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 “In the beginning, I think the idea that we could help poor children get an education, even though we were also studying abroad inspired us,” says NCEF co-founder Atul Pokharel. This month he sat with our newsletter, Gyan, to give some background on the roots of NCEF.
“The idea for the organization came while helping a friend of Om’s [Omprakash Gnawali, co-founder and CEO] who was doing social work in Nepal and wanted to find a way to enroll the children of a client into school. As we thought more it, we realized we could expand this effort and give it a more stable basis.” He continues, “One of the thoughts that has stuck with me from our early discussions was: these children could have been us. After that initial spark, each step inspired the next one.”
Atul went on to begin fundraising amongst friends. When donors wanted to know what was going on with the organization, Atul and Om, along with the original treasurer Hesky Fisher, sent email updates. When it came time to coordinate, a mailing list was created, and soon NCEF became what it is today. “With a couple hundred dollars, a mailing list, and supportive friends, we quickly had enough to enroll students in school. These students would not otherwise have gotten an education.” For Atul, this point is paramount. “Think about that for a moment: $125 and that child whose picture you have in front of you can go to school. Without the $125, that child cannot. It’s hard to say no to that. In that sense, it was the obviousness of the situation that inspired me.”
Having grown up in Kathmandu, the situation of NCEF’s students is all too familiar to Atul. He went to high school with Omprakash Gnawali and the two continue to be inspired by their initial spark: it could have been Om and Atul who needed assistance going to school. Today, Atul teaches, researches and spends much of his time thinking about cities and regions and how to make life better for residents. Since leaving his major role in NCEF, he has worked at a large multinational donor organization, traveled around Nepal, and begun work as a postdoc.
When asked about plans for the future of NCEF, Atul says, “I look forward to helping NCEF sustain its efforts and to carefully expanding it if possible. However, it is just as important to sustain one’s effort as it is to expand it. This could mean helping find new areas, engaging new donors, or other approaches.”
“One of the most impressive things about NCEF is that it has not grown at an astounding rate. This might sound strange, especially in the world of philanthropy where bigger is always considered better. For instance, some of the organizations that started around the time that we did, like Room to Read, have now become the equivalent of multinational corporations in Nepal--albeit in the realm of charity. I think we’ve learned to say no where appropriate, which gives me great faith that NCEF will continue to have a clear impact: children are going to school and have been going to school for close to one-and-a-half decades now.” He adds, “of course, there is always room for deliberate improvement.”
“Education is a basic need that must be met. It doesn’t require much to help students achieve this- it simply takes consistent work. In many ways, working at NCEF is a mixture of dissatisfaction that we can’t do more and a satisfaction that we are, at the least, doing what we can. The most challenging part of our work is seeing that there are so many people who could benefit from what we do, but we cannot reach them. Still, it’s very rewarding to be able to contribute to a sustained level of effort to a necessary cause.”
For anyone interested in contributing to the efforts of NCEF, Atul recommends learning about the organization. Fundraising is always needed and adding to the list of interested benefactors is also helpful. Reliable area coordinators are in short supply, so anyone interested in being of help on the ground in Nepal or any other capacity is more than welcome to reach out to NCEF through the website.
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