BACK TO HOME

[Dhurba Shrestha]

Ideas for BACK TO HOME 8/14/08

Most of us retain affection for our home town or village. In adulthood
we can better appreciate how we were nurtured and supported. As mature
individuals we are often in a position where we can pass on some of
the kindness that was given to us.

Everyone is aware of the problems that Nepal faces. We have just begun
the hard work of trying to create a democratic state. The government
is not paying much attention to the basic needs of the majority poor
of our country. We have large foreign donors making grants for a
variety of needs-- health, education, sanitation, good governance,
etc. -- but they do this on their own terms, and may not be addressing
Nepali needs in a way that is meaningful to Nepalis.

Many Nepalis, both here and abroad, have created good lives for
themselves and their families. They find that they want to give
something back to their school or village, but do not know how to
begin. Aasaman Nepal, a nine year old Nepali NGO, can help you with
its Back to Home Program.

The Back to Home Program is about brains and development. Nepalis must
contribute more to the development of their own country. If you
compare the unbelievable devastation in Japan and Korea after World
War II (60 years ago), and the state of development and their
economies today, you will understand that it is possible that Nepal
can have a healthy future.

We can be your link to helping a school, supporting scholarships,
providing money for toilets or a water pump, refurbishing or re-
roofing a schoolroom, building a playground, sending supplies, funding
teacher training, giving awards for top scholars and teachers,
creating after school programs, donating early child development
materials. If you can name it, we probably can help you achieve your
goal.

Why focus on education when Nepal has so many problems? We cannot wait
for economic development to create a good education system, and
without education there will never be economic development. Until some
level of prosperity brings an emerging middle class, the
responsibility for political reform will remain an orphan .Political
reform is the first step to easing, then eliminating, that insidious
set of circumstances we call poverty, one of the great evils in the
world. We must educate ourselves out of poverty.

Today less than 10% of Nepali youth complete the tenth grade. If we
were able to educate 10% of our youth to the BA level and above, keep
them in Nepal, or have them return after education and work
experience, we will have enough human capital to develop the nation.
India has already seen the benefit of this process and has government
policies to lure its educated people home and to bring their
technology with them.

We will be your hands on the ground. For this, we will take a fee of
15% of any money donated. We respect and value your support in any
amount. We promise timely, professional, and cost effective work. We
will give a detailed account of how your donation is used to you and
to the local government.

For example, we have long supported the Ganesh School in Baglung, an
hour away from the larger and better known Pokora in central Nepal. We
helped the community organize itself so that parents who can pay a
small monthly fee. With this money the school has been able to hire
enough teachers to reduce the teacher student ratio to 1:30. Aasaman
has donated furniture, provided specialized teacher training in
quality education and in teaching English to young children, and we
talk on a regular basis to provide on-going support and problem
solving. We are proud to tell you that the Ganesh School was recently
honored as the best government school in the district. This is proof
that a government school can be a quality school; it just needs a
little help from its friends, and it needs that help now. Other words
to describe that help are urgent, immediate, pressing, and vital.

We urge you to support our program and become an early adopter. Some
people take to new technology easier and earlier, others quickly
respond to Nepal's great needs. Become a role model for other people
and help us "kick start" this program. Our "Back to Home Program" is
all about doing visible things that actually help people. We are not
going to give you NGO speak about process, bottom up planning,
decentralization or anything else. Just the simple truth.

If you would like to know more about us, please do let us know.
References and the annual reports can be provided upon request. Also
visit www.aasamannepal.org.np for more details.

Thank You

Truly Yours
Dhurba Shrestha