During an interim year following high school, 19 year old Maggie Doyne of Mendham, New Jersey landed herself in an orphanage, Ramana’s Garden, in Rishikesh, India. While in Ramana’s Garden Maggie formed many close relationships with Nepalese refugees, mostly children who had fled Nepal during the Maoist insurgency beginning in 1997. She began closely following the events and settlements taking place in the news and after a major settlement in August 2006 made the decision to go to Nepal herself to see the aftermath of the war, with her own eyes. Needless to say, she was amazed by the effects of the war, the burned temples, ransacked homes, and destroyed schools. But what bothered her the most were the conditions of the children.

After speaking with NGOs, (non-government affiliated organizations), peace organizations, government officials and resident villagers in the border region of Nepal, Maggie discovered that one of the main issues Nepal was facing was the lack of placement for its misplaced children. Whether they were ex-child soldiers, orphans, or children involved in sex-trafficking, there were not enough solutions for the placement, rehabilitation, and reintegration of these children into society.

By May of 2007 Maggie returned to Nepal a second time and purchased a small piece of land in what she decided was the most strategic and needful area of the country. Along with a core group of local Nepalese, ready and willing to help, Maggie registered her NGO within Nepal, and began constructing a small hostel, which she named Kopila Valley Children’s Home. In the Nepali language, Kopila means bud, the idea of the name being that when brought up in a loving and nurturing environment, the children would blossom from buds to flowers. In August of 2007 Maggie returned home to raise funds and awareness for her project!