Children

The following are some of the children who are currently being helped by School Nepal. They are already being sponsored by
people from a variety of countries; including USA, Russia, Australia and Nepal, among others.

Arjun R.

This is Arjun. He is an only child and was born in 1999. His father works at a construction site earning three dollars a day. His mother died giving birth to a daughter, who died also. Arjun was only two when his mother died, so he doesn’t remember her at all. Arjun’s father, who has not remarried, moved from a small village to Kathmandu (along with Arjun’s aunt) about five years ago in the search of a better life. They rent one room, where they sleep and cook. The condition of their room is poor and they manage life with very few things. Arjun helps his father and aunt doing chores at home but he mostly likes playing with friends. Because his father and aunt are out all day working, he is left unattended. Arjun has been mischievous and gotten into some trouble, but we hope that the opportunity to go to school will give him a chance to be a good boy. School Nepal has allowed him this chance, and he is currently in the fifth grade.

Bikram L.

Bikram is twelve years old and is attending fifth grade. Thanks to sponsorship from a Christian-Korean family from the USA, he is in school, not in the street or being used for child labor. Bikram doesn’t have parents. His mother committed suicide when he was three and his father has disappeared, with whereabouts unknown. Bikram’s uncle and aunt take care of him along with their own two girls and Bikram’s two sisters. The uncle works as a laborer and earns less than three dollars per day. Thus, this family of seven has very little to survive on. Bikram is a shy boy. He talks little and rarely smiles. According to his teachers, in the past he got into trouble a lot and didn’t like to study. But now, after getting help from School Nepal, Bikram likes going to school. He is very happy to get school supplies, a new uniform and a variety of snacks at the school canteen. Now he doesn’t want to miss a single day of school. Bikram is a great example of how a little bit of help can transform a life.

Soma, Goma and Akash B.

Soma (girl) and Goma (girl) are both in the first grade and are nine and seven years old respectively. Their brother Akash is 14 years old and in the third grade. Their father works as a low level labor and earns about three dollars per day. Of course, that is not enough to support the family of five. Their mother is looking for work as a servant to supplement the family income, but has not met success. Like many families, they recently moved to Kathmandu in search of a better life. They rent one very small room, which is in poor condition. They manage their life with very few possessions. The children didn’t have enough to eat, enough to wear and had no toys to play with at all. But all the children are obedient and help their mother to do chores. Thanks to the sponsorship of a family in the USA, Soma, Goma & Akash are able to attend school, and the family is getting a more nutritious diet.

Govinda O.

Govinda is a ten year old who, thanks to sponsorship, is studying in third grade at the Shramik Shanti School. The photos of Govinda say everything about him…he smiles all the time. Govinda is originally from the far western part of Nepal (Dang District). He had a serious bone illness when he was seven years old, so his parents sent him to live with his aunt in Kathmandu in hopes of a cure. Fortunately Govinda recovered. He stays in Kathmandu in case of relapse, and also because of the chance for a better education. Govinda likes to go to school and is very good in his studies. He is a very independent child. His aunt has to travel a long distance to get to her job. So, in their single room, he is alone a lot, cooking for himself and doing all the house chores. Govinda’s father, mother, two sisters and one brother remain in his rural village. They have a very difficult life there. He visits them in his vacation or festival time.

Sabin and Sweta K.

Sabin is 14 years old and studying in the eighth grade. Her sister Sweta is eleven and in the sixth grade. A generous sponsor is paying for both brother and sister to attend a private school in Kathmandu. Their mother is a widow, as their father died in an accident eight years ago. The mother works as a servant in someone’s house, and could no longer afford to send them to school. The family rents a very small room which is their world. Both Sabin and Sweta are obedient children who love to study and doing great in school. They are so happy that they got chance to continue going to private school, otherwise their mother was ready to put them in the government school.

Laxmi, Suresh, Pratima and Bipana L.

The four children (Laxmi sixth grade, Suresh second, Pratima in pre-school, and Bipana in nursery) all are able to attend school thanks to a generous sponsor. The children’s mother works whenever and wherever she can find a job; sometimes lifting bricks and sand at construction sites, sometimes selling trinkets or small cooked things on the street. The children’s father, unfortunately, is not very supportive and has no regular income. Prior to School Nepal’s involvement, there had always been much tension and sadness in the home because there was never enough to eat. Since School Nepal’s involvement, while the family remains very poor, abject malnutrition is no longer an issue. How did Amrita find this family? One day she was waiting for a bus and next to her was a lady selling “saag” (fermented green leaves).Around her were four children playing with dirt and looking very hungry and sad. Amrita started to talk to the lady and found out that she couldn’t afford to send her kids to school. Amrita says, “I didn’t even think twice. I took them to school immediately, and from next day they started going to school”.

Ranjana Y.

Thanks to sponsorship, Ranjana is in the eighth grade at Pragati Shiksha Sadan School. She is 13 years old. She dreams of becoming a doctor and is an excellent student. Ranjana also happens to be a skilled dancer who takes part in all school dance activities. A few years ago Ranjana’s parents came to Kathmandu with their four children hoping to find a better life. Her father is a painter and her mother is a tailor. Their total income is five to six dollars per day. The family rents one room where all six members sleep, live and cook. The children understand the poor situation at home, so they don’t demand much. The children feel a big responsibility toward their family, so they all study very hard. The family is of an ethnic group from the Terai (the southern part of the country) who generally think that girls don’t need education but rather should be married off at an early age. Fortunately Ranjana’s parents don’t think that way and want their daughters to be well educated.

