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| Program Director Appointed in Nepal |
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We have long seen the need for a person who could act as a resource person to all the areas in Nepal and also facilitate the communication between the areas where field work is done and the organization for report filing, budget disbursement, and student application filing. With this in mind, we created the position of Program Director.
After soliciting applications from five candidates, we shortlisted two. Atul interviewed the two candidates. Based on his interview report and more internal discussions and evaluation, we appointed Hari Tripathi as the Program Director in Nepal effective August 1, 2008. He has accepted this position on a voluntary basis (no salary). Whenever our volunteers in any part of Nepal need a question answered, or need advice on how to handle some unexpected scenarios about anything related to NCEF, they will be able to call Hari and get answers quickly. Any volunteer in the US, when they want to convey a message to a volunteer in any part of Nepal, Hari will be able to help us. |
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 Hari hails originally from Nawalparasi, a western district of Nepal, and has a background in business  studies and social work. His first experience with social work was with the Ministry of Education-Nepal, where he was involved with the Primary School Nutritious Food Project (PSNFP) supported by the World Food Program. Since then, he has established his own local NGO named "Free Social Service Committee" (FSSC) and has also volunteered for the Disaster Food Management Operation Programme (DFMP). His exemplary service helping victims of heavy flood and landslide in various districts of Nepal under the DFMP earned him the state decoration "Daivi Prakop Piditodwar Padak".
Currently Hari works in the administration section of Nepal Medical College & Teaching Hospital (NMCTH) and is interested in pursuing a graduate degree in Health Care Management (PGDHCM). Aside from his interest in social service, Hari is also a theatre artist who loves playing the role of Shishir, a kind prince exiled by his evil stepmother, who manages to accomplish his goals despite all odds in the famous Nepali folk story “Shishir Basanta”. Like Shishir, Hari believes in the motto "Work independently, and overcome any challenges that come my way."
NCEF is delighted to have Hari on the team – welcome aboard Hari!
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US Volunteers Meet Nepal Volunteers
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 Are you in yet? Join our cause to receive announcements, view new pictures and videos.
Number of Members: 964
Donations from Cause: $395 |
Atul and Uttam, who are primarily based in the US, recently traveled to Nepal. During their time off from work, they met with volunteers in Nepal. Interactions between the volunteers who are based in the US and those who are based in Nepal give us an opportunity to understand and listen to the unique challenges faced by each team.
To review the status of work in Kathmandu and Kavre and provide mutual feedback on how to improve our work, Atul met Sarita Gopal (our Kathmandu volunteer) and Ramsundar Deuja (our Kavre area coordinator) in July. We received valuable feedback from these meetings: the volunteers seek three issues addressed. First, NCEF policies and procedures should be more clear. We need an intensive training program or a contact person who is more available to answer questions as they arise in the field and address concerns. Second, delays in fund disbursement should be minimized. Most delays are due to the budget review procedure, but we will look for ways to simplify and shorten the review process. Third, documents (monthly visit and financial reports, applications, academic transcripts) frequently get delayed by the postal service and sometimes they are lost and often the area coordinators get blamed for not sending the documents. We need a mechanism to deliver documents quickly and reliably.
Uttam was in Nepal to evaluate the pilot deployment of One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) in two schools in remote villages. His work took him to rural villages where there were hardly anyone who had passed the 10th grade. In this process, he identified a few teachers in those villages who are good candidates to start a financial assistance program sponsored by NCEF. He also got a chance to meet and work together with Suraj, our Patan area coordinator, on application collection logistics and took this opportunity to explain our selection procedure in greater detail. |
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Discussion on Policy on Award Amount
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In our continuing discussion about procedures and policies, we revisited the assistance amount per student. The maximum assistance per student stands at NRs. 7500 per year. Due to close to double digit inflation in the last three years, students can no longer afford to attend the same schools they did just a few years ago with NCEF financial assistance. The parents express their willingness to fund the shortfall on their own; however, NCEF is not in a position to enforce the promise if, by the end of the year, they are unable to pay their share. This non-payment of fees jeopardizes the student's enrollment at the school. We could ask the parents and the volunteers to enroll the students in a less expensive school, but asking families to choose a "downgrade" in their children's education is not only undesirable but potentially detrimental to the student's future. The question before us is - should the parents or a third party be able to pool their funds with ours to make better schools affordable to our students? What are the consequences if the third party money does not materialize after the students are enrolled? We are planning to have parents sign a note promising they will pay their share to the school by the end of the academic year in those few special cases in at least Patan. Although, we are not in a position to enforce such promises, we will look into whether such promissory notes have any impact on account settlement at the end of the year. We would love to get input on this topic from our readers and supporters. |
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From Mt. Whitney to Mt. Everest
Climb for a Cause: A success story |
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The pet project that started on the 9th of May with a class of seventh-graders completing their school assignment about Nepal, home to Mt. Everest, ended successfully on July 15th at the top of Mt. Whitney. Language and humanities teacher at the Locke School in Chicago, Mr. Brad Parker who climbed the 14,494 feet high mountain started “Climb for a Cause” as a fundraiser to brighten the path of education in the lives of Nepali children. The project, originally an International Day project to showcase Nepal, has raised more than $1408 to date. This is what Brad had to say about this successful campaign:
“After the climb involving 21 miles of rock-ridden trails and scaling height of 6,000 feet, and after raising $1,408.00 dollars, I can truly say that my “Climb for a Cause” was an amazing  success. When I had this idea I never would have thought that it would be as rewarding as it was. I got the opportunity to work with my students to discover new and interesting information on a beautiful land and culture halfway around the world. I got the experience of climbing America’s highest peak with the well-wishes of many students, co-workers, friends, and family members inspiring me at each and every step towards the summit. Most importantly, along with the help of many, we raised $1,408.00 to help NCEF brighten the lives of many with the life-changing gift of education. I want to thank everyone who took part in this adventure with me, and I hope to do it again someday, maybe even in the beautiful mountains of Nepal.”
