Reading to Modern Model Residential School, Nepal (March Post) (Application Essay)

    Recently, I have become involved with Modern Model Residential School (MMRS) in Kalikot, Nepal. Although I participated in other global projects in the past, my recent work the school has provided me with unmeasurable gratitude towards people globally and an appreciation for different situations.

A few years ago, American Women for International Understanding awarded MMRS one of their available money grants. Since then, the founder, Prakash Bista, has kept in contact with the AWIU women who later suggested that the younger members of AWIU, called Passports, craft a project with Prakash’s students. That is how we began reading with the kids to help them learn English. 

During our first Zoom with Prakash and his wife, Stromi, I learned more about the school. The school is located in one of the most rural places or Nepal, with the closest road about a 4-hour hike away. 4 hours is a long way, but I am told that the scenery is breathtaking! Other things of note are that most of the kids have siblings at the school, and students spend their year at the school. There are about 200 boys and girls total, with the majority coming from low-income households. Most of the kids that I work with are between the ages of 4 and 12.

What was most awakening for me, however, is that around 31 of the students are orphans who have spent their lives at the school.  In addition, Stromi and Prakash are their only teachers (with some seasonal volunteers, I think) and are the sole caretakers of the orphan students. Here I am, a wealthy student in Pasadena, California attending one of the best schools in the country, while others around the world have to hike 4 hours to get to a road and don’t have parents. What’s even more incredible, I think, is that Stromi and Prakash have dedicated their lives to these children who aren’t their own. I find their work, and the children, remarkably inspiring. I am beyond grateful to work with them and look forward to our time every week.

Prakash is always willing to zoom and discuss his work with interested audiences, and his personal story is just as inspiring as his current work.  I think that the Poly community would greatly benefit from Prakash’s perspective. He’s one of the cheeriest, most enthusiastic people I have worked with. Stromi, a soft-spoken, brilliant woman, loves nothing more than to show off her students! They go around the room introducing themselves with their names and favorite color.

Overall, I would say that just knowing that there are places like this all over the world that make people’s lives better inspires me to be globally involved. It’s hard to explain, but I am always thanking people like Prakash and Stromi for all that they do. I hope that, through the Global Scholars program, I can learn from peers who have had similar experiences as well as find more people like Prakash and Stromi around the world.