Introduction
Sandwiched between the giants of India and China, the small country of Nepal provides a home to eight of the ten highest mountains in the world including the greatest mountain of all, Mount Everest, which stands at 29,025 feet (8,850 meters). The Himalayas soar above the rocky plains and valleys, where most of the 26.5 million Nepalese live. Since the terrain is a challenge for any transportation infrastructure, the primary mode of transportation is by foot.
A land-locked country, Nepal is almost completely dependent on agrarian sustenance farming. Typically, forty to fifty families live and farm on sloping terraces where they grow wheat, rice, and vegetables. The second major source of income for the country is tourism. People from all over the world come to Nepal to experience the thrill and majesty of the setting. For this reason, although Nepali is the official language, English is taught in most schools and is considered to be the language of the future. In the last fifteen years, political instability has compromised tourism and made it even more difficult to develop the economic system.
Educational Challenges
The challenges to a Nepalese educational system are many and complex. The very mountains that give Nepal its grandeur provide a physical and economic challenge to building a sustainable infrastructure. Most of the population live in rural areas where no phones, roads, clean water, or schools exist. A child growing up in Nepal faces some of the worst living conditions in the world. Roughly 50% of Nepalese live in poverty - on less than US$1 a day. Of every 100 children in Nepal, 84 live in villages, 47 are malnourished, and 40 belong to extremely poor families. (1) While the country's educational system has made a great deal of progress in a very short time, there is still much to be done. Many government schools are in bad physical shape while those that exist are extremely underfunded, especially in the countryside. Although primary education is free, government schools are often inadequate and overcrowded. Many schools in remote areas are very basic and even sometimes unsafe. Often these schools have no blackboard and very little furniture. Even supplementary materials like libraries, children's books, and computer labs are rare.
Although all government schools receive some financial support from the government for teachers' salaries, villages must pay for other expenses themselves. As a result, most schools do not have a library nor do they provide books other than textbooks. The few books that they have are usually in black and white - no color - and are not children's books. Schools often provide books left by travelers that are written in English or other foreign languages rather than in Nepali. In many cases, the few books that schools have are so valuable that teachers lock them up, unavailable to curious children. Without creative, colorful books, children do not learn to love reading or explore the world through a book. Many government schools also want to provide computer education, yet very few can afford computer labs. Most Nepalese children in rural areas have never seen a computer. Yet, adequate computer knowledge and skills are major factors in determining potential future employment opportunities.
Individual family situations and cultural bias further complicate the effort to educate students. Typically, young children walk several miles every day just to attend school. Students are unable to make the trip regularly because of poor weather such as the rains of the monsoon season and because they are needed at home. Girls often have less access to education than boys. While 35% of males are illiterate, 57% of females cannot read or write. (2) There is a saying in Nepal that educating your daughter is like fertilizing your neighbor's crops. Because the Nepalese culture considers females as tradable assets, parents have difficulty rationalizing their personal development. While girls suffer the most, all the children of Nepal suffer from the many obstacles to their learning.
Room to Read's Role
The challenges are great, yet, through the efforts of our Nepal team, led by our Country Director, Dinesh Shrestha, Room to Read is making a difference. Since 1998 when Room to Read Founder John Wood delivered the first load of books to Nepal, many villages have approached our Nepalese team for support in providing educational infrastructure. Our team on the ground decides what programs Room to Read will focus on there, as they know the communities needs the best. They only work with villages that seek us as we want to know that they are committed enough to be proactive.
Local to Nepal, our team speaks the language, knows the customs and laws, and understands the issues surrounding the implementation of our various programs. In all of our programs, the team partners with the local community to complete a given project. This "challenge grant" ensures the long-term sustainability of a project long after our team has moved on to help other communities, and it allows Room to Read to leverage donor contributions to fund more projects for more communities. Since our beginnings in Nepal, hundreds of villages have donated land, materials, labor, or funds to their Room to Read project.
Programs & Results
In Nepal, Room to Read runs all of our core programs, with the exception of the Language Room Program. The following table highlights our Nepal team's success to date and our short-term goals.
| Program | Total Thru 2007 | 2008 (Projected) |
|---|---|---|
| Libraries Established | 1728 | 400 |
| New Local Language Titles | 61 | 20 |
| Schools Constructed | 169 | 179 |
| Girls on Scholarship | 764 | 490 |
| Computer & Language Labs Established | 31 | 8 |
How You Can Help
"Be the change you want to see in the world."
- Mahatma Gandi
Forever altering the lives of the children of the world by providing them with an education is an essential and attainable goal. Every human being deserves the right to the knowledge and self-determination provided by the ability to read and write. World change starts with educated children. You can make the difference by getting involved in one of the following ways:
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Donate to Room to Read Nepal. |
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Sponsor the construction of a school, help establish one or more libraries, sponsor a local language children's book title, sponsor a computer or language lab, or fund a long-term girls' scholarship in Nepal. |
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Learn about volunteer opportunities with Room to Read. |
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Sign up for our email newsletter to get regular updates on the organization, our programs, and more. |
Room to Read Nepal - In Detail
| Established | 1998 |
| Country Director | Mr. Dinesh Prasad Shrestha |
| Number of Employees (as of 12/31/2006) |
15 |
| Office Location(s) | Kathmandu Pokhara Chitwan |
| Regional Presence | Bara, Bhaktpur, Chitwan, Dhading, Dhanusa, Kaski, Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Lamjung, Mahottari, Makwanpur, Nawalparasi, Parbat, Parsa, Rupandehi, Sarlahi, Syanjha, Tanahu |
| Key Partners | ASMAN Nepal, Global Action Nepal (GAN), Lions Club of Kathmandu Down Town, Nijgadh, Lalbandi, Butwal and Urlabari, Local Women Groups, Moti Pustakalaya, National Library Associations, National Society of Earthquake Technology - Nepal (NSET), Nepal Education Support Trust (NEST), Nepalese Society for Children's Literature, READ Nepal, Rodec, Student Worldwide Partnership (SPW), Youth Clubs |
(1) Human Development Report - Nepal (2004)
(2) UNESCO Institute for Statistics
