Impact Stories
- Januka Dangi
Changing Stories Nepal Fellow Round 4
“I was nervous the first day I went to the classroom as a CS Nepal Fellow. Everything was new to me. In the beginning, I didn’t have a good relationship with my students. I used to get frustrated whenever they didn’t understand what I taught. I remember calling Suraksha didi every now and then to complain. She advised me to stay calm and gave me feedback on how to do better. She asked me to spend more time trying to connect with my students. That feedback stuck with me. I realized that if I wanted my students to learn, I was the one who had to change. So I changed my teaching strategies and spent more time getting to know my students. I worked hard on my lesson plans and incorporated fun activities to engage everybody in the class. I figured out that my students really enjoyed reading stories and poems, so I started hanging chart papers on the walls with rhymes and poems written on them. These small changes helped me build a better relationship with my students. The fellowship journey hasn’t been easy for me. It took some time to find my place as a teacher. But the support sessions from CS Nepal have helped me come out of my comfort zone and try different ways of teaching. During support sessions, all of us fellows share ideas that the others can implement in their classrooms. In one of the sessions, I remember how Dipendra sir said that students can never learn under pressure or by force. You can’t force someone to learn. If they don’t feel like studying we should give them space to breathe. So I never force my students. I allow them to stay to the side, and let them join the group when they want to. The best thing about this fellowship is how well I have been able to bond with my students. My students share everything with me. From their personal issues to their dreams of the future. I think I have come a long way both as a teacher and as a friend to my students. I will always cherish the relationship I have with them.”
“I never thought I’d be a teacher. During my own school days, I was always a shy and obedient student. I sat in the middle of the classroom so I wouldn’t attract attention from my teachers. I was good at math and science, but not English. But luckily I had a teacher who believed in me. She understood that kids learn in different ways. Looking back, I am grateful for having a teacher who inspired me and helped me do better. I distinctly remember the first class I ever taught myself after I became a CS Nepal fellow. I asked my students if they knew the Nepali alphabet. With the exception of 2-3 students, everyone raised their hands. That night, I tried to come up with a lesson plan to help the students who didn’t raise their hands. I decided to teach those students separately, and in doing so, I came to realize that they each learned differently. While one student was able to pick it up quickly, the other two were only able to remember when they were asked to write everything down. One thing I learned from this experience like my old teacher always understood, is that every student has their own way of learning. I have been trying my best to give my own students an environment where they can do just that.”
- Shudarshan Khatri
Changing Stories Nepal Fellow
“I never thought I’d be a teacher. During my own school days, I was always a shy and obedient student. I sat in the middle of the classroom so I wouldn’t attract attention from my teachers. I was good at math and science, but not English. But luckily I had a teacher who believed in me. She understood that kids learn in different ways. Looking back, I am grateful for having a teacher who inspired me and helped me do better. I distinctly remember the first class I ever taught myself after I became a CS Nepal fellow. I asked my students if they knew the Nepali alphabet. With the exception of 2-3 students, everyone raised their hands. That night, I tried to come up with a lesson plan to help the students who didn’t raise their hands. I decided to teach those students separately, and in doing so, I came to realize that they each learned differently. While one student was able to pick it up quickly, the other two were only able to remember when they were asked to write everything down. One thing I learned from this experience like my old teacher always understood, is that every student has their own way of learning. I have been trying my best to give my own students an environment where they can do just that.”
- Binay Chaudhary
Student of Round 4
“Reading is the best thing about school. I enjoy going through long texts that have pictures, too. Playing football with my friends comes close to my passion for reading. I used to spend a lot of time playing with my friends from the neighborhood. But nowadays I am most devoted to studying. I try to complete my school work before playing. There is a teacher in our school who has helped me become a better student. I love going to school because of him. Sudarshan sir appreciates hardworking students and teaches us well. The students who study nicely receive a ring made of colorful papers prepared by sir himself. And the student who gets multiple rings earns a gift hamper from the teacher. I have already received 4 rings for being obedient, honest, having good manners, and completing my homework on time. I have all 4 rings at home that I keep in a very safe place. Other than the gift the class itself is very fun, which is why I have never missed a single one of his classes!”
“I was born and raised by farmers. My family’s daily routine involved getting up early in the morning to go to the fields and spend hours tending to crops. Even though I always wanted to study, going to school was never an option for me given my family’s economic circumstances. I often talk with my husband about the lack of choices we had growing up. My husband had his own struggles as a kid. He would walk for hours to get to his school only to find out that the teachers weren’t there. In the end, he stopped going. We both agree that things would have been different had we been educated. In all these years I haven’t changed very much myself. I still work in the fields to raise crops and livestock. I am happy with my family. I have two sons who are enrolled in a school nearby. I know an educated person gets more opportunities in life compared to those who don’t receive any formal education. So now we are trying to make sure our kids have more choices in life than we did. Because I don’t want my sons to share this life. I want them to dream bigger and have all the opportunities in life they need to live a better life. I believe that education is extremely important and plays a crucial role in one’s life, which is why I’ll do everything in my power to pay for my boys’ education; even if it means selling our house, our farm, and our animals!”.
