Today I’d like to give you a more up-close and personal look at who I am and where I come from. I am proud to say I am from Nepal. I grew up with poverty in a very remote mountain village. I did not see a motor vehicle until I was nine years old. I know the depths of poverty and the language of scarcity. And I know the power of education – for it changed my whole life.
I was a boy who walked hours to school, playing all day with a hungry stomach, running after the cattle herd after school and finishing the homework in the dim light of a kerosene lamp. This same boy went on to graduate from a German university. I believe that education is the only way to open the door to opportunity. With education you can do anything in life. This happened to me, so it can happen to others, too. So who’s next? I would like to bring the same feeling in each and every child in Nepal – I would like share my passion for development through education.
Here is a story I would like to share: Not too long ago I saw two naked kids standing at the dark corner of a house looking at me with fear and anxiety. I peeped into the next door to see a toddler crawling around the ashy floor near the firewood. These innocent little ones looked very hungry, feeble and unsanitary. I could not sleep for many days. Maybe a year later I saw the children again, playing in the courtyard wearing sky blue school uniforms. And I suddenly relaxed and enjoyed the beauty – and hope – of this sight.
My story is a part of a great message to millions of young people for positive social change. Money does not work for development unless the value of money is respected. If someone fails to understand the value of money then it can lead in the wrong direction. Someone asked me, “What is your aim in life?” My response was “Happiness. Happiness among the people.” We the educated must be the bridge and develop a humanitarian feeling all around the world.
Interested in finding out how I help my fellow Nepalese in my daily work? Then don’t miss my next blog entry. Using an example from one of my projects, I will show how educational outreach can help improve the future of Nepal – one farmer at a time.
