About Dolkha
NCEF has chosen Dolkha to be a new area to provide its resources at aiming to enroll socioeconomically disadvantaged children at nearby schools. Mr. Tenzing Sheerab Lama will be the area coordinator and he brings experience and knowledge to our efforts because he is involved with an NGO as a director.
Dolkha is one of the districts in the Janakpur zone of Nepal. Geologically it is a mountainous region very close to the Himalayan range in Nepal. Because of transportation difficulties and underdeveloped infrastructure, poverty is rampant throughout out this district. Farming and day labor account for majority of the income in this area. According to 2001 estimates the population of Dolkha was slightly over two hundred thousand with Sherpas, Gurung, Rai, Tamang, Kami, Sarkee and Damai making up the ethni cities of the population. The district has 51 VDCs, or Village Development Committee,s to ensure development of this area, which has resulted in access to limited electricity and telephones. Also the headquarters of this district, which links all the villages in Dolkha, is directly linked to Kathmandu through a highway. However development towards literacy and child education is still far from satisfactory. Recent statistics show that overall 57% of children below 6 do not attend school or have dropped out mostly because of their economic circumstance. The cost of sending a child to school for a year on average is $6/month with dress and stationary costing $24/year.
Mr. Lama is excited about helping these disadvantaged children and NCEF is committed to working with him to make a difference in Dolkha, Nepal.
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