Subin, a five-year-old blind student, has tugged at my heart, compelling me to help him and the nine other blind students at the impoverished Ved Vyas Handicap School in Damauli, Nepal. This school is the poorest of the poor schools in Nepal. They have an enormous need for Braille supplies, curriculum materials, and basic school supplies to teach the blind and disabled. My desire is to fundraise so that our team can distribute the materials to the school.
I met Subin as we distributed backpacks full of school and hygiene supplies, t-shirts, and stuffed animals. As I was tying a bracelet on his wrist, he answered my questions. “What is your name?” He replied, “Subin.” “How old are you, Subin?” “I’m 5 years old,” he answered. I was astonished with his intelligence demonstrated at such a young age. This was extremely unusual for a Nepalese child so young to understand English. Subin proceeded to sing a love song in Nepalese.
Why should we be concerned for the blind in Nepal? Most blind children don’t receive medical help to determine if there’s any hope or surgery to help them gain vision. Many blind children become beggars when they grow up. There is no work for them. Our goal is to give these little ones hope and the tools they need to survive and thrive when they become adults.
Why Nepal?
You might ask, “Why donate to a cause in a country so far away?” The answer is simple. Nepal needs our help. The people and the place suffered greatly after the horrible earthquake of 2015. Recovery has been slow and many families and children were left homeless and destitute. And if you’ve never visited Nepal, let me tell you the Nepalese leave a lasting impression on your heart and inspire you to believe in the goodness of humanity. They are warm, kind and caring and most importantly, welcoming of our support and extremely grateful for it.
Rebuild Nepal Education Foundation provides support to dozens of schools which means thousands of children. We trek to some of the remotest, mountainous schools in the world to distribute backpacks with school and hygiene supplies, teach science lessons, and to help these schools get connected with the world through technology and Google Classroom. These lovely children deserve every opportunity to receive a quality education which in turn will help their country flourish.
