Meet the Little Sisters
Binita is pursuing a better Nepal through her involvement with the Youth Thinker’s Society, an organization that empowers Nepal’s youth to seek out innovative ideas and collaborate with one another to break stereotypes and create opportunities for youth in Nepal. As a member of the Youth Thinker’s Society, Binita took part in the Everest Model United Nations. “I met a lot of wonderful young people who were really determined to work together to contribute something to society,” explained Binita. “LSF planted a seed in me. I have found I am more capable than I ever realized.”
Mina’s parents had an arranged marriage 14 years ago. Shortly after the wedding, her father went to Malaysia to find work. The family’s economic situation was very unstable and it only got worse after her father got sick. Her family faced a terrible financial crisis. Mina and her older brother were almost forced to drop out of school.
Mina is active and smart. She likes to talk and explain her thoughts. She loves school and playing with her brother. Mina also likes to study English, practice her handwriting and listen to music. She helps her mother with household chores.
Pratikshya’s parents fled the Maoist insurgency in rural Nepal to travel to Kathmandu in search of a better life and education for their children. After graduating from high school in 2018, she pursued her lifelong dream of becoming a pilot. In 2020, she graduated from the Royal Flight Training Academy in the Philippines. “LSF not only supported me and my family financially, but they also taught me to dream big and turn my passion for flying into a reality.”
Nisha’s parents belong to a so-called Dalit (untouchable) community. Both parents are illiterate and have faced many difficulties finding work. Nisha is an innocent girl who loves going to school and playing with her friends. She likes to study and helps her mother and sister in all types of work around the house. Nisha dreams of becoming a doctor one day.
LSF Alumna, Chadani, loves to paint whenever she has leisure time. She has her own art page running on Instagram @art.by.moon_ She recently posted her autumn series Autumn Rhapsody. Beautiful!
“LSF has shaped me and made me capable enough to take a stand for myself and my career. LSF provided me an education where I learned to run toward my dreams.”
When Roshani started school, she walked over an hour to get to school each day. Landslides were common. Her parents worried about her safety each time she left home, so Roshani went to live with her uncle who lived closer to the school. When it was time for her siblings to go to school, her family moved to a different district to provide a better education for their children, but her father passed away soon after they moved. Educating her children is very important to Roshani’s mother so she moved again, this time to a small, rented room in a city. Her mother is now working as a weaver and sending Roshani to school with the help of LSF.
Read Akina’s Story in Her Own WordsThere was only my father to take care of me, but due to the social customs of my village my father was compelled for another marriage. My step-mom never loved me. I was treated as a servant of the house. Grazing the animals and cutting the grass was my daily routine. My father changed into a type of devil. Pain and sorrow started filling my heart. So I learnt hate more than love. I lived this way for seven years.
Diya grew up in a far western, rural district in Nepal and dreamed of being a nurse. But her family’s financial situation didn’t allow her to pursue her dreams. LSF helped Diya travel across Nepal to study in a nursing program. After graduating, she worked as a Staff Nurse in Kathmandu and as a Community Nurse in Kalikot. Now Diya has returned to Jumla to fulfill her dream and serve the people of her home village. “My life was hard. Now it is easy,” Diya says. “My dream has come true.”
After her father left her family and her mother remarried, Sujana was sent to live with her grandmother in Dang, a rural district in Nepal. Here she helps her grandmother with household chores like cooking and washing dishes. She also works at a poultry farm feeding the hens and collecting eggs. Sujana is in 9th grade. She works hard in her studies and looks forward to continuing her education.
Married off by her parents at the tender age of 15, Ranjana grew up facing discrimination as she belongs to the so-called “Dalit” or “untouchable” caste. After meeting Little Sisters Fund’s co-founder Usha Acharya, her life changed dramatically. Ranjana is now the proud founder and director of Morning Star Montessori School in Kathmandu and she is passing her wisdom on to all the Little Sisters she mentors.
“Since I had my own experience of child marriage, I try to convince them that it is the worst thing in life and education is the golden opportunity they need to achieve their dreams,” said Ranjana.
Yamuna’s parents were struggling to pay their basic costs of living. One of her father’s friends suggested they send Yamuna to Kathmandu to live with him. He promised to take care of her and send her to school. Yamuna left home when she was just 4 years old. However, instead of sending her to school, her father’s friend made her stay home to care for his mother and the family dog. When Yamuna was 7, she learned to use the phone and called her family. After she told her mother about her situation, Yamuna’s aunt brought her back to the village where she joined her siblings in going to a small government school near her home.
Phulmaya was working in the fields when she was bitten by a venomous snake. While serious, recovering from a snake bite was not the only thing standing in the way of her dreams. After completing the School Education Exam with outstanding results, she got a scholarship for a 3-year diploma program in civil engineering. But, her family felt it was socially unacceptable for a girl to enter the male-dominated world of engineering. They were convinced being a teacher would be safer for her. Through counseling and awareness raising, Phulmaya’s Coordinating Mentor helped her family see the benefits of allowing Phulmaya to pursue an engineering degree.
When Deepika’s father was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, her family moved to Kathmandu in hopes of getting treatment, but the doctors told the family the cancer is not treatable. Deepika’s aunt is taking responsibility for Deepika and her sister because her mother is busy taking care of her father. Her mother does labor work when she can but their financial situation is very difficult. LSF is helping Deepika stay in school so she can achieve her dream of becoming a doctor in the future and helping sick people like her father.
Read Sharda’s Story in Her Own WordsGrowing up in a poor family as a handicapped child and a girl, I almost had no hopes and dreams in my childhood. My destiny was to live hidden away in my parent's house as a burden and shame to the family members. Today I am an educated person. I work and I am self-dependent. I have a smile in my face. I can prove and show to those who were opposing to send me to school that education is the only thing that makes life better.
Donations of any size make a meaningful difference