A video of Minister for Women, Children and Senior Citizens Sita Badi breastfeeding a rescued infant went viral on Thursday evening, July 23, drawing widespread public attention and praise for what many described as an act of maternal compassion.

The child in the video, however, was not Badi’s own son. The 17-day-old girl was among 20 children rescued on Saturday, July 18, from a shelter home operated by the Nepal Children’s Organisation (NCO) at Bal Mandir in Naxal, Kathmandu, after concerns were raised over their living conditions.

“When I took it in my arms, I saw my own child in her. Before I realised it, tears welled in my eyes,” Badi told Kantipur.

Badi, who often takes her 19-month-old son to ministry meetings and public events, said the incident had a deeply personal connection for her. She herself spent part of her childhood in a care home.

“I never imagined I would become a parliamentarian or a minister,” she said. “When I got this portfolio unexpectedly, it felt like I could give it a personal touch.”

The moment captured in the viral video was of Sunday, July 19, a day after Badi ordered the evacuation of 20 children under two years from the non-government organisation’s central office.

The children, including 12 boys and eight girls aged between 15 days and two years, were moved after reports of deteriorating conditions at the facility during the monsoon.

The rescue team included representatives from the minister’s secretariat, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City Ward 1, the KMC Child Rescue Task Force, the KMC Child Rights Committee and personnel from Maligaun Police Circle.

The intervention came after a social media user commented on one of Badi’s posts, urging her to inspect Bal Mandir during the rainy season. After her secretariat brought the comment to her attention, Badi made an unannounced visit to the facility.

She said she was disturbed by what she saw, including children in unclean clothes and with runny noses, and issued written instructions to the management to improve conditions immediately.

The situation drew further attention last week after Rasala Tandukar, a ward member of KMC-1, posted photographs showing poor conditions inside the care centre and warned that the health and wellbeing of the children were at risk.

After seeing the photographs, Badi ordered an emergency evacuation during heavy rainfall. At around 6 pm on Saturday, July 18, a rescue team reached Bal Mandir.

“Sewage had entered the room where infants below two years were kept, forcing staff to move them to an administrative office,” said Soni Bhattarai, a personal secretary to the minister who took part in the rescue.

“Twenty infants were placed on a single floor mat, and dry instant noodles had been scattered in front of them,” she said.

Ramesh Roka, another personal secretary involved in the operation, said NCO chairperson Bidya Neupane initially objected to the evacuation, alleging that officials were trying to shut down the organisation.

“Given the condition of the facility, we could not leave the children there,” Roka said. “Seeing two infants smile in my arms after we boarded the rescue vehicle was an emotional moment.”

After the evacuation, Badi held an emergency meeting with ministry officials to arrange resources for temporary care. On Sunday evening, July 19, she visited the shelter with a medical team led by Dr Ramji Ram.

Medical examinations found several children suffering from eye infections, skin problems and severe cough. While doctors examined the children, Badi helped clean and bathe the infants.

During the visit, a 17-day-old child began crying and did not stop. As the shelter had no formula milk or other feeding options, Badi held the child and breastfed him until he calmed down and fell asleep.

“It felt as though this child had been deprived of nourishment for a long time,” Bhattarai recalled telling the minister.

“I am his mother now,” Badi replied.

Five caregivers have since been assigned to the temporary shelter, with each responsible for four children.

“Although these arrangements were made on an emergency basis without a separate payroll budget, the children’s health has improved significantly,” Badi said, adding that she breastfed the child twice that evening.

She rejected allegations that the intervention was aimed at dissolving the NCO.

“We have no intention of shutting down the organisation, nor do we have any hostility towards anyone. Our only objective is to ensure proper care for these children,” she said.

Badi said the current arrangement was temporary and that the government-owned land where NCO operates should have been better managed.

“NCO sits on government property. Had the infrastructure been properly maintained, this crisis could have been avoided,” she said.

The ministry is monitoring construction of a new building at the premises, which is expected to be completed within four months, she added.

Badi also said the ministry was working to address long-standing problems faced by children without parental care, including difficulties obtaining citizenship certificates. She proposed a sustainable funding mechanism for child welfare through small voluntary contributions from civil servants’ salaries.

NCO central chairperson Bidya Neupane said flooding at the facility was caused by blocked drainage and construction-related debris. She blamed delays by contractors for leaving renovation work on the main building incomplete despite an original completion deadline in the fiscal year 2021/22.

Neupane said staff had already begun shifting children to safer areas within the compound before the government team arrived.

“Protecting children is the state’s responsibility, and I view the ministry’s intervention positively,” she said.

Prabin Silwal, a member of the KMC Child Rights Committee who participated in the rescue, said municipal authorities had repeatedly worked to address drainage problems in the area.

“Continuous heavy rainfall for two days, combined with ongoing renovation work, created unsafe conditions that made immediate relocation necessary,” Silwal said.

He added that the KMC and the NCO were coordinating to implement standard operating procedures for child care homes across the metropolis.