I have recently returned from a trip to Nepal, my first visit to this exciting country. The people were very friendly - I now have some "brothers" in Nepal. For those of you who are not from Nepal or have not visited, it will be difficult to imagine what appears to a Westerner as the chaos in the streets - the people, dogs, cows, motorbikes, tri-shaws and cars all sharing the narrow roads. We even saw an elephant walking the streets in one of the cities! Unfortunately, the infrastructure is still developing - with frequent power outages and even the main highway between the two cities of Kathmandu and Pokhara full of holes and one lane of traffic in each direction. In this context, it is easy to see how valuable our support for students is!

NCEF Secretary Sagar Marahatta and I had the pleasure of visiting the seven students that NCEF sponsors in Chitwan in their two schools. We met area coordinator Ram Sharma and volunteer Sandeep Parajuli in Chitwan, then headed to Shri Kavilash High School. Sixteen-year-old Amrita and 15-year-old Suresh both attend this school - we have been sponsoring them for a little over a year now. They were both very shy and spoke in quiet voices - they probably do not get many visitors from abroad. While they do take some English classes, they were much more comfortable speaking in Nepali and fortunately Sagar was able to translate for me. We spoke with these two students, some of their teachers and the school's headmaster. We were also able to take a short tour of the school and introduce ourselves, in English, to an English-language class. We learned from Suresh, an orphan who stays with relatives, that after school he takes care of his family's goats. Amrita, who has difficulty seeing with her left eye, takes care of a cow and helps plant rice after her classes.

Next, we rode (not drove - there is no way I could drive in Nepal!!) for about an hour, much of it down a series of dirt roads, to the next school, Shri Chaturmukhi, where NCEF earlier this year started sponsoring five children, aged 11 through 15. Four of them are girls - as families are less likely to provide an education for their daughters, NCEF funding for them is especially important. In addition, many are members of indigenous tribes or "marginalized" groups, who also receive less education on average than other Nepalis. Most of the students' families depend on subsistence farming or day labor for income, and some have only one parent, all of which contributes to the families' inability to pay for school fees, uniforms and stationery. The students here were also very shy, except for Binita, who appeared eager to answer questions and spoke loud enough that we could hear her. We learned that Kisan, the one boy, liked science class, but the others did not. Several cut grass for their families' oxes or goats after school. Kisan's right hand was injured in a childhood accident, but he seems to be up to the challenge. Although it did not sound like the students had a lot of free time after school, chores and homework, Renuka told us that she likes to play a version of hackysack and Sarula said that she enjoys jump rope. Again, we met with the headmaster and some teachers, as well as visited a Nepali-language class.

Over lunch, Sagar, Ram, Sandeep and I discussed the current status of this relatively new area and possible future expansion. Ram was incredibly organized, providing detailed student and financial information, which really impressed us. We thank area coordinator Ram Sharma and volunteer Sandeep Parajuli for their help in making this such a successful and enjoyable visit. I feel very privileged to have been able to experience this.

[Please note that none of your donations to NCEF were used for this trip, as we take seriously our commitment to use the huge majority of donations to directly support students]

Caption: from left to right, NCEF President Steven Lustig, Chitwan student Suresh, Chitwan area coordinator Ram Sharma, Chitwan student Amrita and NCEF Secretary Sagar Marahatta in the school courtyard

Caption: from left to right, Chitwan students Renuka, Binita, Sarala, Dilumaya and Kisan at their school

Caption: Students practice during a Nepali-language class in Chitwan

Ghyasang in Dolakha had fun at a soccer competition

Ruku in Dolakha enjoyed a visit to a local temple

Sunita in Dolakha was happy when she participated in her cousin's wedding