A hand up, not a hand out

Shree Bhagwati Lower Secondary School in Bhalebas village is a wonderful example of a community who seek a hand up rather than a hand out.

Last year I arrived in Bhalebas with Barbara, another of our volunteers, for one of my first school visits in Nepal. I couldn't have been more surprised when we were shown into a freshly painted room with neat carpets, good furniture and four brand new computers! 

How had this happened? In this poor rural community who had given them all this? The answer: they helped themselves! The community wanted their children to grow up with the ICT skills they will need to thrive in an evolving economy, so came together to raise the money to buy the 4 PCs, with a small contribution from the government. A Japanese NGO helped to provide the building, but with significant contributions from the community. 
We were thrilled to see how much the community had done for themselves, and delighted to add three used laptops to their ICT suite as well as work with teachers on developing quality ICT lessons. It was so inspiring to see a community come together to make a better future for their children.

Manisha UK don't go to villages simply to give handouts, we work with well motivated communities who do as much as they can for themselves and just need that extra little help to get them over the line. The communities we work with recognise the value of education to make a better future for their children and are committed to making the most of the opportunities that we provide together. 

Grateful for what they've got!

A recent study by the University of York has found children in Nepal have much higher life satisfaction than children in the UK and much of the economically developed world. 

They may have less computers, toys and games than their British counterparts, as well as doing more housework, but 8-12 year olds reported higher levels of life satisfaction and optimism about the future of their country than children in the UK and South Korea. In Nepal 90% of children have not internet access and a third don't have a television, but those that have visited Nepal will know children their take great joy from whatever they do have, be it rubber bands made into a ball or bits of scrap wood turned into a cricket set. 

There were also very high level of agreement with the statement "I like going to school", ranking third out of fifteen countries, above UK, Norway, Germany and Spain. Manisha UK volunteers can vouch for the children's infectious enthusiasm!





It's humbling to see that children who often have so little can be so happy with the little they have. It is further proof that a little goes a long way in Nepal! 

Our mission is to make sure children not only enjoy going to school, but are able to stay there through secondary school and receive a high quality and valuable education. To continue to do this we rely on your support. You can donate here or get involved in our Everest Challenge here!

















Sources for this article are here with additional reporting from The Kathmandu Post

Education is a weapon for world change!