About Me

Maggie Namjou initially traveled to Nepal with a group of friends intent on exploring Asia before returning to the United States to pursue a career as a human rights lawyer. However, Namjou discovered a country of unparalleled beauty and tragedy, with an entire society of overlooked street children whose fates remained inextricably locked in a world of exploitation and poverty. Unlike a normal tourist, Maggie Namjou decided that instead of keeping only pictures and memories, she would return to the country she fell in love with and make a difference.



In pursuit of improved human rights advocacy in Nepal, Namjou created The Rising Child Nepal Foundation, which provides street children with medical care, educational resources, and even job training. The nonprofit organization focuses substantial efforts on girls sold as bonded laborers, basically child slaves, by their families who are desperately poor.



Maggie Namjou understands the nuances of Nepalese culture, and to release these girls sold into bonded labor (basically a modern day form of child slavery) from their duties, the girls' families must be compensated. Namjou finds solutions to replace the income the families would lose from selling their daughters, as long as they agree to allow their daughters to attend school. In a country where girls are not valued, where 72% of women are illiterate, this is a huge step in ending this cycle of poverty and abuse.



During Maggie Namjou's early visits to Nepal, she witnessed life in squatter settlements and slum areas along the Bagmati river in Kathmandu, where poverty flourished with terrifying lucidity. Now, armed with the strength of The Rising Child Nepal Foundation which supports her work, Namjou returns to the area with free educational programs for children and women. Through the classes, Namjou presents invaluable knowledge on hygiene, nutrition, and basic literacy to untold numbers of slum residents. To promote the power of education while providing additional support to the Kalimati child population, Namjou provides free lunches to children who visit the classes three times a week. The programs illustrate a basic philosophy behind Namjou's work: educate and empower the impoverished youth of Nepal to ensure their generation grows prosperously and wisely. Namjou believes that as this generation grows and participates in Nepalese society, they may one day curb the squall or and neglect that has affected so many of their young lives.