GREAT TAMANG SOCIAL WORKER WON A "PRIDE OF AUSTRALIA MEDAL" in the Fair Go category IN THE YEAR 2011

IN THE PHOTO :Cairns' Pride of Australia Medal finalists | Som returns to Nepal to help more children go to school | Charities join forces for children of Nepal. After overcoming personal hardships, he now helps children in his native Nepal.

 
"THEIR achievements have won hearts and praise in the Far North and now they have been recognised across the state & the World". Congratulations

SOM TAMANG

DENIED an education as a child, Som Tamang left his Nepalese village of Batase in Langtang,Nepal at 10 to seek schooling in the capital city Kathmandu - only to find himself enslaved as a child labourer.

Som found work in a backpacker hostel, where he taught himself to speak many languages including English and Japanese. He also worked as a porter and tour guide with a trekking company, which lead to an opportunity to come to Australia. In 2008, Som officially became an Australian citizen.But getting his citizenship was not enough for Som. He still dreamt of learning and, now it was possible to beat the odds. To accomplish his goal of going to university, Som first had to complete grades 11 and 12. He then completed a tertiary access course and is now studying for his Bachelor of Arts in New Media at James Cook University (JCU) Cairns.

Together they created Friends of Himalayan Children Inc, which was registered as a charity in 2009. The organisation builds classrooms, pays for teachers and houses orphans in Batase.

Som gives regular talks at schools about his experiences as a child slave and the charity is determined to raise awareness of the problem to put a stop to child labour in Nepal. FHC is funding a safe home for young people to live once they are taken out of their working environment.

In recognition of his efforts in creating Friends of Himalayan Children Inc., on 14 October 2011 Som was awarded a Pride of Australia medal in the Queensland Fair Go category.

Besides being a husband and father, going to university and spearheading Friends of Himalayan Children Inc., Som works as a certified Nepali interpreter for Immigration, Centrelink, Centacare and Cairns hospitals.
It was at JCU that Som had the opportunity to accomplish another of his goals – creating an organisation to support and educate children from his home village.

Now living in Cairns and putting himself through university, the 26-year-old has devoted his life to helping Nepalese children by building classrooms, paying for teachers, housing orphans and trying to prevent them from suffering his fate.

His tale has inspired his wife Susan to nominate him for the Pride of Australia Medal 2011 in the courage category.

"Som has been an inspiration to me and to many in Cairns," Ms Tamang wrote in her nomination. "Som left his village at 10 to seek out an education in Kathmandu, but was forced into child slavery – a trap many children fall into in Nepal."

He worked on building sites, as a street seller and as a domestic servant to rich families who treated him poorly.

"He would sleep at night under their stairs without adequate blankets to keep him warm and would lie awake at night, dreaming about a better life. He knew he could make it happen if he worked hard," Ms Tamang wrote.

Working as a street seller, he started speaking English with tourists and eventually got work as a porter and tour guide with a trekking company. This led to an opportunity to come to Australia, where he became an Australian citizen in 2008.

"Rather than walking away and forgetting about his horrific past, Som uses his experiences to help the children in Nepal and to try to prevent them from suffering his fate," Ms Tamang wrote.

He has since founded a charity, Friends of Himalayan Children, to educate Nepalese children and also helps settle many newly-arrived Bhutanese refugees in Cairns.

The Pride of Australia Medal program, run by News Limited, publisher of The Cairns Post, celebrates ordinary Australians who do extraordinary things.

"The Pride of Australia medal has uncovered so many heart-warming, inspiring, stories about people whose remarkable actions make us all proud to be Australian," chairman and chief executive of News Ltd, John Hartigan, said.