The NEAT Fund – Nepali Empower Asia Tertiary Fund’s aim is to develop quality young people who will become adult Christian professional leaders for Nepal’s future. Certainly this means that once our graduates have sufficient professional experience they must return back to care for their own people
The conditions for the applicants (Nepali boys and girls who have completed year 12 and who will be applying to study at university) are quite strict.
Vijay Lama - NEAT Fund Recipient
Recipients of NEAT Fund support are;
- Vijay Lama who is studying B.Engineering,
- Phoebe Gurung studying B.Business Administration,
- Amos Gurung studying B.Commerce and Chartered Accountancy,
- Abedan Tamang studying B.Public Health
By July 2010 there will be two more male recipients.
Some young people have chosen not to apply for the scholarship because the conditions are resonably strict. The conditions include the following;
- The recipient will probably not be fully sponsored by us for their studies. Hence the recipient must first seek financial help from their own extended family before applying to us. Each year the parents must pay 25% of fees, books etc. We pay the other 75%. Certainly priority will be given to the student who has contacted their own family in Nepal and abroad first AND who has managed to gain support from their family,
- The student must not “double dip” i.e get two lots of funding (from us and their family) toward the same project so that in effect they have an excess of funds,
- On graduation and gaining a job the recipient must immediately begin to pay back a stipulated portion of not less than 25% of the scholarship so that in the future others may use the funds,
- Once a young person has graduated they must return back to help their own people i.e. so that they do not use our organization simply to get a degree then just abandon us or go live overseas. Should a young person decide not to go back to help their own people they will be expected to pay back more and maybe all of the scholarship funds,
- Each year a child must re-apply for the scholarship, however the intention, though not guaranteed, is that once we have committed to the first year we should work hard to see them sponsored right through their degree as long as they have maintained the scholarship conditions set out. If a young person fails a paper then he/she will receive less funding in the next year,
- While there will be consultation with parents, once the child has graduated the child’s parents may not order their child to do a certain job nor to live in a certain place nor may they unfairly persuade their child to marry a certain person,
- If at all possible the tertiary student will live at one of our homes while they study. Priority will be given to those who will clearly help the house parents to look after the younger children by acting as a tutor and/or as an assistant to the house parent,
- Priority will be given to a child who has a desire to serve within our ministry whole studying and who will maintain very close contacts with the house parents during their tertiary study years,
- Priority will be given to children who choose degrees that have a definite career path,
- The house parents in Kathmandu and Pokhara, Paul and one other board member from each of the two cities will meet to select the scholarship applicants who they think are most suitable,
- We select only children who have displayed a high level of Christian character. We are not to experiment and “hope” that a young person is suitable because by now we should have a good level of confidence in him/her,
- The child must have somebody who they are accountable to and who will mentor them. This adult must be somebody who they will feel comfortable to open their hearts to,
- The recipient must form an [email] relationship with the overseas donor,
- The child’s parents and extended family must agree to these conditions above,
