Empower Asia has been working in Nepal since 2000. We care for 19 boys and 19 girls spread over three homes. Two homes are for boys. They are called Asha Kendra, which means House of Hope, and are based in Kathmandu. Our girls’ home is in Pokhara city.
Back in 2000 when we first surveyed Nepal, senior church leaders told us that they were having increased contact with rural peasants throughout the nation but that these folk would clearly never be able to take their place amongst the nation’s leaders or be in positions of influence. The church leaders felt that there was a pressing need to develop intelligent and capable professional people who would protect, care for and empower Nepal’s huge rural underclass.
Hence with their blessing we decided to focus our work on mentoring teenage boys and girls who would one day become teachers, social workers, engineers, accountants and lawyers. We are endeavouring to raise up young people so that they will have a heart for the poor and who in time will one day be willing to live and lead within rural village areas, provincial towns and cities.
A CASE STUDY: “SAM”
“Sam” studies in Year 9 and is age 14. He is second in his class averaging 87%. He thinks that he can be top of the class if he tries really hard. Sam heard about our boys’ home from a pastor in a very remote part of Nepal. It takes several days to walk into his village. Sam sat our entrance exam, which he said was hard, and was accepted in 2005. His favourite subjects are grammar and optional maths.He is considering becoming an engineer because he would like to bring roading and greater communications into his remote district. Sam says that engineers do not like to live in his district because of its reputation as a Maoist stronghold and because of the very harsh way of life.
He feels that if he does not do well academically it will be okay because he is willing to carry out mundane tasks as long as he can serve others and show God’s love to all. Sam became a Christian because of his Mum. He recounts how his Mum was experiencing bad/evil dreams. She was in very poor mental health. She decided to follow Jesus and as a result her bad dreams immediately went away and her life became normal again. Initially Sam scornfully laughed at his mum and sister when they became followers.
He told us too how Maoists had visited his house to try to extort US$1000 from his father. Sam’s dad did not give them anything so they threatened to kill him. His family decided to pray and ask God to protect them from the Maoists. From then on they had no problems.
My impression of Sam is that he is smart, articulate and very very good at English. For example, in English he knew the full title for DNA and could accurately explain what it is. Can you? For his age he is a deep and philosophical boy , expressive and confident but without being cocky.
Our heart to work with girls was particularly touched when we discovered the number of Nepali girls, who through no fault of their own, are ending up in prostitution. Many girls each year are sent as sex slaves over the border to fill brothels in Mumbai and Calcutta. Many girls contract the HIV virus within 6 months. And there ends a future. Our Pokhara girls’ home has been operating since 2001 and proactively aims to prevent our daughters from ending up in slave or bonded labour situations or as victims of human trafficking.
See http://empowerasia.org/nepal/mayas-story/
In our three homes we have a very strong emphasis on both academic achievement and development of character. Our boys and girls study unbelievably hard by western standards. For example, for a month prior to exams all the girls commence study about 5 am and finish at 10 am at which time they go to school. On returning home they commence study again finally going to bed about 11 pm. Apart from a regular evening meeting and meals there are few breaks in the day for them. Peggy and Pramod love the girls deeply. Without doubt this family knows the value of a quality education!
Peggy clearly has got what it takes to direct this program. She is already an established women’s church leader within the city and an elegant and well educated woman. She displays wise and charismatic leadership. Before Peggy commenced this home she was a school principal having already set up and run a girls’ hostel connected to her school.
The children at all three of our homes attend fairly good quality private schools. Our Pokhara girls receive extra tuition via a live-in school teacher as well.
We anticipate that a high number of our kids will move on into tertiary education. These Nepali homes are long-term projects since most of our kids are only aged around 12 or 13 years old when we first receive them. Currently we have about a dozen young people studying at university. To this end we have developed the NEAT Fund see http://empower.asia/nepal/tertiary-education-fund/ If necessary our young people will have the opportunity to apply for a scholarship as long as they meet certain criteria.
We have purchased a 1/2 acre plot of land in the Kathmandu Valley and as of February 2010 we have started construction of our residential building. This will become our new base for our Nepali boys’ ministry. This will be a fantastic facility and way better than our current situation which is a house located in a highly urbanized suburb within Kathmandu city. See http://empower.asia/nepal/nepalbuild/
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