Financial crysis

I’m sitting in a parent-teacher conference with uncontrollable tears. These children had no books, no lunch, no pens, and tattered uniforms for an entire school term.

Wilson Wang
Jul 28, 2017 · 4 min read

And yet, some of the children are still passing. One scored 97.5%.

Pujan in 1st grade, finally happy to get his books

Pujan

How is a five-year-old boy supposed to respond when asked if he wants to be voluntarily held back into kindergarten? Pujan is now in first grade, but his first term exam results were poor. He was shy, silent, and on the verge of tears when we reviewed his exam results and his teacher asked if he wanted to be held back.

I cried on his behalf. If I was him, how do I answer in front of the vice principal, teacher, and my guardians? If I was his parent, how can I bear sitting there and seeing my child in this situation with poor exam results?

Ramona, 2nd grade, sharing her books

Ramona

Ramona also struggled during the first term of school, but during this conference the teachers took a lighter tone as they slowly realized the children had no books to study with.

Ramona is super quiet. However, she’ll always look over and smile. On the final school day, she told me her mother’s name is Maya and asked about my family. The quiet ones are always so intriguing.

Marion negotiated and paid for books. This group of four 2nd graders can now share books and practice at home. Swostika and Manoj, two other 2nd graders, did spectacularly well and passed their exams even with the no-books situation.

Padam, Mr. Photogenic

Padam

Photos of Padam could be a museum attraction all by themselves. He always jumps into photos with assortments of faces and poses. I never expected him, a boy so active (and sometimes naughty), to be so good at school. Assumptions can be misleading.

His math is extremely good. Marion worked with him on his multiplication tables, teaching him the law of transversity (or whatever the word is that makes 5 x 8 the same as 8 x 5.) He’s in 3rd grade and doing extremely well.

Sonika, slightly pouty after not getting her books (yet)

Sonika

Her amazingness needs no explanation. She’s the one that got 97.5%, good for second place in her kindergarten class. She’s persistent, understanding, and already a very quick logical thinker. During the bus ride home, she made me count to one hundred and ten by ones. Dalia says she will erase her i’s during lettering and use her pinky to make a straighter i.

Because we put the order in for books midway through the term, the bookstore needed to have them shipped again. They gave us what was left, but there were no kindergarten books remaining. Thus, all the other kids got to share books temporarily while Sonika was left with no books. She was slightly furious in her Sonika-way. “Why me no books?” “BOOKS!!”

Morning assembly

The situation

It’s tough for many in Nepal who live in poverty. Getting a quality education is even tougher because most public or government-run schools are of low quality. Private schools have a better chance of getting children out of the impoverished cycle.

However, going the private school route is a big financial burden. Not many people in Nepal can provide private school for their children, much less a children’s home for 40 children. While the sum seems paltry in American terms ($35 to $40 a month) the finances add up quickly in Nepal.

We want to keep these actively learning children in school and keep them open to brighter futures.

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