Pushpa Basnet, 2012 CNN Hero Of The Year, Will Attend a Summer Course at Rudolf Steiner College

Online, July 8, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Pushpa Basnet, 2012 CNN Hero Of The Year, will attend a Early Childhood Course at Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, California during the month of July. Basnet was voted, out of 45,000 nominees, to receive this prestigious recognition for her work for the children of incarcerated parents in her home country, Nepal.

Nepal has no foster care system, and when an adult is sentenced to prison, and there are no other guardians, the child is incarcerated along with the parent. Basnet first learned of this policy as she was visiting a prison, during her university studies as a social worker, at the age of 21. A young child, living in prison, grabbed her shawl as she departed, and Basnet vowed from that day forward to return and help these innocent children in unfortunate circumstances.

In 2005, Basnet created the Early Childhood Development Center In Kathmandu, and has since rescued over 100 children from the prisons. Some children live with her full time and others are released from the prison during the day and returned to sleep with their parent at night. Basnet provides the children with a loving home environment, food, clothing, school, art, singing and dancing activities. The children call her "Pushpa Mamu" (Mamu meaning mother in Nepalese) and many of the children choose to stay with Pushpa, even after their parent is released from prison.

Filmmaker Thomas Morgan will release a documentary this year, Waiting for Mamu, which will tell the story of Pushpa's heroic efforts to make sure no child grows up behind bars. The film's Executive Producers are Susan Sarandon and Morgan Spurlock. The film was recently accepted to the Traverse City Film Festival and will premiere at the festival in Michigan July 31st of this year. You can view the trailer at www.waitingformamu.com

Basnet is very excited to receive sponsorship to attend a two week Early Childhood Course long Waldorf Early Childhood Teacher training at the Rudolf Steiner College. She first encountered Waldorf Education at the largest orphanage in Nepal and decided to adopt the philosophy at the Early Childhood Development Center. She feels it will open children's imaginations and encourage exploration through nature, myths, legends and fairytales. A stark difference for children living within prison walls.

This year, Basnet will begin fundraising to build a new home for the children. This will allow her to rescue more children and give them the loving home that all children deserve. Information and contribution opportunities for the Butterfly Home Project can be found at www.thebutterflyhome-usa.com (coming soon)

Based in Fair Oaks and now in its 37th year, Rudolf Steiner College is one of America's leading Waldorf teacher education colleges. Courses and programs attract over 2000 students each year, from all parts of the US who want to study the art of Waldorf education.

Located on a beautiful thirteen acre campus in Fair Oaks, just east of Sacramento, the College offers students a wide range of educational opportunities, such as Waldorf teacher education, personal enrichment courses, and workshops. The campus includes a bookstore, biodynamic garden, a performance hall and student housing.