Tika Maya Chapagai , 9 Years old

Why sponsor this child?

Tika lives with her 55 year old father in a small, makeshift shelter of hay, mud and bamboo. They barely have enough to survive. Tika was only 13 days old when her mother began suffering from mental illness. Tika’s father not only raises Tika, but he also takes care of her mother.

Tika’s father sold all his land for her mother’s treatment, but she couldn’t be cured. Today, they have nothing of their own, living in the shelter and farming land that is owned by Tika’s uncle. Half of whatever is harvested in the fields needs to be given to her uncle, leaving them barely enough to eat throughout the year.

Tika has two elder brothers who are practicing to become priests. Due to her condition, Tika’s mother roams around the village, sometimes disappearing for days, which adds additional stress to the family. Her aging father says that he must work until the day he dies to feed his family and to try and care for his wife.