Five years ago, NCEF was contacted by the Michaud family to set up a memorial in memory of their beloved wife and mother, Mira Rana Michaud.  Since its establishment on December 27, 2005, the Mira Rana Michaud Memorial has raised over $37,000 for the Nepalese Children’s Education Fund (NCEF). Every year, the Michaud Memorial contributes more than 30% of the total individual donations raised. In the year of its establishment, family members, friends, and well-wishers of Mrs. Michaud donated a total of $12,290, a historical high for NCEF.  The total amount raised so far from the memorial will provide 12 years of education to 30 children in Nepal. This year, we dedicate this special issue to commemorate five years of the Michaud Memorial’s dedication to changing the future of Nepalese children through education. 

Mira Rana Michaud’s life story has been very inspiring.  Born in Kathmandu, Nepal in 1937, Mrs. Michaud came to the United States at the age of 18 to pursue higher education - a courageous feat for a young woman from Nepal at that time. She graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown University with a major in languages. She had a vast knowledge of world history, social studies, and anthropology. She also spoke seven languages!

Mrs. Michaud taught Social Studies to high school children in Madawaska, Maine. Yvonne, one of her four daughters, remembers her mom’s deep love for teaching: “My mom provided many hours of guidance and instruction to all her students.” She was generous with her time and shared her Nepali culture with her students and challenged them to think beyond the borders of Maine. She also cared deeply about poverty and the lack of opportunities available to children living in Nepal.

Editor-in-Chief of Gyan, Aayush Sakya, spoke to Mrs. Michaud’s daughters, Yvette, Yvonne, Tanya and Sonya, about the family’s experiences with NCEF. Below are excerpts from that conversation:

When Mum was terminally ill, we started looking for ideas to commemorate her life.   I think we were all looking for something to give meaning to this personal family tragedy.  So we searched for an appropriate foundation for donations.

Despite his tremendous wash of grief, our dad was an early supporter of our efforts and required that we “do our homework” before making our final decision.

It was a joint decision by the family to set up a memorial to support a charitable foundation. We recommended that friends and family send donations to NCEF in lieu of flowers.

 Why was NCEF chosen?

Yvonne searched for a suitable organization on the internet. That is where she found NCEF. It made sense to return to Mum’s roots and support literacy and learning as a means to improve someone’s life. Our mother saw past the caste system that existed in Nepal. So NCEF made sense as it represented an organization of young, highly-educated people giving up their own personal time to promote better education and awareness for children in Nepal. 

Transparency with the organization was important. It seemed that the NCEF leadership understood that well early on. Obviously their mission to develop the potential of disadvantaged Nepalese children through education resonated with us. NCEF identifies children unable to pursue education because of the economic situation of their families. I could see Mum rolling up her sleeves in this work.

In addition, the customized donation page had much appeal. The organization was intuitive and very accommodating to set it up.

How was the donation collected?  Did you have any event to raise funds for the organization?

All initial donations to NCEF stemmed from the obituary. We put the name and address of NCEF in the obituary and put a link to the website to promote online donations. A large amount was collected by mail. Over several months, as friends and relatives from overseas heard of her passing, the foundation received contributions from 65 people.

How has the Michaud family's experience working with NCEF been?  Do you have any suggestions for improvement?

We have been very satisfied with our involvement with NCEF. On occasion we have provided feedback about the website, and NCEF volunteers were very open and responsive to our suggestions.

NCEF greatly appreciates the Michaud family’s continued support of NCEF’s mission. We would like to thank Mrs. Michaud’s husband, Bob, and daughters Yvette, Yvonne, Tanya, and Sonya, for taking the time to talk to us for this article. We look forward to continuing this partnership with the Michaud family and hope that this story will be inspiring to others who also strive to make a difference in children’s future.

From left to right: Robert Michaud, Lady June Hillary, Mira, and Sir Edmund Hillary at a
fundraiser in Edmundston, Canada, circa 1980

Santosh in Kavre performed in a play. Santosh is a 14 year old from Kavre whose father is a farmer and mother a housewife. Santosh’s father went abroad to Iraq in hopes of uplifting his family’s economic condition but had to return because of legal complications.

Sarada has been supported by NCEF since 2004 and each year she has proven to be a bright and hardworking girl. Her mother has a meager income and is the sole provider for the family of 8. Sharada said she enjoyed playing sports this month.