Why am I here? Nepal Education Fund

Why am I here? Nepal Education Fund

Several years ago, while travelling in India, Ed met a Canadian woman in a shared taxi.  Both had been to Nepal, and were thinking of ways to improve school for young people.  From the website:

http://www.nepaledfund.ca

The Nepal Education Fund is a small privately run charity started in 2004 to help educate children in Nepal. These children are from very poor families who cannot afford the yearly school fee nor the cost of school uniforms and the requisite school supplies. Some of the children have never attended school while others have had to drop out as their parents can no longer afford to send them because of financial hardship.

Literacy levels in Nepal are less than 48% and many parents struggle to feed their families, much less provide access to school. With the remnants of the caste system in this area, it is very difficult to break the poverty cycle without education. Secondly, there is no free health or medical care program in Nepal. So when a principle breadwinner becomes unwell, it is near impossible for a family to recover.  In 2009, The Nepal Education Fund began a literacy and sewing class for women in Pokhara. 

 
Susan and her local representative, visit twice a year, bringing letters from sponsors, taking photos and returning these with letters from each student to the sponsor. 

As the website shows:

 "The cost to sponsor and educate a child for one year is Cdn $125.00 for Government school and $350.00 for private school. This pays for the school registration and monthly fee, the three mandatory annual exams, a school uniform, schoolbag, shoes and supplies."

Susan raises the administration costs from garage sales, being sponsored in marathons and by selling Nepali goods at local Canadian markets.