Improving Access and Quality of Education in Nepal

It has been a busy few months here at Freedom to Learn and we are excited to be able to update you on how your support is continuing to make such a difference to the students we work with in Nepal. The majority of our students come from some of the most marginalised and vulnerable communities in the hilly regions of the Himalayas. We work hard to improve the confidence and wellbeing of our students, achieving this by creating a creative learning environment and getting parents and the wider community involved in the education of their children. Here are two examples of how we do it......

Picnic time

Last week our students in Kushadevi had an exciting excursion in the beautiful outdoors. The teachers arranged a fun day for the students to enjoy a picnic together. It was a chance for the students to learn about their natural surroundings, and also what makes a healthy diet and for them to create happy memories with their fellow classmates and teachers. We encourage activities like the picnic as it is an educational opportunity but also gives the children a chance to enjoy nature and to play with one another. Many of our students work up to 6 hours a day before and after school, moments like this are very precious to them. We recognise this and nurture all of our students whilst at school ensuring they receive a quality education but also space to be children; to play and have fun with their classmates.

Ride for Life- Sunils story

Our Ride for Life programme continues to be a success, with more students encouraged to attend school because they will be able to learn how to ride a bike and maintain it. Our skilled and passionate facilitators run workshops once a week across 5 schools. For many of our students this is the first time they will have ridden a bike. We would like to tell you about one of our students named Sunil. Sunil, like many of our students, comes from a difficult background. He did not see the point of attending school and decided to leave and to work as a bus conductor. This is a hazardous job that is not suitable for a boy as young as Sunil. Our staff were increasingly concerned about Sunil’s welfare living in the streets and working on the buses, and through our outreach programme the team were able to talk with Sunil and persuade him to come back to school to continue his education. Sunil mentioned his interest in the bikes so the facilitators asked Sunil if he would like to help out with the workshops and could also use a bike if he came back to school. Sunil was delighted with this offer and has since returned home and is attending school every day, as well as assisting the Ride for Life team with bike maintenance and of course riding the bikes too! If it wasn’t for the bikes Sunil would still be living with other street children and working the buses, not attending school regularly and getting the experience of volunteering and supporting other children to learn to ride bikes. His is one story of many made possible by your generosity. 

Thank you again for your generous support! You make it possible for us to improve the access to and quality of education to over 3000 students in Nepal.

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