By Eva Kasell | President and Founder
Alisha is 15 years old and has always excelled in school. As an EDWON-sponsored child, we have followed her since 2009. When I met her in March of 2015 in Tanglichowk village, she impressed me as someone who could go far with the right kind of educational support.
Since we started the Ambitious Girls Fund, we have helped 38 Dalit girls graduate, 23 of them with a bachelor degree. We are currently supporting the education of 23 additional girls.
As a Dalit girl Alisha has already tasted the bitterness of discrimination. She has also suffered recent losses and traumas: after the sudden death of her still young father her mother remarried and moved away. But why, you may ask, did she abandon her girls? The answer is that it is just another expression of gender discrimination: while women are expected to care for children from a husband’s first marriage, they must leave their own offspring from a previous marriage behind. Alisha and her young sister are lucky to be cared for by loving grandparents.
The grandmother is a member of an EDWON women’s group--one of 14 I interviewed on my trip to Nepal in March. Sitting under a large tree with stunning views of a lush valley, we discussed both successes and challenges, while Alisha and her friend served milk tea and biscuits from a large thermos. As I sat down with her in the golden afternoon light, she told me how she loves school and that she dreams of becoming a lawyer: “I see so much injustice around me”, she explained, “ And I want to help make right what’s wrong.” With your support, Alisha has gained the confidence to dream big; her view of life and what is possible has changed forever.
But now all plans must be revised: on April 25th a massive earthquake hit--lives and dreams are shattered. The epicenter was near Alisha’s Gorkha village. Thankfully, few villagers died, but Alisha now lives in a tent with her grandparents. The neat little home built by her grandfather is just a heap of rubble, and Alisha’s school is temporarily closed. The May 12th aftershock earthquake that followed caused additional damage in Tanglichowk. The challenges of daily life and survival are immense.
EDWON continues to help fund the education of girls like Alisha. But in the current situation providing emergency relief and helping people rebuild their homes and lives take priority. Alisha and thousands of other villagers urgently need food, sandals, blankets--and to rebuild their homes.
Please give generously to EDWON’s Rebuilding Fund for Rural Dalit Women of Nepal. DONATE HERE
By Eva Kasell | Project Coordinator
By Daryl Caggiano | Ambitious Girls Fund Program Coordinator
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