我是四十二个孩子的妈妈

When Maggie Doyne was a high school senior， she was on track. You know the one： Graduate on time and with good grades， spend four years at college， get a job—probably in an office and perhaps a short train ride away from her hometown. And then she woke up.

“I just woke up one morning feeling empty， not knowing what my purpose was，” the New Jersey native explains.“The thought of going to college was scary to me because I didnt know what I wanted to do， or who I wanted to be， or what I wanted to put my energy towards. So at the very last moment， I put off college. It was a big surprise to everybody.” She signed herself up for a gap year program that combined outdoor survival classes with service learning， and headed off to southern Asia.

Her second semester found her in India， at a time of civil war across the border in Nepal. The conflict created nearly a million orphans in the country， and many refugee children were fleeing to northeastern India， where Maggie was stationed. After months of working with the refugee community， she decided she wanted to see what was going on in Nepal for herself.

Traveling with a Nepali teenager she befriended in India， she made her way into “the middle of nowhere” following a ceasefire. “We spent two and a half days on a bus， and then three days walking， climbing mountains，” she says. “It was really strenuous， and also just so beautiful. I felt so at home， but I was really shocked to see the way women and children were living. I had never seen anything like that.”

She continued to travel throughout the region， meeting kids and listening to their stories， trying to understand the extreme poverty and dangerous conditions that were a reality of post-civil war life. She started to pick up the language， and made a decision—a really huge， life-changing decision—to put down roots in the Kopila Valley， convincing her parents to send her the $5，000 she saved up from years of babysitting. The money went toward buying land on which she built a childrens home; there are now 42 kids who call her “mom.”

“I wanted to give these kids a childhood similar to the one I had， with family and love，”she explains. A couple years later， she opened a school for students in the region： “Kids were laboring and being sold as domestic servants. They were getting in really bad situations， begging on the streets， breaking rocks on the side of the road. I didnt want to see it anymore. I wanted them to have a safe， happy place where they could thrive and learn.” The school now has 340 students; a high school is in the process of being built.

The next phase of Maggies work？ A womens center. “A lot of the women in my community were really struggling， and I was constantly having to call the police to report domestic violence. Suicide has actually emerged as the leading killer of women in Nepal，”Maggie says. Just as the school is a safe space for Nepali children， the center has become a source of light for women in the community.

“The girls and women have improved so much through the school and the center，”she says. “Its been inspiring to see all these generations join forces in a place where theyre safe and supported. They think their problems are really bad， but when they come together and realize everyone has the same worries and concerns and needs， it just gets so much better.”

As Maggies work has snowballed， so has the support around it. Theres now a fellow program that attracts volunteers from around the world， and the impact in Kopila is truly just the beginning. “If you told me when I was 16 that I was going to be living in remote Nepal and be a mom to 42 kids， I would have looked at you like you were the biggest liar in the world，” she says. “I didnt have any idea where life could take me， or that it could be this good and fulfilling. I wake up every day loving my work and thinking I have the greatest job in the universe. Its like， how did this happen？”

當玛吉·多因还在读12年级的时候，一切都步入正轨。你知道的：以优异的成绩准时毕业，读四年大学，找一份工作——也许在离自己家一小段火车距离的办公室上班。不过她醒过来了。

“一天早上我醒来，感觉空荡荡的，不知道自己是为了什么而活着，”这位（美国）新泽西人如是说。“想到要读大学，我不禁害怕起来，因为我不知道自己想做什么，想成为怎样的人，把自己的精力放到哪里。于是在最后一刻，我推迟了读大学的时间。每个人都很吃惊。”她报名参加了一个结合户外求生技能和服务培训的间隔年计划，随后远赴南亚。

到了第二学期，她来到印度，那时尼泊尔边境正在打内战。冲突导致该国上百万孤儿流离失所，很多难民儿童逃到印度东北部，也就是玛吉驻扎的地方。为难民群体工作了几个月后，她决定亲自到尼泊尔看看当地情况。

她在印度结识了一名尼泊尔少年，两人在停火期间结伴来到了“无人地带”。“我们坐了两天半公交车，然后用了三天步行、爬山，”她说。“确实很艰辛，但也很美好。我很有归属感，但当我看到女性和儿童的生活状况，实在很震惊。我从没见过这种事情。”

她继续在该区域探访。途中，她遇见了很多孩子，聆听他们的故事，尝试理解内战以后那种极度贫穷、危险的生活环境。她开始学习当地语言，并做了一个决定——一个改变人生的重大决定——定居柯比拉山谷，还说服父母把自己做临时保姆赚到的5000美元汇给她。这笔钱被用作购置土地，她在那里建起了一个儿童之家;现在有42个小孩叫她“妈妈”。

“我希望让这些孩子都能有一个和我一样的童年——有家，得到关爱，”她解释说。几年后，她为该地学生开办了一家学校：“儿童要做苦力，被当作家奴贩卖。他们的情况真的很糟糕——在街上行乞，在路边碎石。我不想再看到这种事了。我希望有一个安全快乐的地方可以让他们茁壮成长，学习知识。”学校现在有340名学生;一所高中正在建设中。

玛吉下一阶段的工作是什么？建一个妇女中心。“我所在社区的很多女性挣扎在痛苦边缘，我总是被迫报警，举报家庭暴力。事实上在尼泊尔，自杀已经成为女性死亡的主要原因，”玛吉说。正如学校对尼泊尔儿童来说是一个安全的地方，妇女中心也成了这个社区女性的一盏明灯。

“通过学校和妇女中心，女孩和妇女们得到了很大的提高，”她说。“看到不同年代的人在一个安全、得到支持的地方同心协力，实在很令人鼓舞。他们觉得自己的问题很糟糕，然而当他们团结在一起，意识到每个人都有相同的顾虑和担忧，有同样的需求，情况就会好起来。”

随着玛吉的工作迅速扩大，周围的支持也在增加。现在，一个“兄弟”计划正吸引着世界各地的志愿者，柯比拉山谷的影响只是开始。“如果我16岁的时候，你对我说，我将在偏远的尼泊尔定居，成为42个孩子的妈妈，我会用‘你是世界上最能撒谎的人的眼神看着你，”她说。“以前我不知道生活会把我引领到哪个方向，也不知道原来生活可以这般美好充实。每天醒来，我都爱着我的事业，心里想着我有一份全宇宙最好的工作。就像，这一切是怎样发生的呢？”