- Somati Chaudhary
Mother of Binay Chaudhary, our student of Round 4
“I was born and raised by farmers. My family’s daily routine involved getting up early in the morning to go to the fields and spend hours tending to crops. Even though I always wanted to study, going to school was never an option for me given my family’s economic circumstances. I often talk with my husband about the lack of choices we had growing up. My husband had his own struggles as a kid. He would walk for hours to get to his school only to find out that the teachers weren’t there. In the end, he stopped going. We both agree that things would have been different had we been educated. In all these years I haven’t changed very much myself. I still work in the fields to raise crops and livestock. I am happy with my family. I have two sons who are enrolled in a school nearby. I know an educated person gets more opportunities in life compared to those who don’t receive any formal education. So now we are trying to make sure our kids have more choices in life than we did. Because I don’t want my sons to share this life. I want them to dream bigger and have all the opportunities in life they need to live a better life. I believe that education is extremely important and plays a crucial role in one’s life, which is why I’ll do everything in my power to pay for my boys’ education; even if it means selling our house, our farm, and our animals!”.
- Radhika Chand
Changing Stories Nepal Fellow
“The happiest moment during my fellowship was when Bishan, one of my students, asked me for more math problems to solve, so he could get better. When I first joined the fellowship, Bishan was a shy student. He would never answer when I asked him questions. He was also very weak in Nepali and Math. He had trouble reading and writing Nepali words, and didn’t know how to add or subtract. As I started teaching my classes, I was amazed to see him show interest in his studies. He is one of those students who caught up really fast. In the classroom, I often found him writing notes to help him remember later. At home, he practiced math on his own. He would get excited to recite Nepali poems in class. Even though he struggled to read that never stopped him from trying and giving his best. His determination motivated me and I gave him Nepali books so he could practice at home. He would read a book at home and come to school the next day and ask me questions about it. He would ask the same question again and again and again until he fully understood it. As a teacher, I was proud of his untiring effort. He improved a lot and was considered one of the best students in his class. He did very well on his exams, too; getting good marks. I saw him grow from a shy kid who hesitated to talk to a determined and confident learner. He has come a long way, and it was his determination and positive attitude that helped him get there.”
“I come from a family where we don’t have that much. If I don’t study well I will have to plow in the field like my parents. And I don’t want that life. I dream of becoming a big person. I need to study well so that when I grow up I can find a good job and support my family. That is why I love going to school and learning new things every day. I try not to miss any classes. I pay attention when I’m in class and I don’t move from my seat without completing my tasks, even if it means staying late to complete it. In the past I used to find math really difficult. I had problems understanding numbers and couldn’t do addition or subtraction either. Since Laxmi madam joined our school, I have learned a lot. She teaches us very nicely and makes us play games to understand math in a simple way. Now, I can easily do addition and subtraction. I can even tell the difference between odd and even numbers. Last time we had an exam and I did really well in it. I solved almost all the problems correctly. My teachers were happy with the results. Later that day I went home and told my parents about it. They were so happy that they went and bought 3 or 4 kilos of mutton and made my favourite curry. We don’t normally eat meat at home but that day was a big deal for my parents!”
- Anup Chaudhary
Enrolled in our accelerated learning course at Shree Laxmipur School
“I come from a family where we don’t have that much. If I don’t study well I will have to plow in the field like my parents. And I don’t want that life. I dream of becoming a big person. I need to study well so that when I grow up I can find a good job and support my family. That is why I love going to school and learning new things every day. I try not to miss any classes. I pay attention when I’m in class and I don’t move from my seat without completing my tasks, even if it means staying late to complete it. In the past I used to find math really difficult. I had problems understanding numbers and couldn’t do addition or subtraction either. Since Laxmi madam joined our school, I have learned a lot. She teaches us very nicely and makes us play games to understand math in a simple way. Now, I can easily do addition and subtraction. I can even tell the difference between odd and even numbers. Last time we had an exam and I did really well in it. I solved almost all the problems correctly. My teachers were happy with the results. Later that day I went home and told my parents about it. They were so happy that they went and bought 3 or 4 kilos of mutton and made my favourite curry. We don’t normally eat meat at home but that day was a big deal for my parents!”
