The 2008-2009 Selection Committee has been dissolved since most of the student selection related work for 2009 is complete. We would like to thank Bigyan Acharya,
Maheshwor Kafle,
Bhusan Neupane
Laura Satkamp,
Uttam Sharma, Hari Tripathi and everyone involved in the selection committee. A new committee for 2010 will be formed later this year.
Student Visit Frequency Revised
Members Update
NCEF welcomes our new member Paliza Shrestha.
Contributions:
- Aastha, Barsha, Ritu and Paliza, helped compiling student biographies which will be published soon.
NCEF volunteers will now visit our students six times a year. One of the core components of our program consists of visiting the students regularly so that we have up-to-date information about their school performance as well as their environment at home. The visits are invaluable to us to build trust and a long-term relation with the student, the parents, and the school. Although we do not have the resources to intervene in case serious problems arise in school or families, these visits provide a way for the student, families, and our volunteers to discuss any problems and issues before they become serious enough to severely impact a student's performance in school. During these visits, the volunteers also replace and purchase school supplies (books, stationeries etc.) as needed. After these visits, the volunteers file a short report on the student.
Under the recently approved policy, the volunteers will visit the students six times a year. In the past years, our goal was to visit the students ten times a year. We have found that such frequency of visit was oftentimes not necessary to fulfill the goals of these visits - develop long-term relation with the students and families, check up on the status of school attendance, buy or replace school supplies, and to encourage the families to maintain an environment conducive to learning at home. We will review the visit frequency in a year, and increase or decrease the visit frequency as appropriate.
VOLUNTEER BEAT - An Exclusive Interview with Hem Pokharel
Hem - "I will continue to do what I am passionate about and I am passionate about NCEF and its vision of a better Nepal at the grass root level. "
NCEF is dependent on dedicated members who volunteer their time to fulfill NCEF's mission to provide education to needy children of Nepal. This issue features one of NCEF's most enthusiastic member and supporter Mr. Hem Pokharel. Hem has been an avid supporter of since its inception in 2002. His unique yet successful fund raising campaign, "Recycle for Education" has raised more than $900, enough to support nine Nepalese children through NCEF. Besides fundraising and publicity, Hem makes a point point to visit NCEF-sponsored children, area coordinators, and volunteers every time he visits Nepal.
Hem has a Masters in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Tufts University and works for Solutions Benefiting Life as a Project Manager/Environmental Scientist.
In this interview, we provide a few of Hem's insight:
1. How did you first come to learn about the NCEF?
I learned about the NCEF through my best friend, Bigyan Raj Acharya, who introduced me to his friend, Om Prakash Gnawali (NCEF CEO) and their vision regarding the NCEF. At the time, the NCEF was registered at our home address in Somerville, MA, USA. So, Bigyan kept me posted about the NCEF activities and one day at his request I made a donation of one hundred US Dollars to the NCEF. It felt good to be part of a good cause.
2. What motivated you to be a part of the NCEF?
My drive towards the NCEF stems from its dedicated volunteers and members, I trust Bigyan’s and Om’s judgment on the kind of help Nepal needs. I’m also greatly influenced by my family who struggled everyday to give my siblings and me the kind of foundations that we have today. Besides my family, the Jesuit Fathers of St. Xavier’s College in Nepal motivated me. Father Eugene Watrine of Ohio and Farther Charles Law of Chicago both lived in Nepal for more than 35 years to educate the underprivileged kids. They were extraordinary human beings. I wish I could be a fraction of what they were.
3. In your trip to Nepal in 2008, you mentioned how you thoroughly enjoyed meeting the students and the coordinators. Do you have any suggestions as to how we can improve the services the NCEF provides?
Yes, I actually returned from Nepal in May 15th, 2009, where I met with the NCEF kids, their parents and the dedicated volunteers several times during my stay there. As one of the sponsors, I want to make sure that the money is used for the stated mission of the NCEF. I have been to Nepalgunj several times and I’ve met with the area coordinator, Ms. Apsara, a very determined individual for the cause. I also had an opportunity to meet and talk with the kids in Nepalgung.
INTERVIEW (in Nepali)
Hem inteviews Nepal based volunteers Ms. Sarita Gopali, Mr. Bidur Dhungana and Mr. Hari Tripati during his last visit to Nepal in May 2009.
