http://thecloudbasefoundation.org/site/the-cbf-and-keen-partner-for-education-in-nepal/

CBF Members Jeff O'Brien, Jeff Shapiro and Nick Greece will be in
Pokhara Nepal this week to check in on the Cloudbase Foundation's Nepal Project
with Keen Footware as the partner. Jeff and Jeff will be flying Hang Gliders, a
rare site in Nepal. Read details of the project started by Isabella Messenger at
the URL above.

Tell us about the challenges these kids in Pokhara face….

To help me organize a proposal for KEEN, Bella briefed me on the numerous
challenges the kids face. Most of the children there– especially those from the
poorest families—have trouble procuring things that we consider basic. The
poorest families can usually only afford to send their kids to school until they
are old enough to be useful workers at home or elsewhere.

A couple of the kids she is trying to help come from the lowest caste of
society—the Dalit. She said that in modern Nepal there is an effort to eliminate
caste discrimination through affirmative action. In that spirit, there are some
positions in the university and the government reserved for them.

I recognized her description from what I have seen in my own travels to poor
communities in Asia. My own experience helped to fuel the fire, for sure. We
hope that, wherever we can, we will offer some unexpected hope for some hard
working kids.

Who are some of the kids who will receive scholarships?

Bella carefully chose five children. All easily fit the criteria of both needing
the help and having the motivation to make use of higher education. Two of the
girls are aged 11 and 12. She told me that despite being top students, they
would not be allowed to continue their studies past 8th grade because it’s still
typically considered a waste of funds to educate girl in their village. This
scholarship money will now give them the opportunity.

We will also be assisting a 14-year old boy who is only able to attend school
four days a week because he must help his parents earn money for his education.
KEEN to Learn will enable him to attend full time.

In Pokhara, pilots have long been concerned about kids who skip school in order
to earn money packing gliders in the LZ. Will KEEN to Learn address this
problem?

This situation in the landing zone illustrates a dilemma that families face all
over Asia: the struggle between getting by day-to-day versus getting an
education that creates greater earning potential in the long run.