Rita B.

Rita is ten and is studying in the second grade. Her father died last year. He was alcoholic and did not support the family. Some years ago Rita’s mother’s arm was badly burned up to the neck in a cooking accident. In spite of this, as the sole wage earner, she works lifting bricks and sand at a construction site, earning two dollars a day. Things became so difficult that the mother was on the verge of placing Rita and her other child (a four year old boy) into an orphanage. School Nepal has prevented this. School Nepal provides supplies for school as well as food for Rita and her family. Rita and her brother now attend school daily. After her mother leaves for work in the morning, Rita has all responsibilities: cook, take care of her brother, get ready for school and walk to school for 30 minutes. Rita says “I don’t want to stay at home all day. I’ve already missed two years of school and want to study. I should be in the fourth grade by now, but because of my brother I couldn’t start first grade when I was six”. Rita is smart, hard working, and respectful. She likes school very much. Her teachers say she studies hard and placed third in her class last year.

Ritesh T.

This is Ritesh, an eight year old now attending first grade, thanks to School Nepal. Ritesh’s father died in a bus accident when Ritesh was very small. He, his mother and his two siblings live with the maternal grandparents. His mother doesn’t have a job or any way to make money (as jobs are very hard to find in Nepal). In Nepal it will be nearly impossible for her to find a man who will want to remarry her. Thus, with no income, it would be impossible for Ritesh to attend school without support. Ritesh is a shy and very quiet boy, as is his mother. Both were thrilled to get the sponsorship allowing Ritesh to study for the first time.

Sagar, Sushmita and Sajan M.

Thanks to a generous sponsor, the three children (Sagar thirteen years old, Sushmita ten years, and Sajan eight years) are all enrolled in school. Their parents are homeless and work as day laborers. Originally from the Tarai (the southern part of Nepal), the family migrated to Kathmandu and now live in a barren spot by the Bagmati River called the “Homeless People’s Land”. Refugees began to squat on the land and build huts and tents over the past couple years. These huts can be destroyed at any time by the government or by flooding of the river. Basically, with no money and no land, the family has no other choice. Despite this difficult situation, Sagar and Sushmita are very good students. They dream, respectively, of one day becoming an engineer and a teacher and being able to provide a nice place for their family to live.

Salina O.

This is Salina, a 13 year old studying in the sixth grade at Jana Prabhat School, thanks to a generous sponsor. Salina is the third of four siblings. Salina’s father died in 2004. He had witnessed the royal massacre in 2001 and was subsequently tortured severely by palace staff. As a result he became mentally unstable and later died. Salina’s mother lives in a small village several hours from Kathmandu. She has a tiny piece of land with a few goats and chickens. With no money to send Salina to school, and little to eat, she sent Salina to Kathmandu to live with an older married sister. Salina’s sister rents one room, where the family sleeps and cooks. They, too, have few things and little food. Salina is a good student, though, and likes to go to school. Her dream is to be a pilot. The money donated by her sponsor goes for school admission fee, examination fee, school uniform, shoes, undergarments, books, notebooks, pencils, and a day time snack.

Sangeet K.

Sangeet Khadhki is ten years old and studies in third grade. He is being raised by his 25 year old single mother. In a country where marriages are arranged, Sangeet’s mother broke the rules and married without her parents’ consent when she was 14 years old. She stopped attending school at that time. No surprise, the husband left her for another woman when Sangeet was very small. Life for a divorced woman is very hard in Nepal; exploited and taken advantage of easily. Sangeet’s family disowned her, as did the family of her ex-husband, leaving her defenseless and with no support. Now Sangeet’s mother works as a cleaner. She has returned to school to broaden her opportunities. This, though, leaves Sangeet unsupervised most of the time. School Nepal is giving Sangeet the opportunity to be in school but, to be frank, so far he is not doing that well. Still, he is not in the street, and is promising to try harder. Sangeet is a likable and nice boy who smiles a lot. We’re going to be working with him closely.

Srijana B.

Srijana is a second grader at Guhewhori School. She’s a cute and smart little girl. Her teachers say she likes to study. Two years ago, Srijana’s parents moved to Kathmandu from rural Nepal in search of better life. Her father works as a low level laborer at a construction site. He doesn’t live with the family regularly because he needs to be at the site most of the time. Her mother does laundry and chores in other peoples’ homes. The two dollars per day they earn goes for food, rent and basic necessities. Obviously this is not enough to send a child to school. A School Nepal sponsorship has allowed Srijana the opportunity to study. Srijana’s family rents a single room where they sleep and cook. Though they keep their room very clean, they don’t have enough to eat or wear. There are no extras, like toys for Srijana and her four year old brother Monoj. But Srijana is a helpful child. She helps the family by cleaning their room and doing some small cooking. She also takes her brother with her to school, where he sits with her all day. There is no choice – because her mother has to work, either Srijana must take him to school or she needs to stay home with him.

Sushma K.

Sushma is almost eleven years old. Thanks to a sponsor, she is studying in the fourth grade at the Pragati School in the Kupondol area of Kathmandu. Sushma is a good girl. She smiles a lot and studies hard. On her recent midterm examinations she was the sixth best in her class! Her dream is to become a teacher. Sushma has an older sister and two older brothers, all of whom attend the same school. Her parents Bal Kumar (father) and Shanta (mother) run a small snack shop near the Kupondol bridge. The front room is the shop and the back room is where the six family members live. They’re very poor, but all the family members do their best and are working to succeed.