Supporting Children Through Education in Rural Nepal

NEEF works hard to remove barriers to Indigenous children's education in rural Nepal.  Those barriers could be as simple as a pair of socks and shoes or a warm jacket to allow kids to attend primary school in an unheated classroom. Or it may be as complicated as needing to place a school teacher in a local Buddhist monastery high up on a mountainside to serve a tiny Sherpa village that has no local school for their littlest and most vulnerable.  Children are even held out of school for not being able to acquire a shirt and tie as a school uniform or not have a pencil and paper to take notes.  NEEF has placed English language teachers into local classrooms and created an affordable model for self-determination that has gained wide support.  No matter what support activity NEEF takes on it always works through the locally elected school committee.  NEEF will always respect the autonomy and independence of the people it serves.

All of NEEF's work is done in the mountainous Solukhumbu district, focused in the remote municipality of Mahakulung and particularly in the villages surrounding Chheskam.  To gain influence China is supporting infrastructure across Nepal and has now pushed a single road into Chheskam.

All donations go directly to serve children.  No funds are ever spent on  administration or travel. Those costs are borne completely by our founders, Ken and Marlene. 

Nepal's poverty is due to political instability and corruption, a lack of industry, and its dependence on agriculture. Despite being rich in natural resources, Nepal has not utilized and capitalized on its resources.  Nepali resources are often developed and exported by other countries like India and China.  Throughout the history of Nepal, indigenous peoples have been discriminated against, marginalized, excluded, subjugated, dominated and exploited in terms of land, territories, resources, language, culture, laws customary and political and economic opportunities. Today the Indigenous Kulung and Sherpa people remain marginalized and isolated with very little influence.

CURRENTLY

NEEF has an opportunity to address a deep need in three seriously isolated Sherpa and Kulung villages located in the Mahakulung municipality.  Two hundred and sixty-nine young children living on the southern slopes of Mt. Everest need warm clothes and school supplies immediately in order to attend school this winter.  This project will serve poor families in the villages of Himchuli, Pattale and Nurkum.  All of these families are subsistence farmers whose only source of outside income is the dangerous occupation of carrying heavy loads at high altitude.  Many of these children are orphans who have lost parents to this lifestyle.

FUND RAISER

NEEF has kicked off a fund raiser that it hopes to finalize before the end of the year.  This will allow a distribution of these warm clothes for school as days reach their coldest. A warm track suit, a school uniform, canvas shoes and transportation will total $7,209.50 or $26.80 for each child served.  We are optimistic but understand that we will need to work hard to reach this goal.