Usha and Jayaraj have been visiting the United States recently and it has been so good to finally gather together with sponsors, board members, Little Sisters and friends after COVID kept us apart for such a long time. It has been especially wonderful to catch up with Little Sister alumni and hear all the amazing things they are doing as they continue their educational journeys in higher education. In fact, over 95% of LSF graduates have enrolled in higher education. We have 31 Little Sisters who have either completed or are currently pursuing masters degrees. And 4 Little Sisters are pursuing PhDs while 2 have already completed their PhD programs. This is simply astounding!

None of these accomplishments would be possible without the opportunities you have provided through your generous support of female safety, education, opportunity and empowerment in Nepal. Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are truly changing lives and making a huge difference in the lives of the Little Sisters that will reverberate for generations.

On another happy note, after 3 years, I am returning to Nepal in November. I can’t wait to get back to see the smiling faces of all the Little Sisters and encourage the girls to reach for their dreams. I am especially excited to share how very proud we are of their remarkable perseverance, resilience and achievement throughout the pandemic.

Namaste,

Trevor

Facebook Birthday Fundraisers: Sofie’s Story

Twelve-year old Sofie celebrated her birthday by giving back. She remembered learning about the many children who lack safe drinking water during her trip to Nepal a few years ago. That story stuck with her, so she decided to do something about it. On her 12th birthday, Sofie hosted a Facebook fundraiser in the hopes of raising $400 to put toward a water filtration project at one of LSF’s partner schools in Nepal. Amazingly, she was able to raise over $1600 and will now be able to complete 3 water projects and give the gift of clean, fresh water to hundreds of Nepalese children, their families and communities.

Setting up a Facebook fundraiser is a great way for your friends and family to celebrate you by supporting a cause that is near and dear to your heart. Click here to get started or let us know if you would like us to help you with the process.

New Little Sister Profile: Shristi

Shristi’s family is a perfect example of how COVID has affected Nepal’s most vulnerable populations. Her parents are from a rural village and had an arranged marriage 8 years ago. They moved to Kathmandu to find jobs. Her father was working in a craft shop and her mother worked in a school. But both of them lost their jobs during pandemic lockdowns that closed both schools and small businesses. They returned to their village and started growing vegetables with the hopes of providing for their family. However, they could not make enough to live on, so they came back to Kathmandu and began working as street vendors selling traditional Nepali foods.

With the help of LSF, Shristi has been able to continue doing what she loves: going to school and learning new things! Math is her favorite subject and she hopes to be a doctor when she grows up so she can help sick people.

If you or someone you know is interested in sponsoring Shristi, please reach out to Trevor at trevor@littlesistersfund.org

Higher Than Ever Imagined

Little Sisters are not only attaining higher education at unheard of rates, they are going even further in pursuing masters degrees and PhDs than we could have ever imagined. 31 Little Sisters have either completed or are pursuing masters degrees in an amazing variety of fields, as shown in the graphic above. In addition, 2 Little Sisters have completed their PhD programs and 4 others are pursuing PhDs.

• Arpana Pandit – 2008 LSF grad, completed a PhD in Behavioral Science in 2021

• Sanjita Sharma – 2004 LSF grad, completed a PhD in Elephant Science in 2021

• Nilu Dhungel – 2015 LSF grad, pursuing a PhD in Physiology

• Aakriti Bhandari – 2013 LSF grad, pursuing a PhD in Neuroscience

• Anupama Shree Dhamala – 2009 LSF grad, pursuing a PhD in Computer Engineering

• Sandhya Sharma – 2008 LSF grad, pursuing a PhD in Wildlife Science

Every single LSF graduate, masters degree recipient and PhD started with a dream. Your generous support helped them reach their goals and become the wonderful, educated, empowered women they are today. Now a new generation of Little Sisters is hoping and wishing and dreaming of all their future might hold. Stay tuned over the next few months as we share some of those dreams and ways YOU can help make them come true!

Yala Peak – November 2023

In November 2023, Trevor will lead a fundraising trip for 10-12 sponsors to Nepal. We will climb Yala Peak, a relatively modest 18,000 ft. peak in the BEAUTIFUL Langtang region of Nepal. This is an incredible 12 day trip which will include visiting Kathmandu, meeting with Little Sisters, a breathtaking helicopter ride into Langtang (a beautiful way to save 4 days of rugged ground travel), 8-9 days in the mountains spending most nights in Tea Houses along with 2-3 nights spent in tents as we summit Yala Peak. The return is another breathtaking helicopter ride back to Kathmandu (saving an additional 5 days of rugged ground travel). More info to follow – please let Trevor know if you are interested. trevor@littlesistersfund.org

Other Ways to Support Little Sisters Fund

Did you know you can support Little Sisters Fund by setting up a birthday fundraiser on Facebook? It’s easy and you can make an enormous difference in the lives of the Little Sisters. 

Make Little Sisters Fund your charity of choice on AmazonSmile and Amazon will donate half of 1% of your total purchase to us. It seems like a small amount, but it can really add up!

Set up a recurring, monthly donation. This helps us plan for the future, and gives you peace of mind that you’ll never forget to make your annual contribution.

Thank you! Dhanyabaad!