Bhutanese refugees collecting drinking water
at the Sanischare refugee camp in eastern Nepal (courtesy UCAN)
The Jesuit Refugee Service has stepped in to break a cycle of violence, drug and sexual abuse that had been plaguing thousands of ethnic Nepali youths from Bhutan living in refugee camps in East Nepal.
“All kinds of evils were plaguing the camps,” says Jesuit Father Peter Jong Lepcha, program coordinator of Youth Friendly Centres (YFC).
“We realized that there are so many programs being implemented for the refugees in general but nothing for the youth as such.”
The YFC program is part of the Jesuit Refugee Service’s(JRS) Bhutanese Refugee Education Program, supported by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and Caritas Nepal. Read more about the program here.
