In 2022 Nepal Orphans Home began its eighteenth year of operations, providing for thirty-two children in Papa’s House, as well as supporting eighteen adolescents from Papa’s House attending college preparatory classes and funding the education of twenty-five other young adults from Papa’s House in college and university.
The Chelsea Education and Community Center (CECC) opened its tenth year of academic enrichment and life skills training for the Papa’s House children and its eighth year of free literacy classes to local women in the community of Dhapasi. NOH Outreach continued assisting the less fortunate throughout Nepal.
Nepal Orphans Home depends on donations. Many individuals around the world annually regularly donate to NOH. We have been inspired by the gifts of friends, who have seen or heard about our good work in Nepal.
Here are some of the ways you might support NOH’s mission.
Support for a Child:
When children arrive at Papa’s House, NOH commits to providing for their shelter, nutrition, education, and health care until they reach adulthood and are ready to live independently in Nepali society.
Of paramount importance is providing our children with good education. Through grade ten, Papa’s House children attend the Skylark English School, a local private school with over six hundred students. Upon completing grade 10, students take a Secondary Education Examination (SEE), and after passing it, they may enroll in Plus 2 (grades 11 and 12). After successfully finishing Plus 2, students may advance to undergraduate programs at the university level.
 Five of the new girls just after arriving from Dang in November 2020 (Sarita 11, Saya 5, Zoya 7, Shristy 10, and Angel 9) |
 Sarita, Saya, Zoya, Shristy, and Angel in the fall of 2022 |
Papa’s House children are very busy during the school year, six days a week attending Skylark School from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and then the Chelsea Center in the afternoons for additional classes. Some of the children practice basketball every day from 6:00–7:15 a.m. at Skylark School. Others take Taekwondo classes in the early mornings. All the children enjoy their Saturdays off from school, breaks in the school year, and holidays, when they can relax and partake in fun activities at the Chelsea Center, such as book clubs and art classes.
 Walking to Skylark in the morning |
 Receiving Covid vaccine |
Help Support a Child at Papa’s House for a Year: $175 a month (or $6 a day) will cover the cost of providing for all the expenses (including food, shelter, clothing, education, and health care) for a child at Papa’s House.
Support for Education:
Papa’s House children are encouraged and supported to continue their schooling for as long as they wish and are able to progress.
Papa’s House young adults can expect support for the tuition and fees for their college and university studies, subject to satisfactory performance. Young adults not on a university tract can receive support for vocational training and internships. Young adults choosing to work abroad with a secure job are supported with their international travel fees and initial living expenses.
For the 2022 academic year, thirty-two Papa’s House children are enrolled at Skylark English School. Including tuition, uniforms, books, and other necessary educational supplies, the approximate annual school cost per child at Skylark is $350.
There are forty-three young adults from Papa’s House enrolled in higher education. Many of those are in college level study, two-year programs for grades 11 and 12. Depending upon the students' area of interest (generally Business, Science, or Social Work), tuition and fees range between $400 and $700 per year.
Other adults from Papa’s House are enrolled in university study (four years of study following graduation from Class 12). Study at the university level becomes even more specialized and current university fees per student average $1,500 per year.
"Bridge" courses help students solidify writing and study skills and extend background knowledge required for specific areas of study. Successful completion of these useful courses may also help students become eligible for scholarships. Students applying to science programs and those planning to study outside of Nepal are required to take these. The average cost of a bridge course is $200.
Intensive language courses are a visa requirement for students wishing to attend college in another country. The average cost of a language course is $200.
Additional laptop computers in Papa’s House would be helpful for online instruction and access to the internet’s resources. The cost of each laptop computer is approximately $500.
Witnessing the growth of our children is gratifying….like Juna, who came to Papa’s House fourteen years ago from our Lawajuni Hostel in Narti. Juna has finished her second year of college with straight A’s and has entered a bachelor’s in computer science. Her older sister Kamana is a local teacher and has been attending a German language course and will soon be on her way to Germany to join three of our girls who are in different years of a work/study program for nursing.
 Juna with her sister, Kamana, at Lawajuni in 2008 |
 Juna and Kamana at Papa’s House in 2022 |
Some of our young adults are studying in universities abroad. Even as a young boy at Papa’s House, Dhiraj Yadav was interested in and skilled with computers. Last year he graduated from university in Australia with a degree in information technology. He joined Systemnet in Sydney as a Systems Engineer, and in 2022 was awarded Employee of the Year.
