Since the pandemic made a trip to Nepal impossible for quite some time, the Usthi team was finally able to visit the project on site a few weeks ago.

Together with the founder of the foundation Kurt Bürki, our executive director Alessandra Grosse and our program coordinator Mirjam Hirzel traveled to the project region and visited each of the schools supported by Usthi.

Thakre is a rural municipality and home to a diverse ethnic community that includes the Chepang group. They are highly deprived of basic needs such as access to healthcare, education and employment opportunities.

Since the beginning of 2020, the project “Empowering Children and Families” is running in the region of Dhading, west of the Kathmandu Valley. Every year, around 150 children receive direct support to go to school. At the same time, the donations are used to improve the facilities of a total of 10 schools:

The young children are delighted with the newly equipped rooms. There they can learn through play and are looked after while their parents go to work. Since the renovation of the schools, the participation of the children has increased. The teachers also enjoy teaching more now that they have new materials at their disposal.

For the school children, for example, investments are being made in a laboratory or a library to ensure a high-quality education. For the coming year, more extracurricular activities are planned, as these could not take place in the last two years due to the pandemic.

The Usthi team is grateful for the vivid experiences and enriching impressions of the project trip. The deep insight into the project activities and the challenges on site are of great value for the planning and further development of the project.