Good news sometime comes in small packages. Nepal had one recently when a 61-year-old brought smiles to every lip in the good-news-starved nation.
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The reason for the proud grins was Anuradha Koirala, founder of Maiti Nepal, who returned to Kathmandu last week to a roaring welcome after being named the CNN Hero for 2010. The award was in recognition for saving nearly 12,000 girls and women from being sold to brothels in India or rescuing them from traffickers.
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Koirala beat eight other contenders from across the globe in an online poll that lasted eight weeks.
The other heroes included India’s Narayanan Krishnan —the chef from Madurai who has fed 1.2 million hot meals to homeless and destitute.
Daughter of an Indian Army officer, Koirala spent her formative years in the hill station before coming to Nepal to take up a teaching job.
An abusive marital relationship and encounters with other suffering women made her start Maiti Nepal.
Every year, nearly 15,000 girls from Nepal, some as young as six years, are sold to Indian brothels. Maybe the award will raise awareness to end the scourge.
A seasoned senior journalist, I have nearly three decades of experience across print, digital, and online platforms, covering political transitions, insurgencies, environmental issues, and development stories in India and Nepal. I am skilled in breaking news, leading editorial teams and launch of newspaper editions. I am adept at leveraging digital trends and social media to expand global reach, with a strong ethical foundation and a reputation for impactful journalism. An alumnus of Asian College of Journalism, I joined Hindustan Times in New Delhi as a trainee reporter in May 1997. Over the years, I have been posted in Dehradun, Kathmandu (Nepal) and Guwahati. Currently, as Senior Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times, I lead a team reporting on India’s northeastern states. My work involves in-depth analysis, and engaging multimedia storytelling across formats, including text, photo, video, and interactive content. I am skilled in producing timely, shareable content, leveraging digital platforms and social media to engage global audiences. Throughout my career with the Hindustan Times, I have led diverse editorial teams, designed capacity-building activities, and supported reporters in developing strong story ideas, ethical reporting practices, digital skills, and fact-checking techniques. As Senior Assistant Editor for Northeast India, I have been responsible for guiding correspondents through complex political, humanitarian, and community-level stories using multimedia formats. Earlier, as Foreign Correspondent in Nepal, I produced extensive reporting during Nepal’s democratic transition and the 2015 earthquake and its aftermath.
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