One afternoon, as part of her research, a young college student went to speak with the women imprisoned in a Kathmandu jail.
While she asked questions on one side of the bars, she began to feel something tugging on her clothes.
Pushpa Basnet looked down. She saw a tiny hand clutching the fabric and then the unexpected eyes of a beautiful little girl.
This child wouldn't let go and neither could Pushpa.
She couldn't live with the fact that in Nepal, if a parent is convicted and there is no trustworthy guardian to be found,
then often the best option for the child is to go to prison with her parent.
So Pushpa has devoted her life to helping these kids.
She created the Butterfly Home where older children live, go to school and receive medical care.
She also started a day care for the children who are still too young to leave their parent,
and walks them every day to and from the prison to a place where they learn to read, draw and imagine.
These boys and girls are loved, and they love Pushpa, their Mamu.
Maybe God has sent me to do this thing.
We are traveling to a small jail. It's three hours' drive from Kathmandu.
You have [people] there with different crime[s], like drugs, trafficking, murder case[s].
So now, the mother [has] just called us to come and pick up the child.
She said that "I'm in a prison for trafficking. I'm scared that now I'm in prison, the circle of my friends will traffic my daughter."
Freedom -- I give them the freedom from the prison. That's the greatest thing I can give them.
I get up around 5:30. We are a family.
You are not just dealing with one child; you are dealing with 44 children, with 44 various behavior[s].
Every child deserve[s] a good life. We give them education, food, love, care.
This is the most precious time for them, and they are spending it with me. Just imagine how lucky I am.