Education for better future of children of kirtipur

Soon attending Primary School or. . .	. . . children's work in the brickworks??	Making someone happy!

As in most of the poor developing countries also in Nepal the children are very often suffering most from the economic situation in the families where the per capita income per year and person is only around 320 US$ and thus in average the available money for daily living is less than one US$. Despite compulsory education for all 6 to 11 years old children the statistics of the international world organizations show that now as ever 25 -30% of the children in Nepal can not attend any school due to economic reasons. In total less than two third of the girls cannot attend the Primary Classes and especially   the female students in rural areas are forming the lowest percentage of attendance in classes. It is true that the rates of putting the children to primary schools is currently around 85% for the boys and around 75% for the girls but only 50% of them are finishing the 5-years lasting primary level at the end. Especially in families with more than one child there is a lack of money to buy the obligatory school uniform, books and stationary etc. Instead of attending school it very often happens that the children are called on heavy children's work   in the domestic carpet production, weaving mills, farming and brickworks. 

Support for the most deprived children of Kirtipur Municipality

The visitor of Nepal meets the poverty on every turn especially in the remote areas of the country. In those cases many people are inclined to help spontaneously and immediately with some money without considering the sustainability of their support. The impact of the well intentioned financial help in  supposedly urgent predicaments  very often slacks even before the foreign visitor has reached his home land again. As in nearly all developing countries it is much better not to to offer help unconsidered just out of pity, but only if sustaining effect is guaranteed.  Everybody believing to help the children emotionally and out of pity with a quick grab into the purse very often causes the contrary: The alms of the tourists are becoming a matter of course in the awareness of the children, aggressive begging is becoming a habit and last but not least the money given to the children will be taken by the adults.

The best help we can grant to the children of Nepal is the support of better education and training. Only education and training will make them prepared for their life in the future.

Although in the vicinities of only a few kilometres around the centre of Kathmandu poverty is wide spread especially in the Kirtipur Municipality. Jobless families from all - ever poorer - regions of Nepal are migrating into the municipality in their hope to  find a job with decent standard  so close to the big city of the capital of Nepal. Mostly deep disappointment and again unemployment follows, if only possible the adults hire as labourer on building sites at the rim of the big city  at wages which are scarcely enough to feed the family. No money is left for education of the children which is not charge free in Nepal even not at governmental schools. Also the obligatory school uniforms are often beyond the families means.

The aim of the scholarship program is to allow a limited number of most deprived children of the Kirtipur Municipality to attend Primary level in classes 1-5 at a Governmental school or at a non-profit Community school. The program is to take care of the financial burdens of the families for school uniforms, tuition fees, books, stationary and other costs caused by the attendance of the school which otherwise would prevent them to send their children to school.

Thus the scholarship is to cover the entire expenses for attending Primary Classes.

Yearly budget per student (plan values at starting point of the project):

Obligatory school uniform and shoes (double)	NPRs.      2000
Stationary (exercise books, pencils etc.)	NPRs.      1000
Books	NPRs.      1000
Annual tuition fee for the government or community school	NPRs.      4500
special courses, computer usage etc.	NPRs.        500
Total	NPRs.     9000

Considering the exchange rate EURO : NRP at the starting point the financial support for each student of the scholarship program was fixed at 100 Euro per year.