Established in 2006, the Hope Family Trust was born out of necessity in order to create a home for the relocation of 15 orphaned girls from South India in 2005.  The ‘Hope Family Home’ in Kalimpong (north-east India) was this home, and was the result of a collaboration between now managing trustee Kiran Chettri and American charity worker Debbie Hollinger.  The pair worked together to find a more appropriate environment in which to raise the children supported by Mrs. Hollinger.

Kiran Chettri, a family man and orphan himself, is ideally placed to manage the charity based on his understanding of the importance of a stable and loving ‘family’ environment in which to raise orphaned children.

In his own words, Kiran tells us:

“My name is Mr. Kiran Chettri. My wife is Lydia and we have 2 daughters - Hadassah and Hannah and 2 sons - Rozen and Anthony. I am 43 years old. 

I grew up in an orphanage in Pedong in the  Kalimpong region of West Bengal, India where I spent 20 years. In 2001, I completed my BA. 

When I was a young boy I had a very strong desire to work with orphans and poor and needy people, as I could very much relate to them because of my own life experience. The orphanage that I was raised in was a typical Indian orphanage, where our physical and emotional needs were not considered to be of much value. There were many rules, but no nurturing. I often wished I could someday be in charge of children and really care for them - knowing they hurt as much as I was hurting. In every orphanage that I knew of, it was the same. But the thought of that ever happening seemed impossible. 

One day I met Debbie Hollinger through another acquaintance and I heard of her vision to care and support orphan girls in a much more loving way. Her vision resonated with me. For several years the problem of the Indian society of children living under the never ending pressures of poverty was something that began to break my heart. These are children not able to obtain even a basic formal education, and are being put to work in their early childhood. As I had grown up in an orphanage I did not have any resources, but I had the great burden to reach out to my society. This was my passion to work as a social worker and to reach out to my own people. 

In 2005, I was able to fulfill my heart’s desire when Mrs. Hollinger from the USA contacted me. She appointed me as one of the house fathers for a girls home (rather than a typical orphanage). She was supporting a girls' home in South India and due to some problems, she wanted to relocate the girls' home to north-east India. They found Kalimpong as the suitable place to start the girls' home. Mrs. Hollinger gave me the privilege to work with her project as leader of Hope Family Home. With her support we opened a home for the girls she was relocating. We started with 15 girls living as sisters in Hope Family Home. Officially Hope Family Trust was registered 5th April 2006, with a rented house.  After 18 years, when we look back, we have been able to helped more than 42 children through our home.”

The Hope Family Trust have also provided support to address several hardships in the Kalimpong region, including the provision of food packages to the elderly and supporting the education of several children.

The Hope Family Trust's aims and objectives are to establish, promote, maintain, and finance orphanages, hostels, widow/old people homes, child care centers, schools, and other institutions in order to provide relief to the poor without any discretion of caste, creed, color or sex.  Its mission statement is: “To deliver a sustainable, high impact, community based service to the poor and needy.  Hope Family Trust is an independent NGO. Its aim is to transform lives and bring hope to those with no hope.”

New Futures Nepal began working with the Hope Family Trust in 2015, when we funded the building of a brand new Hope Family Home named Hornbeam House.  Since then we have provided funding for the day-to-day schooling, medical, food, and clothing needs for several of the children in the home, as well as the salaries of all its staff.  Many of these children have left Hornbeam House to begin independent lives. We currently support 5 children (who live alongside children with their own sponsors) at the home and are committed to supporting their needs until adulthood.  We also provide advice and guidance to the Hope Family Trust in the area of building infrastructure projects.