Founding Story

The child with
whom it all started

Sometimes you meet someone who changes your life. I met Ombir for the first time in the summer of 2014. A very positive and happy boy with a lust for life. I asked him: “What would you like the most in the whole world?

“Love," he answered. I slumped to my knees, embraced his fragile body. In his bright eyes, I saw a child looking back at me. A golden smile on his face and beaming eyes.

At that moment, I saw the enormous power and the potential of giving as little as love to just one child. An 11-year-old boy’s greatest dream was something as simple as love. This answer changed his life.

Ombir was born in a very small village in the south of Nepal. He lived with his brother and parents in a hut made of bamboo. Ombir grew up in pure poverty. With only one meal a day, the chance of survival was small. Following the death of his father, Ombir’s sick mother brought him here.

Here, Ombir was provided with the vital things he needed. Shelter, food, education and love. Lots of love! But above all, a chance to build a better future.

At the beginning of 2016, I set up my own foundation - the Ombir Foundation, named after the boy who inspired me so much - and I take care of these children here in Nepal 24/7.

These children have become my family. And if I’ve learnt one thing from them, then it’s that we have to take care of our family, wherever we may find them in the world. I have made it my life mission to take care of these children. With the greatest dream to build a new house, because every child deserves to grow up in a safe and loving environment.

In the summer of 2017, the construction of the new house for the children began. The rainy season immediately put a halt on continuing construction for a few months. Fortunately, this gave us some extra time to raise sufficient funds for the house.

After months of very hard work and having to overcome various setbacks, the house was finally ready at the end of 2018, just before Christmas. We all said goodbye to the stuffy upstairs flat in the apartment block where we had been living for the past couple of years.

Step by step, I walked with the children to our new house. The place they can call their home from now onwards. We didn’t have any possessions other than what we had in our school backpacks on our backs.

When we crossed the river barefoot on the outskirts of the village, I got goose bumps, and the tears begin to stream. The children also became emotional as we looked behind us again. You did it, Mick. You did it! We have our own house! Yes, dear ones, we have succeeded. This was such an amazing feeling.