Child separation is a relatively new phenomenon in Nepal, with roots back to the 10-year civil war in Nepal, which ended in 2006. During this time, many rural remote districts were focal points for the conflict between the Maoist forces and the government. Schools became battlegrounds from which resources were re-directed for military purposes, strikes and closures were commonplace.  Children were forcibly conscripted by Maoist rebels into armed groups. These factors, along with the already existing high levels of poverty and food insecurity, created fertile ground for traffickers to prey on vulnerable families. Traffickers often portrayed themselves as boarding school representatives. They made promises to parents about modern schools and safe living conditions. However, instead of being taken to educational institutions, most of these children were institutionalized as orphans in under-resourced children's homes in urban areas where it was not uncommon for their identities to be changed, records falsified or destroyed. Additionally, many homes and livelihoods were destroyed by the 2015 earthquakes this has compounded vulnerable families to trafficking.

It is estimated that over two million children up to the age of 15 live away from home[1]. Of these an increasing number of children are institutionalized, a large majority of them have parents. The above figures do not include children who live at boarding schools. In Nepal residential care sites are dominantly run by unqualified staff in uncontrolled and un-protective environments, housing children from the poorest and most vulnerable segments of society.  Over 80 years of research demonstrates that growing up in an institution harms the physical, emotional, mental health, and well-being of children. Children raised in institutions are 10 times more likely to be involved in prostitution, 40 times more likely to have a criminal record and shockingly, 500 times more likely to commit suicide.[2] Besides all the personal costs a child has to pay being separated from her/ his parents, it also has societal consequences, as these children risk been deprived of adulthood as engaged citizens contributing in different areas of society.

The moist conflicts and natural disasters like earthquakes, landslides, and floods have taken lives and displaced many families in Nepal. Disaster is one of the strong causes of the increasing vulnerability of families in underdeveloping countries like Nepal where the state welfare provisions are nominal to build back the families from the crisis. In such a situation, the likeliness of sending children away from home increases. The recent news of 18 children being rescued from India in search of work in the Covid pandemic is one such example.

Safeguarding families to not send their children away is very important. The lack of awareness on the consequences of separated children in healthy development and also the danger the children are prone to, lead parents to take the decision of sending children away. Awareness-raising is very necessary for this situation. Looking at the intensity of urgency, project  Preventing Children From Separation ( PRECHISE)   jointly carried out by CWISH and Kadambari Memorial College started utilising FM radio as a means to reach out to larger families around Nepal. Public service announcements are being played in Radio Sagarmatha 102.4 to aware families of the negative impact of sending children away.