In Katmandu, I met up with Ms. Sarita Gopali, Mr. Bidur Dhungana and Mr. Hari Tripathi, who are doing an incredible job. Ms. Sarita Gopali, one of the recipients of the NCEF grant helps NCEF by directly meeting with the kids and parents, as she herself pursues higher education. I feel she is an inspiration to the NCEF kids and volunteers alike.
The NCEF is adapting to its growth astoundingly well. It just feels great and encouraging to correspond at [email protected] where all the members of the board can read our emails and respond. The finances, activities and list of donors published in NCEF's website shows that they are committed to transparency, which is a feat in itself.
4. Definitely, NCEF needs to reach a wider community. How do you see NCEF fulfilling the goal of educating children from the grass root levels?
I think the NCEF is trying its best to reach out to the students who need its support. The organization is relatively small and is basically driven by its dedicated volunteers, so it can be very difficult to spend a lot of money in media and PR like newspapers, FM or TV advertisements, to just get our voice heard. Hence, we may not be able to reach out to mass audience and have to rely on the word of mouth. I think the board should find a strategy to focus on that aspect of the NCEF, so that we can reach people at a more personal level.
Are you in yet? Join our cause to receive announcements, view new pictures and videos. Invite your Friends!
Number of Members: 6,066
Donations from Cause: $1,040
5. Your effort to raise money by recycling is noteworthy. Can you briefly talk about how many colleges/ universities are aware of this effort and in what ways it has benefited NCEF?
In 2003, due to my personal financial quandary, I couldn’t help with the NCEF’s new fund raising plan, where each sponsor had to donate a sum of US Dollar 1000 for the children’s educational fund. But nevertheless I wanted to help, so I started to raise small funds through “Recycle for Education” a movement to collect recyclable beer bottles and soda cans and fund a kid’s education with the redeemed bottles. Every bottle is worth 5 cents. If I can collect 10,000 bottles in a year, I would collect USD 500 from those redeemed bottle’s. If 10,000 people do it, USD 500 X 10,000 = 5 million could be earmarked for kid’s education. I believe that, in 21st century money to fund any program is in the concepts. It also requires a great deal of patience to see the concept turning into a movement. I do my share over the weekend; I have been collecting bottles from offices, restaurants and homes.
I try to talk to my friends at Tufts, MIT and other schools, to get them motivated and start working on this project. I also plan to go to schools and talk to the students about the same. The effort to collect bottles by Sarah Chang and her friends in their school stadium in California is very heartening. I hope that more students like Sarah Chang would step forward. However, I would like to advise the new recyclers that you make sure you are safe and that you are using proper sanitation measures.
6. How has your overall experience been as an NCEF volunteer and how have you managed your busy schedule along with volunteering for this organization?
I have a simple theory, if you like something, you do it. I feel that my day is like a graph paper where activities are plotted in Y-axis and time in X-axis. I want that line to go as high as possible every day. If I get tired I rest. But I will continue to do what I am passionate about and I am passionate about NCEF and its vision of a better Nepal at the grass root level.
7. How do you envision the NCEF’s growth in the coming 5-10 years?
I feel that any changes in the objectives that the NCEF tries to pursue in the future will be subjected to constraints in the field in Nepal and here in the USA, but I will be a phone call/email away if they need me. Political development in Nepal is something we can all watch for and I hope that no political changes in Nepal will obstruct the NCEF’s mission.
8. What improvements do you think will be beneficial for the children and the proper functioning of NCEF?
In order to improve the proper implementation of the NCEF, I think one could seek the following ground rules.
Make guidelines and follow them as much as you can.
Make sure that the NCEF is able to communicate with the volunteers at the grass root level, get each volunteer’s response and work towards the recommended feedback.
Get feedback, pictures and videos of the parents. Create a template for the questionnaires and video interviews.
Make sure that the volunteers are treated to fair and equal opportunities
Be in contact with the NCEF grant students and help encourage them to volunteer for the cause.
9. Finally, do you have any general comments/suggestions:(experiences/ improvements/ what you enjoy the most/ ideas… anything) to other people who are willing to help NCEF?
You guys are doing a great job! I think a quote by Mahatma Gandhi, justly complements what I would like to say to the present and future NCEF members, “Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.”
