Women at Work in Rural Nepal

In a little over two weeks, the long winter break will come to an end and mountain schools across Nepal will open for a new year of learning.

For us at Marpha Foundation, 2018 has already been filled with more learning experiences than we could have imagined and we thank you for helping make that possible. In only two months, 25 individual donors contributed to raise over $8000. This bolus of support has allowed us to spend our winter holiday away from fundraising efforts and focusing on what we were fundraising for: developing the capacity of the women who are Marpha Foundation. 

Over break, kindergarten teacher Pabitra and our Co-Director Nanu participated in a month-long early learning teacher training in Lalitpur. Pabitra and Nanu, along with 20 teachers from schools across Nepal, explored developmental curriculum through hands-on activities and role-play. By participating in and bearing witness to the learning taking place around them, Pabitra and Nanu understood that the practice of empathy was central to their experience.  This will be an important reference point as Nanu designs and leads onsite workshops for our teacher team and parent community this year.

Madhurya, long-time teaching Fellow and new Co-Director, was also deeply engaged in learning this winter. She was commissioned by an INGO in India to design two board games that communicate and engage players in Children’s Rights based on UN charter. She was also able to volunteer her time with a school, farm, and reforestation project in Tamil Nadu. Her ongoing relationship with that community continues to inform her work with Marpha—it is invaluable for our team members to experience how other organizations are working towards relevant models of learning that are deeply tied to place and ecology. 

As for me, I’ve spent a month back home in Los Angeles. These have been full days, balancing research with spending quality time with loved ones. I’ve visited five early learning programs across the city, experiencing first hand how different schools synthesize and implement a range of “whole-child” philosophies to address the social and emotional development of children, as well as their intellectual growth. I’ve also attended two workshops at the Women’s Center for Creative Work (WCCW), a grassroots feminist organization that builds community through sharing skills and providing a platform for discussion and engagement.

The entire Marpha Foundation team would like to thank you again for your support, a gift worth more than a dollar value, for it gave us the peace of mind to wholly engage in learning. With only $6000 left to raise we are confident that our financial needs will be met and we can put our energy during this new school year towards serving our community with innovation and care.

 We’ll share more once school begins mid-February. Sending love from the whole Marpha Foundation Family!