 Dhiraj helping Ishwar at Papa’s House as a young boy |
 Dhiraj at graduation from Federation University in Australia |
Support for Independent Living and Transitioning into Society:
Instead of attending university or vocational training programs, some young adults may feel ready to leave Papa’s House, live independently and seek employment in Nepal. These young adults must first consult with the Director of Transition and will be expected to submit a written proposal with rationale for their plans. They will need to establish a bank account and NOH will provide a final stipend for their transition, which might be also used for apprenticeships or to start their own businesses. Continued contact with these young adults will be encouraged, but essentially they will have chosen to live independently of the organization’s assistance.
The Chelsea Education and Community Center:
The Chelsea Education and Community Center supports Papa’s House children in their transition to adulthood, empowering each individual to create and lead a uniquely meaningful and productive life.
Usually, in the afternoons after Skylark school, Papa’s House children go to the Chelsea Center for classes in math, science, and computer, as well as study halls and tutoring. For the older children, there are also career workshops and vocational training. In addition, more than a hundred local women take English and Nepali literacy and basic math classes and participate in life skills workshops at the Center. In 2022, the expected cost of operating the Chelsea Center, mainly for teacher salaries, is over $40,000 or approximately $110 a day.
 Math class at the Chelsea Center |
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There are occasional workshops on Friday afternoons, where our students hear from professionals about different careers, practice public speaking, and learn about health care, personal empowerment and other life skills. A donation of $40 would cover two workshops per month.
 A presentation by the IT Club |
 Meditating at the Chelsea Center |
Information technology (IT) is a special focus of the Chelsea Center. In the IT Club, formed in 2019, the children learn and share skills in programming and coding. There are additional IT career workshops during the year.
The Chelsea Education and Community Center has opened its doors to select other local school students, where our reputation for excellence in teaching math is well known. These earnest students attend two-hour sessions six days a week. Individual CECC scholarships for deserving students cost $40 per month.
After their exams, the women students at the Chelsea Center meet individually with their teachers to go over their results. Such individualized attention promotes increased learning and positive results for students and teachers.
 Women in a CECC class |
 Individual meeting with CECC instructor |
In addition to the free adult education classes and workshops for local women, the Chelsea Center builds social capital in the community through special events and celebrations. In June of 2022, the Chelsea Center hosted a dedicated team of dentists from Om Samyog Dental Clinic who led a dental hygiene awareness session with the women and a free dental check-up for our students and a wealth of information.
 Dentists at CECC clinic |
 Diversity day celebration at Chelsea Center |
Support for Outreach Programs:
As part of its mission, Nepal Orphans Home has long supported other local charities. Much of our outreach is funded by donations from friends, former volunteers, and board members.
With generous donations from the Healing Buddha Foundation, NOH Outreach supports terminally ill children in the cancer ward at Kanti Children’s Hospital in Kathmandu. Fresh fruit and food treats are supplied twice a week and birthdays of the children are celebrated, complete with birthday cake, candles, presents, balloons and sweets.
NOH also supports the Goldhunga Blind Children’s Home in the Kathmandu Valley, paying the salaries of the staff and the expenses of school uniforms and shoes, as well as supplying laptop computers. A young adult from Papa’s House is the coordinator of this NOH Outreach program and visits the home on Tuesdays and Fridays, bringing milk and fruit for the children and helping them with their academics.
 Young patients at Kanti with Manisha from NOH Outreach |
 Goldhunga Blind Children’s Home |
In addition, NOH Outreach provides scholarships for thirty-five local children from poor families, most to attend Skylark and other primary schools in the Kathmandu Valley.
Local families in need are frequently brought to our attention. While we try to provide temporary assistance to see a family through a crisis, we selectively offer support over a longer term. For example, NOH Outreach has provided one family with the funds to cover the costs of education for two of the children and life-sustaining medicine for the father’s illness. Another family of a crippled mother and three young children receives money to pay for food and other household needs. We have covered the cost for medical emergencies and even a kidney transplant for a local young man. In addition, we have provided the boarding fees of a young blind student at college.
Thank You from Nepal Orphans Home