Overview

Rohan Bagale is a Reintegration Officer in Chitwan District, Nepal, for The Himalayan Innovative Society (THIS) – the local partner of Hope and Homes for Children. As a social worker, Rohan works to end the institutionalization of children in Nepal – where 85 per cent of children living in orphanages have living parents. Thanks to the dedication of social workers like Rohan, children and families across Nepal are being supported to stay together so that no child has to grow up inside an orphanage.

The role of a Reintegration Officer

As a Reintegration Officer for THIS, Rohan’s role is to find children living in orphanages, trace their families and prepare them to be reunited.

“But the role of a Reintegration Officer doesn’t end there,” says Rohan. “We look into the reasons for the separation, dig deeper into the problems that led to it, and evaluate the support required by families for reunification.”

This often entails providing long-term support to reunited families, ensuring they have everything they need to stay together in the long run.

In addition, Rohan works closely in local communities, advocating for change with local authorities and campaigning for funds to be pledged towards community social services, and ensuring funds are never directed to orphanages.

Motivation for becoming a social worker

From working in remote rural communities to supporting members of marginalised indigenous groups, Rohan’s motivations for being a social worker are very personal.

At just seven, he was separated from his parents. Experiencing the challenges of growing up without personalised care inspired him to become an advocate for children’s rights in his community. Since joining THIS, Rohan’s become a champion for transformation of alternative care systems, translating his lived experiences into fuel for the fire of keeping families together.

“Growing up with their family is every child’s most appropriate and basic right,” says Rohan. “It’s never a good option to separate children from their parents, community and culture and bring them into institutions, and it never was.”

Challenges and obstacles

As a social worker, Rohan seeks to create long-term change for the people he supports, empowering families to eventually become self-sufficient.

Working with children from remote, rural areas, Rohan often treks hours through steep mountains – going village-to-village to find the families he supports. “I might have to walk up to seven hours for one task,” he says. “That’s a major obstacle.”

However, the joy of watching children reunited with their families is enough to push him forward.

“Seeing the raw emotions of the moment when families are reunited, the way they hug each other, the way their hands move through each other’s hair. That’s what encourages me to work more passionately, despite the obstacles on the way, despite having to travel across these huge hills.”

“Things can change, one child at a time”

From supporting children to keeping families together, social work is Rohan’s passion and profession. Dedicated, committed and empathetic, he’s an integral part of Hope and Homes for Children’s work in Nepal.

“We’re not saviors, we just help reconnect [the people we support] with the love that’s already inside them, that has been tainted by damaging narratives of them not being enough,” says Rohan. “[By] taking time to sit with them, we can help restore their self-belief that they can raise their children themselves. We’re reassuring them that things can change, one child at a time.”