Nepal is among the least developed countries in the world, with one-quarter of its population living below the poverty line and an adult literacy rate of just 64 percent. Currently, only 56 percent of students are enrolled in secondary education and just 26 percent of adults in Nepal have completed 10th grade. This context is even more challenging in the remote Western area of the country where BlinkNow serves, and especially for girls and women, who also face a myriad of gender-related challenges. For the most disadvantaged kids in the region, school is either too expensive, very poor-quality, or simply not an option because of poverty, disability, or gender.

Increased migration, harsh landscapes affected by climate change, and the after-effects of Nepal’s decade-long civil war leave a hard reality and pervasive poverty in the Western community of Surkhet and the surrounding regions. Many are forced to work hard labour or to leave their families for migrant work, to earn just enough to get from one day to the next. Families are often left broken and struggling, and children without enough food in their bellies or the means to attend school.

Further effects from the COVID-19 pandemic are evident in the community now, including school closures, a labour migrant crisis, hunger, job loss, economic hardships, health issues, family hardships, domestic violence, and so much more. In the community of Surkhet, the effects of all of these are felt.

Goals and activities

• To provide high quality education guided by best practices in international education to over 400 needful children at the Kopila Valley School, covering tuition fees, transportation, daily lunches and snacks, uniforms and other school supplies, healthcare and teacher training.
• To provide a safe, loving, and stable home for 40 children in extreme cases of need at the Kopila Valley Children’s Home.
• To provide a safe environment and extra support for 9 at-risk adolescent girls, through counselling and life skill courses at the Kopila Valley Big Sister’s Home.

Myriad Canada is working with BlinkNow on this project. BlinkNow’s mission is to change the world by empowering Nepal's children; they believe that the hope of a self-sufficient future begins in part with a supportive, safe place to live and the opportunity for a high-quality education.