服，你或許覺(jué)得她有點(diǎn)像個(gè)女舍監(jiān)。但真實(shí)的故事要復(fù)雜得多。所有這些孩子都曾經(jīng)生活在尼泊爾的監(jiān)獄里。這名28歲的女子將他們每一個(gè)人從牢獄生活中拯救了出來(lái)。

尼泊爾是世界上最貧窮的國(guó)家之一——根據(jù)聯(lián)合國(guó)兒童基金會(huì)的調(diào)查顯示，55%的人口生活在國(guó)際貧困線以下——所以這里缺少大多數(shù)西方國(guó)家都有的社會(huì)保障。

因此，如果被捕人士的子女在本地沒(méi)有其他監(jiān)護(hù)人，那他們往往須作二選一的抉擇，要不把孩子帶到監(jiān)獄里一同坐牢，要不任其在街上流浪。

一些尼泊爾人已創(chuàng)建團(tuán)體將孩子們接出監(jiān)獄，而巴斯奈特便是其中之一。從2005年開(kāi)始，她已經(jīng)為100多個(gè)父母親被監(jiān)禁的孩子提供了幫助。

當(dāng)巴斯奈特發(fā)現(xiàn)其使命時(shí)，年僅21歲，她說(shuō)。那時(shí)她家的生意經(jīng)營(yíng)得很成功，而她則在大學(xué)里就讀社會(huì)工作專(zhuān)業(yè)。作為其學(xué)業(yè)的一部分，她探訪了一所女子監(jiān)獄，并因其極度惡劣的環(huán)境而感到震驚，同時(shí)她還驚訝地發(fā)現(xiàn)竟然有孩子生活在監(jiān)獄里。

一個(gè)小女孩抓住了巴斯奈特的披巾，向她露出一張大大的笑臉。

“我覺(jué)得她是在召喚我，” 巴斯奈特說(shuō)?！盎氐郊依?，我對(duì)父母講述了一切。他們告訴我說(shuō)，這是件很平常的事情，過(guò)幾天我就會(huì)忘記的。但我無(wú)法忘記?！?/p>

巴斯奈特決定開(kāi)展一項(xiàng)日托服務(wù)，將被監(jiān)禁的孩子從監(jiān)獄的圍墻內(nèi)解救出來(lái)。她父母最初反對(duì)她的想法——她沒(méi)有工作，也沒(méi)經(jīng)濟(jì)資源維持這項(xiàng)服務(wù)——最后他們還是對(duì)她予以支持。但監(jiān)獄官員，政府工作者，甚至她所接觸到的一些身陷囹圄的母親都懷疑，以她的年齡是否能夠挑起這項(xiàng)計(jì)劃。

“剛開(kāi)始時(shí)，沒(méi)有人信任我，”巴斯奈特說(shuō)?！按蠹叶颊J(rèn)為我瘋了。他們嘲笑我?！?/p>

但巴斯奈特并不氣餒。她讓朋友們給她捐款，而她也在加德滿(mǎn)都為她的新組織——早期兒童發(fā)展中心租到了一棟房子作為場(chǎng)地。房子里的陳設(shè)大多數(shù)來(lái)自她家里，她說(shuō)服父母購(gòu)置新的冰箱或餐桌，當(dāng)父母的新品到達(dá)時(shí)，她就把舊的搬到她的中心里。

僅僅在巴斯奈特第一次探監(jiān)的兩個(gè)月之后，她就開(kāi)始照顧五個(gè)孩子。每個(gè)工作日的早上，她將他們從監(jiān)獄接出來(lái)，帶到她的中心，然后下午將他們送回去。在加德滿(mǎn)都的同類(lèi)計(jì)劃中，巴斯奈特的是首創(chuàng)；當(dāng)她剛開(kāi)始這計(jì)劃時(shí)，受她照顧的一些孩子以前從未步出過(guò)監(jiān)獄。

兩年之后，巴斯奈特創(chuàng)建了蝴蝶之家——一所兒童庇護(hù)中心，而過(guò)去的五年里，她自己也一直住在那里。盡管現(xiàn)在有幾個(gè)員工幫忙，巴斯奈特仍然十分親力親為。

“我們要做飯、洗衣服、買(mǎi)東西，”她說(shuō)?！昂苌衿妫覐膩?lái)都不覺(jué)得累。（孩子們）給了我力量。……孩子們的笑容讓我充滿(mǎn)了動(dòng)力。”

協(xié)調(diào)這一切并非易事。但在蝴蝶之家，年長(zhǎng)的孩子幫忙照顧幼兒，每個(gè)人都要分擔(dān)一些日常雜務(wù)。整個(gè)氛圍就像是一個(gè)超大的家庭，一種由巴斯奈特培養(yǎng)出來(lái)的氛圍，她寵溺著這些孩子們。而孩子們則喚她為“媽媽”作為回報(bào)。

所有的孩子都要得到獄中父母親的允許才能進(jìn)入蝴蝶之家。每當(dāng)巴斯奈特聽(tīng)說(shuō)有一個(gè)孩子生活在獄中，她就會(huì)去那所監(jiān)獄——即便是在這個(gè)國(guó)家的邊遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)——然后告訴那位家長(zhǎng)，她能提供什么幫助。如果那位家長(zhǎng)同意的話，巴斯奈特就會(huì)把那個(gè)孩子帶回來(lái)。

盡管如此，她依然期盼孩子們能夠和他們的父母保持聯(lián)系。在學(xué)校放假的日子里，她會(huì)讓年幼的孩子們?nèi)ヌ奖O(jiān)，孩子逗留在里面期間，她會(huì)給他們帶去食物、衣服和新鮮的水。最終，巴斯奈特希望這些家庭能夠在監(jiān)獄之外重聚，而她所照顧的其中60個(gè)孩子已經(jīng)做到了這一點(diǎn)。

2009年，巴斯奈特開(kāi)啟了一個(gè)計(jì)劃，教那些監(jiān)獄里的家長(zhǎng)制作手工藝品，用以籌錢(qián)照顧孩子。孩子們的父母親都參與其中。這不僅教予了他們一技之長(zhǎng)，或許還能幫助他們?cè)诔霆z后維持生計(jì)，同時(shí)還有助于他們感覺(jué)到與自己的孩子保持著聯(lián)系。

“他們常常認(rèn)為自己毫無(wú)用處，因?yàn)樗麄兩碓讵z中，”巴斯奈特說(shuō)?！拔蚁Ｍ屗麄兏杏X(jué)到，他們正在為我們作出回報(bào)?！?/p>

不過(guò)，要達(dá)到收支平衡總是困難重重。孩子們幫忙制作賀卡，巴斯奈特將其出售，作為手工制品生意的一部分。在過(guò)去，她已經(jīng)變賣(mài)了自己的珠寶和財(cái)產(chǎn)來(lái)維持中心的運(yùn)作。

她最關(guān)心的是努力找出一些方法，為孩子們做得更多，給他們一個(gè)更好的未來(lái)。最近，她設(shè)立了一個(gè)銀行賬戶(hù)為他們能夠受到高等教育而存款，而她希望有一天能夠買(mǎi)下或者建造一棟房子，這樣他們就能永遠(yuǎn)擁有一個(gè)可稱(chēng)之為家的地方。在她的心里，他們的幸福永遠(yuǎn)都居于首位。

“這就是我想要為其貢獻(xiàn)終生的事情，”她說(shuō)。“看到他們過(guò)得快樂(lè)，我就感到歡喜，但這也讓我想要更加努力地工作?！蚁胍獙?shí)現(xiàn)他們所有的夢(mèng)想。”