Empower children in Nepal

On April, 2021 we completed this big milestone of supporting a rural school in Nepal with a library, solar-powered computer lab. After eight months, we present to you the follow-up report of this project and introduce you to Ritu, a grade four student who will tell you the changes that she is experiencing in the school.

Key Highlights:

• Enrollment of the new students: As a result of the resources in school, the number of children has increased from 257 to 294.
• Teacher Training: Bishnu Bohora, the computer teacher received two-weeks of intensive computer training in Kathmandu, Nepal. The training has enhanced his skills and improved his teaching confidence.
• Total 85 students from the grade 6, 7 and 8 (12-15 yrs) are learning to use computers everyday. -286 books have been accessed from the library by the children.

Library Progress Report:

• 694 books are registered in the library -According to the library register data, the school has conducted 15 library activities.
• Government officers, school principals, representatives from NGOs/INGOs, parents, students from other schools visited this school. A record of 12 visitors visited the library and computer room and presented their positive feedback and suggestions.

Computer Lab Achievements: -Total 85 students from the grade 6, 7 and 8 in the age group of 12-15 years are using the computers for IT learning. The students are learning the basics of MS WORD, PowerPoint and MS Excel.

• The primary and secondary school students have access to visual classes via the use of a projector.

Impact of the Solar Project: -Earlier due to the lack of computers and constant power supply, the teachers walked up to two hours to get official work done. The power supply from solar panels has made the administrative work such as printing of question papers easier. As a result, the teachers save a lot of time and provide quality education in the school.

Challenges faced by the school: -The major challenge encountered by computer teacher was when two computers stopped working in the beginning. The teacher was unknown of the problem due to lack of hands on knowledge about computer equipment. It is often hard to get technician as the place is geographically challenged. As a result we provided 10 days of computer training to the teacher in the capital city, Kathmandu. After receiving the training, he found solutions to the technical issues. All of the twenty computers are running smoothly.

-Due to excitement of the children to use computers, 10 computer mouses were damaged. Therefore, we have sent 20 extra computer mouses to the school.

-The solar is functioning very well so far. It has been supportive to run the computers smoothly. However, the winter is yet to arrive, hence the challenges are still to explore.

Next Steps: -BOOKS FOR CHANGE team will pay a visit to the school in March 2022 for a yearly evaluation report. -New books will be added to the library.

• In collaboration with regional NGO, OLE Nepal. E-Pustakalaya (e-library), an education-focused free and open digital library server will be installed in the computers so that children have access to interactive digital learning modules, educational videos and reference materials help students do research projects and promote the habit of independent inquiry. -Teacher training will be provided to the teachers for the effective utilization of the library.

We are grateful to this community for your generous support. We want to let you know that your investment is creating change and continues to grow!

With a lot of gratitude, BOOKS FOR CHANGE team

We would like to inform our supporters that this project has been successfully completed in Nepal. We have created a video to share with you the overview of the journey and our work in the school. We hope that it will help you to see the impact of your investment and bring you near to the hard-working students, teachers, school and the community in Dolpa. Thank you for believing in this project and supporting brighter futures for rural children in Nepal.

We appreciate your generous contribution so much!

With a lot of gratitude, BOOKS FOR CHANGE team

We are so proud to present to you the pictures of the successful implementation of the solar powered computer lab in Shree Prakash Basic located in Dolpa district, Nepal.

Goals achieved:

-Installed 8 solar panels (325 Watt per panel) and 16 solar exide batteries (100 AH per battery) in the school.

-Cable and electricity bulbs installation in all the classrooms (Kindergarten till grade 8) for uninterrupted supply of electricity from the solar.

-The computer room is equipped with 20 computers, 20 CPU, and a projector.

• It is furnished with durable, locally-made, child-friendly furniture and a warm carpet.
• Fresh wall painting and constructed new wooden ceiling for the computer room.
• Training conducted for the technician in the village in case of technical errors in the solar system.
• A one day basic computer workshop training conducted by BOOKS FOR CHANGE team to the teachers.

Benefits of the computer lab and solar system: -Computer lab will introduce digital literacy and basic IT skills in the rural school thereby connecting the students with the rest of the world. -The access to computers and information will create gateways for students and teachers for a diverse learning platforms thereby improving the quality of education. -Solar project will provide adequate, uninterrupted supply of electricity in classrooms and computer lab. -Solar system will promote the use of renewable energy in rural schools in Nepal.

This life-changing project for rural children in Nepal would not have been possible with your generous support. We send you a big THANK YOU from us, the children, school and the community in Dolpa!

Lot of gratitude, BOOKS FOR CHANGE Team

Thank you to each one of you for believing in the access to quality education for rural children. Education can empower the next generation of rural children to take their future in their own hands, to empower themselves, and to create their own opportunities.

We are delighted to take you virtually to the new library and show you you the impact of your investment. This library will provide its services to 271 children, 8 teachers of our partner school and the community members of Ranga village in Dolpa.

