Latest News

Summer camp for students

Kathmandu, Nepal

  • Team: Books of Joy and SAATH
  • Goal: Sponsor children affected by HIV/AIDS for a summer camp to provide emotional support via immersive, team-building activities
  • Background:
    • People in Nepal today with HIV/AIDS are still heavily discriminated, and the subject is still very much taboo
    • Marginalized children with HIV/AIDS are particularly affected by this stigma, and actively excluded from school and social activities
  • Outcome:
    • Provided students affected by HIV/AIDS with the emotional and peer support that they may have lacked from family and society
    • Students expressed feeling better emotionally after the camp, with meaningful uplift in self-confidence and desire to remain in school
read more

Early childhood program

Shree Deurali School, Lalitpur, Nepal

  • Team: Books of Joy and VolNepal 
  • Goal: Developed a comprehensive early childhood education program (including a resource library)
  • Background: 
    • This particular school catered to children of daily wage-laborers, with ages ranging from 3 to 9; prior to the program, children typically followed their parents to work, risking exposure to unhealthy environments
  • Outcome:
    • As part of the education program, we sourced educational materials and toys that help to develop hand/eye coordination while teaching arithmetic basics
    • The school’s curriculum tested and adopted this play-based learning methodology; teachers were provided training materials and physical assets to continue this practice in future
read more

Student scholarships

Sarlahi, Nepal

  • Team: Books of Joy and Hoste Hainse
  • Goal: Sponsor schooling costs for female students to empower gender equality in education
  • Background: 
    • Girls in Nepal are at a high risk of dropping out of school due to poverty, societal pressure for early marriage, and family duties. As a result, we wanted to provide female students with the financial support and motivation to continue their education.
  • Outcome:
    • Provided scholarships for a total of 40 girls to date
    • Female students we sponsored felt a greater sense of empowerment to push back against conservative societal pressures (e.g., teenage marriages) and actively promote their experiences in school to others
    • With education comes greater ability for female students to participate in decision-making forums, contribute meaningfully to their family’s income and well-being, and set positive example for future generations of female scholars
read more

School library

Shree Kshetrapal Lower Secondary School, Nuwakot, Nepal

  • Team: Books of Joy and VolNepal
  • Goal: Rebuild a school library in the village of Nuwakot
  • Background: Nuwakot suffered catastrophic infrastructure losses (roads, schools, hospitals, etc.) from 2015 earthquake; on average, children grow up having access to less than 10 books
  • Outcome
    • Built dedicated library room stocked with reference books, story books, and visual charts for primary / middle schoolers
    • Library was completely managed by students themselves — reduces burden on the school, and helped the teens build real-life skills
    • Ability to take books home after school supplemented classroom learning and molded a deeper sense of love and motivation to continue pursuing education within the students
read more