Moran Memorial School students come from neighbouring tea estates and Rajbanshi tribe villages. Photo: Moran Memorial School
Canadian Jesuits International (CJI) supports the Jesuit-run Moran Memorial School in Nepal's easternmost district of Jhapa, which provides quality education to underprivileged children of tea workers on a neighbouring tea estate and the Rajbanshi tribe living in surrounding villages.
The project offers scholarship to students, salaries for teachers, and school expenses such as building maintenance, upgrade of facilities, utilities, and extra-curricular activities.
The students work and study hard, and their enthusiasm makes up for the challenges they face, including learning in Nepali and English, neither of which are their native languages, and living in a disadvantaged environment.
Life on the tea estates of eastern Nepal is very hard. Housing is basic and overcrowded, with inadequate sanitation, usually no electricity, and not enough clothing or food for a healthy life. Despite these risks, access to health care is minimal. Tea workers earn $3.77 for an eight-hour shift picking 26 kilograms of tea leaves, which is backbreaking work.
Through the education they receive, the young people begin to break out of the cycle of poverty, isolation and dependency on the estates and gain the knowledge, skills and confidence that will encourage them to seek other employment opportunities.
It costs about $300 to educate one student at Moran Memorial School for one year. Most tea estate workers cannot afford to pay the full tuition, but contribute one day's wages per month, about $3.77. To provide students with a basic education, the school must make up the difference.
Director: Fr Nicholas Christuraj SJ
Watch: Education changes lives of tea estate workers' children
The project at a glance:
Beneficiaries
455 students (225 girls and 230 boys)
Total budget: $115,086
CJI contribution: $40,000
Activities:
- Regular school classes
- Regular parent meetings
- Extra coaching for slow learners
- Career guidance for students
- Computer coaching for the students
- Family visits
- Evaluation of teachers and students
Support Moran Memorial School by making a donation now: