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Room to Read Visit
Entry 15 of 109 | show all | print this entry |
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Finally about my Room to Read visit!
Couple of weeks ago I went to their offices in Kathmandu and met some of the execs. The rest of the day, I spent with Ms. Reema Shrestha, head of the girls' scholarships program and a very impressive lady. She took me and a lovely American couple who was also interested in fund raising for Room to Read to a site visit in Kavrepalanchok District, about an hour drive from Kathmandu. First, we went to Siddartha Vanasthali, a private school that has 104 Room to Read scholars. After, we visited the homes of three of the girls on the program. We also visited couple of public schools that were built with the help of the organization. Room to Read is well-known and respected, and the reception we received was reassuring. The scholars are absolutely adorable. I can not explain the feeling of walking into a room with 100 little girls with radiant faces and neat school uniforms that stand up and say Namaste (Hello). It is absolute cuteness. The truth is, they would not be there, without the financial help of people like you and me.
Room to Read currently has 764 scholars in Nepal, so Reema is one very busy lady. She told me that the most difficult part of her job is actually selecting who gets the scholarship and who doesn't. There are many girls competing for every scholarship. Reema narrows down the candidates to two per scholarship based on a questionnaire that she's developed. The last step is home visit. The most important criteria is need. At the end of the day, it is very difficult to say who needs it most. Room to Read only helps children that live above the poverty line. There are people that live below the poverty line in Nepal, and the first priority for those children is food. To be honest, I can't quite imagine how the children below the poverty line live, considering what I've witnessed at the home visits.
The scholarship program is very specific about not providing funds for food, so the parents remain fully responsible for their children. Sometimes - Reema said - the parents think that an US charity would have endless wealth and ask for money for food as well. So she tells them - this money don't come from the US government, they come from people like you and me, who have to give up one meal a day, so your girl can go to school. Now you have to give up some of your meals, so your girl is well fed and graduates from school. This little talk proves very effective. Drop outs are Reema's main concern. When she is not busy selecting candidates, she is constantly traveling, visiting schools and homes, making sure that the girls attend school regularly. Once a girl is in school, the main effort is to keep her in school until she graduates. Main reason for drop outs is marriage or relocation of the parents. Marrying off a girl at the age of 14 is not uncommon in Nepal, especially for parents that live at around the poverty line. There are a lot of girls to single mothers in the program. I think Reema should be proud with her current record of 98% retention rate. Also, of the 10 graduates (the program started only 7 years ago), 8 chose to continue their education in college.
All girls are placed in private schools as these are proven to take better care for their pupils. There is free public education until 7th grade, but some parents still can't afford to send their children to school, since everything other than tuition is not free of charge. I did see the difference between private and public school, and if you look at the pictures, you'll see for yourself too. The one thing I did not take pictures of was the girls' homes. First, my lenses are not wide angled enough to be able to take a picture in such a small space. Second, some of the houses did not have windows, so there was not enough light. Finally, it just felt wrong to take pictures of people's misery. One of the girls lived in a single room with her parents and 3 siblings. There was no washroom and the "kitchen" was basically a fire place on the floor in one of the corners. The walls were wallpapered in newspapers. Her mother was the only working member of the family. Her father was an alcoholic. Reema told me, that at one of her visits the father greeted her slurring the words: "Ah, the women liberation front has arrived". It is really hard to imagine what kind of life this child has. She is a lovely little girl that wants to become a doctor. Without Room to Read, she would be pulled from school to take care of her siblings, while her mother works. Reema told me that she only gives one scholarship per family, preferably to the oldest girl, so she could help her siblings with school later.
I can go on forever about my visit, but I'll stop here. One last point I want to make, just because my friend Jails questioned one of my earlier statements that girls in poor countries are being pushed into prostitution. Reema, who got her MSW in Social Studies and Community Development in India, told me that as part of her program, she worked with young women that escaped the brothels. Many of them were sold by their own relatives or even husbands. Average age was 9-14 (nine to fourteen). I know it is very difficult to believe, but just saying it isn't true ain't gonna change it. More thumbnails ...
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