Many Nepali children do not attend school because their families cannot afford the uniform and small fees. Furthermore, many parents expect their children to work on the family farm or do housework all day.
In 2011-2012, the Nepal Youth Foundation’s village scholarships provided education to 74 children in impoverished rural families – 33 girls and 41 boys. Many are the first members of their families to attend school.
NYF’s Solution
Only 70% of Nepali children enroll in primary school, and many of them drop out before the fifth grade. In the rural areas where the Nepal Youth Foundation works, the dropout rate is very high. Often, a family simply cannot afford the cost of the school uniform and school supplies, or even the very small school fee.
In several rural districts in Nepal, the Nepal Youth Foundation grants scholarships to children to cover their school expenses. This is the first generation in most of these areas to receive an education. An education is the best way to prepare these youngsters for the very difficult future that awaits them, since an increasing number of the next generation in Nepal's overpopulated hills will inherit no land and will have no choice but to find their fortunes competing for jobs in the cities.
The impact of the program ripples throughout communities. The scholarships motivate parents other than those whose children NYF supports to send their kids to school, because there is social pressure in the village when some kids go to school and others do not. Some parents hope that their children will also be sponsored if they start school. Headmasters report that there are noticeable rises in general attendance after NYF brings its scholarship program to their schools.
NYF’s field workers visit the schools regularly to check on the children and to observe how the schools are functioning. They walk the mountain paths of isolated rural areas, stopping at various village schools to survey the situation and discuss any problems with the headmasters and students.
The Nepal Youth Foundation supports children until they can support themselves. After they graduate from high school, the organization provides them with college scholarships or vocational training. 273 children have received life-changing opportunities thanks to this program since NYF began.
My name is Sushmita--Now I Am Not Hopeless. I am now twelve years old. I have my father, mother and three brothers in my family and I am the only daughter. I am studying in grade 5. I feel so lucky because of the support I have been receiving from NYF. If I hadn't got support, going to school would have been a dream to me because my family is so poor.
Our condition is very miserable. The roof of our house is made of straw. During the rainy season the rain water leaks through the roof and the house is also vulnerable to the wind. My father has no job and we have a very small plot of land. The cultivation from that land is insufficient for us even to feed ourselves. We don't even have enough blankets to protect ourselves from the winter. My only clothes are the school uniform provided by NYF.
My aim in life is to become a nurse and take care of the poor. That is why I have been studying so hard. But my father scolds me when he gets drunk. He even beats my mother. Last time she had to be taken to hospital because of my father's physical torture. Despite these adversities, I am not hopeless.
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Life in the rugged western region of Nepal-some 500 miles from Kathmandu- is a constant struggle for survival. People lack adequate food,safe drinking water, decent schools and primary health care. Travel is difficult. There are few roads and those that exist are in poor condition.
Gaurishankar School in rural western Nepal is a public school for 450 students from first through tenth grade. There is no road to the school. It can only be reached on foot, via steep, rough trails. Because it is the only high school that serves more than 30 villages, some students walk as far as 20 miles round-trip every schoolday, often across dangerous rivers. During the rainy season, students must cross dangerous rivers. Girls feel unsafe walking after dark.
The Nepal Youth Foundation has launched a new project to construct student housing at the school, so that fewer students drop out and so the students have enough time to study. This student housing will reduce the drop-out rate and give students more time to study so they can succeed.
The Nepal Youth Foundation is constructing dormitories, one for girls and one for boys. Schoolteachers will live in the housing and supervise the students. .
Namu, a victim of polio, is determined to go to school
Thirteen-year-old Namu is a victim of polio and walks with a marked limp. She is from a village four miles away from Gaurishankar School. Namu is determined to attend the school even though she has to walk eight miles a day, which takes her four hours. Namu would like to stay near the school and have more time to study, but there are no dormitories or houses nearby where she can rent a room.
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Countless children in Nepal are blind, deaf, or physically disabled due to dietary deficiencies and lack of medical care. They seldom have a chance to show that they can be productive members of society. Tuition at schools that accommodate the needs of disabled students is usually more than the annual income of a Nepali family. Thus, only 30% of the disabled are educated; the rest are relegated to barren lives, unable to read, write, or earn a living.
NYF gave scholarships to 69 disabled youth (30 girls and 39 boys) in 2011-2012. Education is generally the only way the disabled in Nepal can support themselves.
NYF’s Solution
NYF has paid special attention to blind, deaf, and physically challenged children, giving 188 of them scholarships since its inception. If they can enter regular school or college, NYF enrolls them there. For other children, the best place is a special school that meets their needs. NYF gives them hope and opportunities to demonstrate their capabilities and proudly learn to support themselves. The program has been highly successful – many of its graduates are now providing for themselves and their families. Some are paying their own way through graduate school.
I Can See with the Eyes of Education
A blind student receiving a college scholarship described the impact of NYF on her life: “If NYF had not supported me, I would have been a beggar wandering on the streets or I could have even died. Because of this support…I am satisfied with my life. Even if I couldn’t see the material world with my eyes, I can always see the world with the eyes of my education and knowledge…If I was not able to get this support, I would have been blind from both internally as well as externally.”
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