In , there is no such thing as a free education.  Whilst we can all be very grateful for our state schools in the , many Nepali children simply cannot go to school as their parents cannot afford it, or because the children need to work from an early age to supplement the family income.

My Small Help (MSH) was set up by a group of friends in and who wanted to give their small help and innocent children.  The story began in January 2007 when more than 50 friends agreed to give up on beer a month to provide education to a child in .  Over the first three years, MSH has helped fund the education of over 200 Nepali children by providing sponsorship, stationary, books and uniforms.

As MY small help, I would like to pledge to raise £360 to cover the cost of supporting Sushmita and Sushma.  This is their story:

Sushmita and Sushma Sundas Story

Sushmita (9yrs) and Sushma (7yrs) Sundas are sisters, and very much look alike! They live with their mother in the remote mountainous region of , and their younger brother who is 3 years old.  Their father, Navaraj, had to move to where he works as a tailor in his efforts to provide for his family.  He only returns home on very rare occasions such as Christmas.

Sushmita, Sushma, their mother and younger brother live in one of a collection of small mud huts that surround a pond; it is this pond where they play, eat, drink, wash and clean their clothes – hard to imagine from our nice, clean, warm homes in the .  The family does not have enough land to feed themselves, let alone be able to sell any to earn a living.  As a result of their hardship and being of a lower caste, their family and friends from their previous village have disowned them.

For the last 3 years, Sushmita and Sushma are two of the children that MSH has been able to raise sponsorship for.  On 30^th August I went to Dhulikhel with Pramila (the MSH accountant) to visit the girls to see how they are getting on.  As a result of the poor conditions that they live in, the girls can be absent from school due to illness and on top of this for a few months they did not have any school books and so could only listen or use old versions.  Despite this, the girls are very clever and do very well in school.  I want to give them the chance to learn for a better future.

Currently, Sushmita and Sushma are being sponsored £5 each, which just about covers their school fees (and which the headteacher has already very kindly heavily discounted).  A “full” MSH sponsorship of £20 per month per child covers not only their education, but also buying school books, school uniform, stationary, and will also go towards ensuring that the children get at least one proper meal a day.  During school, the girls take corn to eat during the harvest time, but for the rest of the year they simply take whatever their friends are willing to share with them.

Full sponsorship = £20 per child per month.  Currently they each are sponsored £5.  Therefore I want to raise the money to fill the gap.  £15 per month * 2 young girls * 12 long months = Total of £360. 

By raising £360 as a one-off, this is not an on-going solution, however will give MSH some more time to find permanent sponsors.  If anyone might be interested in sponsoring these girls, or any of the other children for that matter, MSH can offer different levels e.g. monthly standing orders of £5 to cover just school fees, £10 for a partial sponsorship and £20 for a full sponsorship.  Please email me (KateEmmaBaker@googlemail.com) for more information.

Please help…..£360 is only £10 for 36 of my friends and family….my aim is to raise this so that I can give My Small Help this small offering before my last day here, on 8^th September 2010.

Thanks

Kate xxx