The document summarizes a feasibility study on reintegrating former child soldiers in Nepal following the country's 10-year civil war that ended in 2006. An estimated 4,000 to 9,000 child soldiers fought for the Maoists, many of whom spent 5 years in containment camps after the war. These former child soldiers struggled with reintegration due to stigma, lack of access to rehabilitation programs, and not qualifying for the same government benefits as adult soldiers. Through interviews and a systematic review of existing research, the study aimed to understand factors influencing reintegration success and how to overcome barriers. It found family and community support were most critical, but former child soldiers from camps received little support. The study proposes a multi-pronged

1. The Re-integration of Child Soldiers in
Nepal: A Feasibility Study
Shea Shelton

2.  10 year civil war from 1996 to 2006
 Out of 30K Maoist carders, 4to 9K believed to
be under 18
 Maoist felt they were victorious
 Abolishing monarchy (2008) was major condition of
peace
 High expectations
▪ Transforming society
▪ Money
▪ Respected as heroes

3.  Former Child Soldiers (FCS)
held by Maoist spent 5 years in
containment camps (2005-
2010)
 Rehabilitation programs
offered by UN were
physically inaccessible
▪ Programs lasted 2007-2011
 Shame, no money, stigma
▪ “disqualified” due to their
age to enter into the
Nepalese military or to
cash offered by
government retire
▪ Adults got 600,000 to
800,000 rupees (6-8K USD)
& options for vocational
training

4.  Former child soldiers (FCS) kept in
containment camps did not get the same
access to reintegration resources that FCS
who did not enter containment camps and
went home voluntarily did (assumedly).
 This means that there are a significant group
of FSC who did not receive these
interventions because they were in
containment camps for five years.

5.  FCS held in one of the 28 Maoist
encampments from 2005-2010
 Child soldiers: Former members of combat
a group who were under 18 years of age
while they were engaged in Nepal’s civil war
 Sampling: Proxy informants used (TPO)
because this community is difficult to
access

6. Mixed methods which included expert interviews
and a Systematic Review of existing research
 TPO (works directly with FCS) & CWISH
(rehabilitates exploited children)
 The Systematic Review research method is
commonly used to design evidence-based public
health interventions for a population.
▪ Not a lit. review - studies were selected for
inclusion based on the research questions and
the author performed a critical appraisal of
each study

7. 1. What are the determinants of successful
reintegration of former child soldiers?
2. How can negative determinants of social
reintegration be overcome?

8.  Child & family factors strongest determinants of well-being & reintegration
 Community factors: Hindu communities & lowest casts were more strongly
impacted
 Higher socioeconomic status positively correlated with reintegration success
 Levels of depression, PTSD, and functional impairment varied among FCS – some
high functioning, while others were not.
 Mental health and psychosocial well-being seem to be associated with exposure
to certain individual experiences: torture, physical abuse in the household,
regional conflict mortality & caste/ethnic composition of the community (low
caste or ethnic minority)
 Virtually no existing programs at this time for FCS (ended in 2011)
 UNICEF, UNDP,TPO, etc. reached ~ 7,000 children impacted by conflict
 It is unknown how many of that 7,000 were FCS (rate of participation of FCS?)
 Estimated that 3,000 – 4,000 children were held in 28 containment camps
between 2005-2010
 FCS who return to school feel humiliation because they are older than other
children in their grade.

9.  Qualitative inferences where made using a
systematic review method of the literature, thus
there is the potential for author bias because
articles were incorporated into the research
based on a selection process that evaluates their
suitability based on the author’s research
questions.
 Also, this research focuses on the common
themes surrounding the reintegration of FCS,
meaning that the findings are generalized and
may not apply to all individuals or
circumstances.

10. Part II:The Intervention

11. Goal: Successfully reintegrate of FCS that were
held into their families and communities.
(Especially target those from camps)
 Family & community support key
 Access to counselors & mental health
professionals
 Train key authorities – teachers & medical
staff to respond appropriately
 Job training program enrollment

12.  Activities: Joint picnics, sports & cultural
programs, maybe school based initiatives?,
training programs, psychological counseling,
vocational training (through existing
platforms)
 Measure impact with questionnaire
administered to FCS & 1-2 close family
members (parents or guardians or in-laws or
spouse) before, throughout, & after
intervention. (let’s just say 4 years)

13.  High level of professionalism needed =
training = $
 FCS & family able & willing to participate
 Ability to follow-up with FCS & family
 Receptiveness of teachers & medical staff to
aiding FCS
 Bias: sampling, reporting, interviewer, human
error, etc.

14. Questions??