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Big Friggin' Loop
Inside story |
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Last year Ms. Leia Barrett heard about a marathon mountain bike race in the New Mexico Endurance Series – “The Big Friggin' Loop" or BFL – a 74 mile long course climbing a total of 14,000 feet. This July she completed the race getting a pledge for $1700 on the way. Here is the inside story into the big race straight from Leia herself:
“So last Saturday [July 5th, 2008] at 6:30 am I pedaled away from Second Street Brewery with 74 miles of the Big  Friggin' Loop rolling out through the mountains before me. After 45 minutes of riding I was fairly sure there was no way on God's Green Earth that I would be able to come even close to finishing but the Body is capable of amazing feats and it eventually delved into its deepest stores of ATP and anaerobicized like it'd never anaerobicized before.
We climbed Atalaya and we climbed the Dale Balls and we climbed the Chamisa and we climbed the Windsor and we climbed Big Tesuque and we climbed Aspen Vista Road and we reached our high point at the radio towers at the top of the ski area and then we descended. . . we descended the ski area and we descended Rio En Medio and then we climbed again to the Rio Nambe and then we descended the Rio Nambe and then we climbed again back up and over to the Rio En Medio and then we climbed again to the bottom of Pacheco Canyon Road and this is where my ride ended.
It was six o'clock and I if I continued with the route I would most likely spend the last 1-2 hours riding in the dark. I had a light but I had no riding companion and my legs were pretty much sacs of jello. So. . .I rode back into town finally reaching the Brewery at 8 o'clock. It was a thirteen and a half hour day, eleven hours in the saddle, over 10,000 feet ascended in 57 miles. 38 people signed up, 28 people showed up and 12 finished the whole thing…I truly enjoyed every moment of this journey.”
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Nepal Visit: Meeting Children and Volunteers in Person
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NCEF volunteers from the US make an effort to visit NCEF-sponsored children, area coordinators, and volunteers in Nepal. In the past, volunteers have visited NCEF’s operation in Patan and Kathmandu and arranged outings for the children to the zoo. Towards the end of 2007, Hem Pokharel, NCEF member based in Boston, decided to meet the children and area coordinators in Nepalgunj, a NCEF area based in the western part of Nepal. The visit took the form of a small picnic at a park. Additionally, Hem had the opportunity to meet Bidur Dhungana, Secretary of Campaign for Education (CE), sister organization of NCEF in Nepal, and Sarita Gopali, area volunteer in Kathmandu who is a former NCEF student.
In this newsletter, we want to share with our readers Hem’s account of his Nepal trip along with the pictures taken during the outing.
Nepalgunj Gathering:
I planned my December trip to Nepal such that I could visit NCEF sponsored children and area coordinators while visiting Nepalgunj under official work for my own organization, Solutions Benefiting Life Institute Ltd (SBL).
Upon my arrival, I had found that Apsara Khanal, the area coordinator of Nepalgunj, organized a gathering at a beautiful park in Nepalgunj for the NCEF children and volunteers. The entry fee for the park was three Nepali Rupees per person. All the volunteers including Apsara and twelve students were already waiting for me at the park. Some students arrived later because of the tardy transportation system in the city.
When we all finally gathered at the park, Apsara outlined the program which would start off with general  introduction, followed by updates on the progress at Nepalgunj site and food break. We also discussed the challenges faced during operation in the area and solutions for these challenges.
We started off the conversation with general introduction where the students introduced themselves and told me their age, school grade, and hobbies. NCEF kids were all smiles when they were introducing themselves. It was a great experience to be introduced to such a diverse group of students of all ages, ethnic groups, and gender. We had students from 1st grade to 10th grade, and there was a student who recently passed his National Level 10th grade exam and was very thankful to NCEF for continued support.
I noticed that the students had different needs because of the variation in their age, race, and gender. NCEF is glad to have someone like Apsara as an area coordination who is very good at handling all the students and their needs effectively. She seemed very experienced especially when working with the smaller kids. All the young girls hugged her and all the young boys greeted her. The children were very open to her about presenting their academic problems.
Then, it was time for the food break. We had delicious somosas (fried dough with spicy potato filling) and sweets, which the children enjoyed immensely. I was glad to have the opportunity to meet all the children and the area coordinator in Nepalgunj, one of the most successful areas operated by NCEF.
Kathmandu Meetings:
In Kathmandu I met with Mr. Bidur Dhungana, secretary of CE. He is a lawyer and runs his own law firm, but volunteers for NCEF despite his busy schedule. According to Mr. Dhungana, all the project areas have topped his expectation.
 Through Mr. Dhungana, I found out about Sarita, a current area volunteer of Kathmandu, who was a former NCEF student and finished12th grade through NCEF support. I met Sarita along with her brother during my stay in Kathmandu. She is an outstanding individual who works as a day laborer (carries bricks to build houses) but finds time to volunteer for NCEF. Apart from her day job, and NCEF volunteer work, she is working on her Bachelors in Science, concentrating in Physics.
Overall, the trip to Nepal to meet with volunteers in Nepalgunj and Kathmandu was inspiring. |
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Contributors: Aadit Sitaula (Editor in Chief), Atul Pokharel, Hem Pokharel, Inku Subedi, Omprakash Gnawali
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Nepalese Children's Education Fund, Inc.
PO Box 380061 Cambridge, MA 02238-0061 USA
Email: 
[Privacy Statement]
NCEF is a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization.
US Taxpayer ID: 51-0424140
© Copyright Nepalese Children's Education Fund 2004. |
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