The Hopeful Home for Orphans and Helpless Children, a non-political, non-profit, independent charity home, was established in 2002 in Kathmandu, Nepal by two Nepali women named Bhubaneswori Pandey and Gopini Wosti to provide orphans, street children and helpless children at risk with shelter, food, education, healthcare and other basic needs. These women came from a similar background to the children, and have made it their sole aim to provide services for underprivileged children. Since 2002, the number of children living at Hopeful Home has grown from 12 to 42.

Hopeful Vocational School

During these last 5 years, many donors and visitors to Hopeful Home have asked for how long the children will stay in the orphanage and what will they do in the future. It had been thought that the children would continue to be housed at Hopeful Home for as long as they continued going to school. But this was not a satisfactory answer for all the children, many of whom will likely never complete their basic education due to delays in starting school and other factors related to their backgrounds. It was thought that it would be a good idea to teach the older children vocational skills even while they continue with their academic education, so that they will be able to live independently and support themselves and their families as adults. In 2006, with the support of Global Alternative Learning Alliance, Hopeful Home started a skill based vocational training program in tailoring for older children at the home, called Hopeful Vocational School (HVS). Eight girls are currently participating in the HVS tailoring program.

The program at HVS consists of two parts: one year of basic training in tailoring, followed by another year of advanced training. After completing the basic training, HVS students start teaching the basics to other girls and women while taking the advanced course.

After 2 years, the girls in the vocational program become master trainers of tailoring. Some of the girls trained by HVS are already providing training to younger girls at Hopeful Home. In the future, the girls trained at HVS may teach girls and women from other orphanages and the local community. Others may start their own small businesses so they can live independently, or they may use their skill to earn a good income to continue their education. Hopeful Vocational School will help many underprivileged young Nepali women earn money and become self-sustaining.