Among the new areas approved this year, Dolakha has started its operation with a small function organized by the area coordinator Mr. Tenzing Lama. Mr. Lama is a teacher and social worker by profession. NCEF now supports seven students (Binita, Ghyasang, Pushpa, Rugu, Sanju, Sunita and Swastika), including 4 girls and 3 boys. Their grades range from 4 to 7.

At this ceremony, the students were provided with official certification of scholarship along with school materials such as stationery and book bags. Several important members of the society along with the parents also attended this event.

Dolakha was approved as a full area earlier this year after careful evaluation of student visit frequency, reporting, promptness of communication and quality of applications. We are looking forward to a productive year in Dolakha and will be updating on the progress of these students in future newsletter.

Every year, NCEF volunteers from the US make an effort to visit NCEF-sponsored children, area coordinators, and volunteers in Nepal. In the past, volunteers have visited NCEF’s operation in Patan, Kathmandu, Nepalgunj and arranged outings and picnics for the children and parents.

This year, in August, Pukar Malla, current NCEF member and former selection committee officer visited the Palpa area. NCEF’s operation in Palpa area had faced challenges over time because of communication difficulties and time-constraints of area coordinator. Pukar visited Palpa when the area was going through a transition and the new area coordinator, Mr. Jeera Bahadur Kumal was trying to continue the operation of the old areas in Palpa while starting a new area.

In this newsletter, we want to share with our readers Pukar’s account of this trip which highlights the importance of such visits to particularly remote operation areas in Nepal.

“I spent a week in Tansen, Palpa in August this year.  I went there on the occasion of Bhimsen Jatra, the second largest jatra in Tansen.  My father was born and raised in Tansen and the trip has a special personal meaning to me and my family.  I was excited about connecting with my roots and also talking to the students and the local residents.

During my Palpa trip, I was also looking forward to touching base with the team from Nepal Children's Education Fund.  I met up with Mr. Jeera Bahadur Kumal, who was about to take up the baton to head the Palpa office.  Mr. Ibaraj Ghimire, the outgoing coordinator, had served the area for a few years.  Jeera ji and I sat down for tea at a local tea shop.  He quickly summarized the need to gather information about the few continuing students and to find the new batch of students.  He mentioned some problems in communicating with the head office in Kathmandu. 

Jeera ji and I decided to make use of the cheap VOIP service (10cents/min) in a local phone booth to call up Om Prakash in the US.  I was happy that Jeera ji was able to directly communicate his situation with Om and also connect with him on a more personal level than over emails.  Perhaps, in future, if we could organize such conference calls, we could ensure more personal communication between the group members.

Towards the end of my visit, my father’s childhood friend asked me to talk to the 10+2 students in the Srinagar Bigyan Higher Secondary School that he taught at.  Most of the students seemed pressured to wanting to become doctors and engineers.  I tried telling the students to pursue their own dreams and to keep working hard.  Although I noticed the inadequacy in the physical infrastructure, I was encouraged to notice the purposefulness of the Principal and his staff in developing the students so they could do well for themselves and for their communities.”

About Dr. Pukar Malla:

Dr. Pukar Malla has been active in the Nepali communities in the US and in Nepal.  He is co-leading a global Nepali youth movement, Nepal Ko Yuwa, with many organizations and individuals spread globally.  He is also the Vice-President of the Computer Association of Nepal-USA, a technology non-profit in the US, working towards technology progress of Nepal and professional development of its members.  He came to the US 11 years ago and finished his Bachelors in Engineering and Economics from Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania, in 2002.  He has a prolific background in technology, with his doctorate in wireless engineering from Cornell University in 2007 and with 6.5-year experience at major companies such as Intel, AMD, SGI and most recently a Silicon Valley startup.  He strongly supports the role of NCEF in creating a more equitable and empowered populace in Nepal.  In pursuing his interests in development, he is currently a Masters in Public Administration Candidate at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Massachusetts, investigating opportunities for technology and education to foster long-term growth of developing nations.

Srinagar Bigyan Higher Secondary School, Palpa	Dr. Pukar Malla answering questions from students
Dr. Pukar Malla and Palpa area co-ordinator Mr. Jeera Bahadur Kumal	Principal