One of our new members Prem Sharma is from Nepal and proposed this project. The project is for our Club to sponsor a meal program in Janachetana Primary School, a rural school in the mountains of Nepal. Nepal is a country with a caste system. It is generally a poor country but the people in the lowest caste - the so-called ‘untouchables’ - experience particular hardship.
Many families survive on the equivalent of about $1,000 per year in Canadian funds. Education is the way for the children of these people to pursue a better life. It is often difficult to get the youth to attend school. It is proposed that by setting up a lunch program in the school we can improve school attendance and improve the eventual outcomes of the children.
The plan would be to provide lunch to about 75 students through the school year of about 210 days. It is suggested this could be accomplished at the low cost of only $1,550 per year. It was noted that this is a very modest sum to provide meals to so many students for so many days. It was explained that the diet would be lentils, and rice and wheat. The cost includes a stove and gas cylinders for fuel.
Since this program started, enrolment at the school has increased by 80%.
In 2022, the program was expanded to include funding for a teaching assistant at the school.
Also, we now have goats!! Check out the update on our the project's new Goat Farmining initiative HERE