- Sauni Chaudhary
Mother to Basanta, one of the students enrolled in our learning courses
“Every day after sending our kids to school we leave for our farm nearby. We mostly grow maize, mustard and green leafy vegetables. We depend on the produce for our daily meals and take the rest of it to the market to sell. I have been living in this village for as long as I can remember. Nothing much has changed. It is still a small village and the people here don’t have much. The saddest thing is the lack of schools. The nearest school is 50 minutes walk from here. It is difficult for us parents to send our children to school when the school is that far away. Especially if they are young. My husband and I have to go to the field early in the morning, and we can’t afford to miss work to drop our children to school. But that doesn’t stop them from going. They wake up every day at 4 in the morning, get dressed, and go to school all on their own. The sad part about life in this village is that children rarely pursue further education. They don’t have big dreams. Children from wealthier families go to Kathmandu or other big cities inside or outside of Nepal to study. But we are not people of money or power, which is why our children don’t get that many opportunities and often face troubles in life. One day, on our visit to the market, we saw an educated man make fun of a person for not being able to read the letters written on a signboard. You see people make fun of uneducated people like that. My hope is that my children will never have to go through any embarrassment in life just because they came from a poor family and couldn’t afford a good education.”
“I have two older sisters and a younger brother. We are a big family. For a long time, my father didn’t have a job and used to come home drunk and fight with my mother for no reason. He would get violent and beat my mother. When we tried to stop him, he would beat us as well. My mother couldn’t stop him. But she thought of a trick to save us from our father’s beating. She would send us to school early in the morning and have us come home late at night. That way we didn’t have to deal with our father. That routine continued for a long time. In the first few days, I got really bored spending so much time at school. But then I slowly started enjoying it. I would read books and poems that we learned about in the extra classes. I asked my mother to buy me copies to write down Nepali poems and stories my teacher shared in class. Whenever I had a problem with spelling a word I asked for my sister’s help. When she couldn’t help me, I would wait until I could ask my teacher to help me. My parent’s fighting used to disturb me a lot, but now I have started to focus on my school work instead.
Once my father found a new job things started getting better at home. He doesn’t come home drunk anymore. Now, I go to school and get back home on my own time. But I still love spending time at school reading Nepali books. I wake up at 4 in the morning, get dressed, and rush to school. I still go to the extra classes and do my homework. One day, there was a competition to read the poem “Na Tipnu Hera Kopila” in front of the entire school. The teacher asked if anyone would like to read it out loud. There was silence. No one raised their hand. Without thinking I went up on the stage and read the whole poem as ma’am had taught us during our extra classes. After the poem ended I heard people clapping for me. The teacher congratulated me and gave me 50 rupees as a prize. I had never won anything, and it felt really good. As I stood there in my school I thought about my mother. I went home and told her. She congratulated me and told me that she was proud of me. I tried to give her the prize money but she gave it back to me. A few weeks ago I bought two copies and a pencil with that money!”
- The name of the student has been kept anonymous
“I have two older sisters and a younger brother. We are a big family. For a long time, my father didn’t have a job and used to come home drunk and fight with my mother for no reason. He would get violent and beat my mother. When we tried to stop him, he would beat us as well. My mother couldn’t stop him. But she thought of a trick to save us from our father’s beating. She would send us to school early in the morning and have us come home late at night. That way we didn’t have to deal with our father. That routine continued for a long time. In the first few days, I got really bored spending so much time at school. But then I slowly started enjoying it. I would read books and poems that we learned about in the extra classes. I asked my mother to buy me copies to write down Nepali poems and stories my teacher shared in class. Whenever I had a problem with spelling a word I asked for my sister’s help. When she couldn’t help me, I would wait until I could ask my teacher to help me. My parent’s fighting used to disturb me a lot, but now I have started to focus on my school work instead.
Once my father found a new job things started getting better at home. He doesn’t come home drunk anymore. Now, I go to school and get back home on my own time. But I still love spending time at school reading Nepali books. I wake up at 4 in the morning, get dressed, and rush to school. I still go to the extra classes and do my homework. One day, there was a competition to read the poem “Na Tipnu Hera Kopila” in front of the entire school. The teacher asked if anyone would like to read it out loud. There was silence. No one raised their hand. Without thinking I went up on the stage and read the whole poem as ma’am had taught us during our extra classes. After the poem ended I heard people clapping for me. The teacher congratulated me and gave me 50 rupees as a prize. I had never won anything, and it felt really good. As I stood there in my school I thought about my mother. I went home and told her. She congratulated me and told me that she was proud of me. I tried to give her the prize money but she gave it back to me. A few weeks ago I bought two copies and a pencil with that money!”