We travelled for four days across 14 districts in Nepal, through treacherous hills and valleys to reach our project location. We lived in the community for two weeks and worked hand-in hand with the students, teachers and the members of the community and completed this education project by installing a children’s library and solar-powered computer lab in Shree Prakash Basic School.

We are excited to share with you more pictures and videos of the completed solar-powered computer lab in the upcoming days and bring you closer to the children and the community in Dolpa.

With a lot of gratitude, BOOKS FOR CHANGE team

We send you warm greetings from Nepal.

Our Dolpa education project begins in three days! We are really excited to meet the children and the community in the remote district in Nepal. Thank you for making this education project possible!

Introducing the team: (Left-right)

Bijay Bikram Magar-Filmmaker

Anu Thapa- Project Manager/Field Coordinator, BOOKS FOR CHANGE, Nepal

Pranita Chettri-Co-Founder, BOOKS FOR CHANGE, Switzerland

Nirajan Sharma-Accountant Officer/Field Coordinator, BOOKS FOR CHANGE, Nepal

Bishal Shrestha- Filmmaker

With a lot of gratitude, BOOKS FOR CHANGE team

We are delighted to share with you pictures and information of the pilot study trip to Dolpa. On 12th March, BOOKS FOR CHANGE team from Nepal reached Dolpa district and visited Shree Prakash Basic School.

Goals achieved till now:

1.Successful meeting with the school management committee and the community.

2.The rural municipality government in Dolpa has agreed to contribute 11.5% of the total cost support. This is a huge encouragement for us because community participation is key to the sustainability and long-term impact of the project.

3.Received all the necessary permission from the Nepalese government to proceed with the project implementation.

4.Conducted reading survey in the school.

5.After the travel experience to the school, the team is more prepared to face logistic challenges.

Pranita Chettri, co-founder of BOOKS FOR CHANGE will travel from Switzerland and reach Nepal on 12’th April. Together with her team, they will travel for three days to the school in Dolpa. They will transport all the necessary resources (books, solar, computers, projector, stationery) with them in a jeep to the schools. Due to narrow roads in the mountains, we have also arranged donkeys to transport the materials.

After we begin with our project in April, you will be a part of our philanthropic journey. We will engage you with stories of the students, teachers and the local community and share images and videos of the children library, solar and computer project coming to life.

Many thanks for believing in the access to quality education for rural children. We are really excited to show you the final result!

With a lot of gratitude, BOOKS FOR CHANGE team

Many thanks to all our backers for supporting us with the first crowdfunding campaign of BOOKS FOR CHANGE. You made it possible!! This success belongs to each one of you as much as it belong to us.

The 45 days crowdfunding journey was filled with peaks and valleys, highs and lows, but we are really humbled to see the generosity and kindness of people winning over our doubts and fears. It was really empowering to receive kind messages from our friends, families and well-wishers who believed in us. The thought of improving the lives of 200 rural children in a school located in Dolpa district, Nepal kept us going ahead all along, right through the last hour of the campaign.

We thank each and everyone of you for believing in the purpose and the vision of Books For Change, for your valuable support throughout this journey. We are grateful to have this community of people supporting and rooting for Books For Change. We welcome you with open arms to our Books for Change community.

The Dolpa education Project will take place in April, 2021. We are very excited and looking forward to establish a children’s library and solar powered computer lab in a school located in Dolpa district, Nepal. We will share with you and give you an insight into every important step of our project implementation. We are extremely happy to have this amazing opportunity to show you the impact of your investment.

We truly appreciate your contribution and very grateful for your trust, motivation and inspiration.

Lot of Gratitude, Books For Change Team

A big thank you to our community of supporters! What an absolute joy to see people believe in the vision and purpose of BOOKS FOR CHANGE.

I am so happy to share this video with you all. It will give you a deeper insight into our enriching field work in Nepal.

Over the years, we have completed 18 libraries and reached over 6400 students in Nepal. We stood strong with our values of community collaboration and worked hand in hand with the students, teachers, schools and the rural community.

Thank you for believing in this dream of creating a better world for rural children in Nepal.

With a lot of gratitude, Pranita Chettri, Co-Founder BOOKS FOR CHANGE

We started this campaign with a glint of idealism and a big dream to provide good-quality education opportunities to rural children in Nepal. We have reached 7525 CHF. Many thanks to all our backers who have generously contributed. We are very grateful for your support. This amount will cover the cost of a children- library, a safe and creative place for children to read, develop reading reading and explore diverse collection of books like you see in the video. It will give them access to a wealth of information that will empower children to create the future that they dream about.

We want to build deeper and stronger relationships with schools, and rural communities in order to build a promising future for rural children.

Your support matters. Please spread the word about our campaign to your professional/personal network and help us to reach more kind individuals/corporates/foundations whose values resonate with the work that we do.

«At the end of the day it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished… it’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.» ― Denzel Washington

Join us at: www.booksforchange.org

Thank you once again, for your support, love and inspiration, Pranita Chettri, Co-founder BOOKS FOR CHANGE