Her transition to life in the poverty-stricken nation was anything but glamorous. She nearly drowned. She contracted tuberculosis and was quarantined for a year. She also suffered from para-typhoid and parasites. She was detained by a drug dealer.

In addition, Nepal is in a near-constant state of civil war, and from her orphanage, Pelous often hears bombs exploding.

Despite such hardships, Pelous has accomplished much for her "adopted children."

Pelous, who spoke to FranklinCovey Co. employees earlier this week as part of a campaign to raise money for her orphanage, has been called France's Mother Theresa.

Once a designer for Yves St. Laurent, Christian Dior and Nina Ricci, Pelous ventured to Calcutta in 1985 and was overwhelmed by the poverty she saw. She knew she must help the people somehow, so she contacted Mother Theresa, who invited her to help in India.

"I can't promise anything, but if I find opportunity, I will do something," Pelous said. That has been the understatement of her life.

There would be no shortage of ways she could help. She assisted with humanitarian projects throughout India, but found she could be the most effective working with children.

For five years, Pelous traveled to India when she was not designing clothes for spring and fall collections, said Diana Peterson, president of First Hope, a Utah fundraising organization for Pelous' cause.

Pelous worked with more than 800 children in various orphanages. The children had no protein in their diets, so Pelous raised chickens and gave children eggs.

But after working with several orphanages, she chose to focus her efforts. A Catholic priest persuaded her to start her own orphanage in Nepal, where he felt orphans needed her the most. She sold her home in Paris to build an orphanage in Nepalgang.

When Pelous arrived in Nepal, she was transported on a bullock cart to meet 28 orphaned children with no food, Peterson said. It was monsoon season when she arrived, and because snakes were prevalent, Pelous and the kids slept on platforms.

"She started with 28 children. The next year she had 50," Peterson said. "She has adopted 92 orphans. She is a single mother of quite a large family."

Peterson said 25 of the children originally under Pelous' care had been found in the tops of trees after a huge flood. The parents threw them in the trees to save them and were never seen again. Three other children came to her after their parents died in a bus accident.

Peterson seemed destined to work with Pelous. She got involved when she went to an LDS Church ward to hear Pelous speak. Peterson and her husband were captivated by the woman and her cause.

"I had tears running down my cheeks by the end of the speech," Peterson said.

Pelous has found support around the world because she has been able to help children who have no identities under Nepal's caste system mature into self-aware, educated adults.

"I am very happy because they don't have sad eyes," she said. "This is a gift of God for me."

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Contact Frank Fisher at ffisher@sltrib.com or 257-8693. Send comments about this article to religion editor@sltrib.com.

Learn more

l For more information about Cecile Pelous and her orphanage, visit http://nepalfirst hope.org or call 801-277-9922.