How a Child Learning Centre in Nepal is helping disadvantaged children to thrive despite their circumstances.

Alisha is eight years old, and lives with her mother and sister in Nuwakot in central Nepal, a region near the capital, Kathmandu.

Like most other children of her age, she was at school and loved playing with her friends.

However, her family started to struggle when her father cut contact with their family and stopped sending them maintenance money.

Her mother increased her paid work but this was still not enough to continue to cover the costs of all the school expenses, such as uniform and stationary. Both Alisha and her sister started to miss more days of school.

Access to education is varied in Nepal, dependent on factors such as geography, gender, socio-economic and ethic differences.

CarNet Nepal, Viva’s partner network, supports the Nuwakot community to increase the quality of and access to education.

Many children struggle to maintain their attendance in school, and often drop out early due to family circumstances, with alcoholism and unemployment being prevalent.

A lack of education makes children and the families significantly more vulnerable to trafficking, exploitation and abuse.

Furthermore many young people come from communities who are largely marginalised and uneducated, which can result in continuing cycles of dropping out of education and unemployment.

CarNet Nepal supports children in the Nuwakot region, who are struggling to get consistent access to education, by providing a Child Learning Centre (CLC).

This provides holistic support and a means for children to continue to grow and not be held back by their physical circumstances.

The CLC gives homework and assignment help and, in addition, provides the practical means in order to keep children in education, such as providing uniform, bags and stationery, which can often be significant barriers to education

Focusing on a child’s personal development, the CLC provides extra-curricular advice and mentoring on topics such as sanitation, self-confidence and friendships.

CarNet Nepal is excited to expand this area, and is about to start the Flourish programme – already in progress with Viva partner networks in India, Cambodia and Nepal – and which offers one-to-one mentoring to those children who are particularly vulnerable.

Picking up Alisha’s story again…

She was recommended to the Child Learning Centre when her school attendance started to drop significantly, and she started attending the after-school sessions at the CLC.

Here she gained extra tuition in her assignments, and practical support in the form of a new bag, uniform and stationery supplies, and this has enabled her to go back to and continue her education.

The leaders of the CLC have seen amazing personal growth in Alisha since she has been attending. She has formed new friendships and the support making a large difference to her grades.

She has also recently received a first prize in her school, and an encouragement gift from the CLC.

Her mother is so grateful for the support. It means she is able to now send both her daughters to school and continue their education.

Please join in prayer for the amazing work of CarNet Nepal:

• We thank God for the amazing work that he is doing through the Creative Learning Centres. We pray for children like Alisha, currently attending the CLC – that they would grow and develop with the support of the network, in their education and holistically in all areas of life.

• We pray for the Nuwakot community, and particularly for the children who have not yet been identified as needing support, who cannot currently be reached. We pray for God’s peace and blessing over them and their families, and that they would get the support that they need.

• We pray for the Flourish programme starting up in this area, which aims to impact the lives of 500 children. Pray that it would be well received and the children would really benefit from the support it gives.