soon took action. pushpa started a nonprofit called ecdc, early childhood development centre, to care for the kids of inmates. she started with just four children in 2005 and grew the program to care for more than 40. from kathmandu is pushpa basnet. she s been at it for more than a decade with little support from local government or the public. and cnn heroes honored her. this is for my children, and this is for back to my country, nepal. and thank you very much for everyone who vote for me and who believed in my dream. thank you. [ applause ] the global attention she received when she was announced as cnn hero of the year was something altogether new. after becoming the hero in 2012 after coming back to nepal, everything changed in my life. the first thing i encountered in the airport was my father. i never got a hug from my father. i think that was the first time in my life my father hugged me.
these kids. most of them i ve seen them arrive into this world. and when they run up to me and hug me, just makes life worth living. robin s commitment to maternal health has made a huge impact on so many lives. to vote for robin lim or another past hero to be name period cnn superhero, go to cnnheroes.com and watch sunday s 10th annual heroes all-star tribute to find out which alum will win $50,000 to further tir cause. next pup, children growing up in prison though they ve committed no crime. i think the smile and the hope and the dream that they have, i think, yes, that really keeps me inspired to do more. and pushpa basnet created a center to help children reclaim their child, go to school, and
now people say that, look at these kids, they have such a fortunate life, you know. they are so blessed to have a good education, good environment, good family and everything, you know. for pushpa basnet, the last 12 years of hard work has paid off. through her various programs, she has helped educate and care for more than 150 kids. she may be a cnn hero, but to her children, she s mamu, a nepalese word for mother. and mamu has no plans to stop. when someone calls me the cnn hero of the year, i do blush out. i do really blush out. my face color changes. my kids are my heroes because they are the ones who really inspired me to do this work. the hope that i have for kids living in the prison or living under the poverty in nepal that
pushpa the money she needed to rebuild the house. on february 3rd, 2016, pushpa and her children moved in. [ cheers ] this is my world, and this is my dream world for my kids. we have a separate building for boys. a separate building for girls. and we have a librari, computer room, a study room, and so we have a kitchen and an open dining hall. we have a garden. we have a solar panel which runs the butterfly home with the solar. and we have vegetable garden. definitely i think the most important thing we have that love within ourselves, you know. today, pushpa is 33 years old. she and her kids are stronger than ever and have plans to open their home to even more children in the future. yay! i think the stigma has changed.
the airport was my father. i never got a hug from my father. i think that was the first time in my life that my father hugged me. maybe he felt that, oh, i m proud of you. what you ve done. pushpa says the spotlight inspired her to work harder. since 2012, she s been able to substantially reduce the number of kids living in prisons. she also offers scholarships and works with the nepalese government to improve conditions of kids living in prisons wi their parents. we ve been working with 27 prison, but now, our government are more aware of giving a right for the kids living inside the prison. almost, they have to travel for two days to come here, you know, by bus or by walking. to get a better future. but we make sure that they are connected with their parents. because that s the most important thing, you know. after the earthquake destroyed her new home, pushpa s story of hope and loss reached