On the banks of the heavily polluted Bagmati river there is a slum, with tin shanty "homes' having no toilets, floors, heat or lights. Everyday, 140 children walk from this slum to Koseli School where they bathe, brush teeth, change into clean school uniforms, have a hearty breakfast and begin to study. It's a place of miracles, there's no other way to state it. It costs just over $1.00 a day to feed, educate and provide clothing for these kids, an incredibly cheap cost.
We had to turn away 60 kids this year from the school as we didn't have funding or room for them.
We are going to add a second school so we don't have to turn young, sharp minds away from an education. The organization has the staff, experience and capacity to manage a second school.
The kids living in these slums have little hope for the future. Their parents are mostly illiterate, very poor, day workers. The kids at Koseli on the other hand can read and write, most in English now as well as their native language. After completion of primary school our aim is to get them into vocational training programs where they will find work. Slowly, the slums will fade away as generation after generation are educated, have jobs and leave. These kids are the future of Nepal.
