Stand by Me and FSL – Bringing Education To Where It Is Needed Most

FSL have partnered with Stand by Me as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility programme, this time to support the most disadvantaged children in the poorest region of Nepal.

Nepal is a country landlocked between India and Tibet with a history of civil war. Hundreds of thousands of children live in isolated remote mountainous villages where the possibility of an education is simply a dream and the lure of child traffickers is a serious threat. In these villages, families are often trapped in poverty through the bondage of debt and the stigma of their low caste.

Stand by Me believes the ultimate solution is providing children with a life changing education, however there are many barriers in the way which stop these children attending school:

• The reality is most Nepalese live far from towns and cities in isolated communities. Children would have to travel for hours to reach the nearest government school
• The majority of people are subsistence farmers, scraping by through a hand to mouth existence. They have few resources to set aside to improve the lives of their children and cannot afford to provide all the books, stationery and two sets of uniform in order for the children to be allowed to attend government school
• Nepal’s caste system which signals ‘your place’ in society means children from low caste families face harsh discrimination if they aspire for an education
• Low caste families are the poorest and are often illiterate. They are trapped in debt, cannot afford medical care and their lack of education causes girls in particular to be at risk of forced marriage and teenage pregnancy.

FSL’s support will enable this project to run sustainably and progress to the next level by providing the daily essentials required by children and adding much needed extra facilities:

• Food – in addition to a nutritious snack, we will begin to provide a hot meal and drink. This will greatly reduce the widespread level of malnutrition amongst the children.
• Clothing – uniform and shoes for all children.
• Resources – text books, pens, pencils, writing books.
• Sanitary ware – to enable girls to continue to come to school whilst having their monthly period.
• Teachers – provide two teachers and an assistant.
• Construction – provide school toilets, accommodation to appoint and retain the best teachers due to the remote location of the school and a kitchen to prepare the hot food.