Support Girls' Education in Rural Nepal

by Edge of Seven

Project Report | Feb 19, 2014
A New Hostel in Salleri and Basa Update

By Sarah Andrews | Executive Director

Maya, a student in Salleri

As one of eight siblings, Maya knows firsthand the demands, challenges, and hardships her parents faced trying to provide for so many children. While she enjoyed growing up in a busy household, Maya says she plans to have a smaller family so that she can focus all of her resources on giving her children the best care and opportunities available.

At Edge of Seven's Solukhumbu Girls Hostel in Nepal, where Maya is studying in grades 11 and 12, she is still exploring what she wants to do with her career, but thinks often of going on to the local university to receive a Bachelor's degree so that she will have more options in life. "I know I want to be a self-dependent person," she said. "To be educated is like winning a lottery. After you win it, you can choose your way in life."

This fall, Edge of Seven and our local partners plan to break ground on a new hostel in Salleri to house girls from remote villages who are pursuing a Bachelor's degree at the local university in the Solukhumbu District. Femlae graduates from grade 12 at the higher secondary schools in Salleri and Basa will be able to apply for scholarship assistance and room and board at the Solukhumbu University Hostel so they can continue their education at the highest level available in the region.

Across Nepal, only one-third of university students are women, and this number is even lower in the Solukhumbu District, where the lack of roads make for lengthy commute times to Salleri from remote villages. Without gender appropriate housing and tuition assistance, most girls are unable to access the higher educational facilities located in the district capital. Through collaborations with local NGOs, the new hostel will address both of these issues, creating a pathway to higher education that currently doesn't exist. We hope you'll consider supporting this important project through Global Giving today.

We're also happy to report that we're putting the finishing touches on the final classrooms at the Basa Higher Secondary School, which will create access to grades 11 and 12 for hundreds of students in this remote region of the Solukhumbu District. Previously, most students in this region ended their educations after grade 10, so we are honored to contribute to this important educational resource that will serve students for decades to come.

Thank you to all of you who have supported our work in Basa and beyond!

Questions? Please email us at info@edgeofseven.org.

Classroom walls going up in Basa

Enjoying the Sun at the Solukhumbu Hostel

Volunteers and Community Members in Basa

Bamboo Roof Structure in Basa

Volunteers Departing Basa

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Edge of Seven in Denver Idealist

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Nov 20, 2013
Building Up Girls in Basa, Nepal

By Sarah Andrews | Executive Director

Members of Our Volunteer Team in Nepal!

Last week, 13 Edge of Seven volunteers and filmmakers landed in Nepal, where they are now working at our project site in Basa (Everest Region) to build two additional earthbag classrooms at the local higher secondary school. These classrooms will help to increase school attendance among girls in the region, as well as allow the teachers to deliver new classes in business development and English to the students.

Their efforts will help us complete in total six classrooms in Basa, using the earthbag building method, an earthquake-resistant, environmentally-friendly, and cost-effective method that we helped introduce to the region. In the spring of 2014, we will build the final two classrooms at the campus. (To learn about upcoming volunteer opportunities in Basa, please visit our website. To keep up with the progress of our team in Nepal, you can follow Edge of Seven on Facebook.)

In other news, this fall we welcomed 40 new girls to the Solukhumbu Girls Hostel that we helped build in Salleri, Nepal. These girls, who hail from villages across the Solukhumbu District, are all attending grades 11 and 12 at the local college, and they are all the first members of their family to do so.

This December, we'll be launching a campaign called "31 Days of Hope." Every day in December we will be sharing a story about a girl living and studying at the hostel. Girls like Juna Maya Tamang, who is 16 and from the village of Tamakhani. Juna Maya is an avid painter and a hardworker who relishes her studies in Salleri. While she is still figuring out what profession to pursue, she knows she wants to chart her own course in life. "I want to be self-dependent," she said. "And that is why I need an education. Education can take you from the darkness into a life full of life and hope. So, it's important for everyone, but especially girls in Nepal who have few opportunities."

To receive stories from 31 Days of Hope, please check our website in December or send an email to sarah@edgeofseven.org to join our mailing list.

As always, thank you for all you do to help educate and empower girls and women in the developing world!

Students at Our Campus in Basa

Juna Maya Tamang - A Student at Our Girls Hostel

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Aug 21, 2013
Educating Girls in Nepal: The Need is Now

By Sarah Andrews | Executive Director

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