Support the Sankhu School

Please join me in supporting the Sankhu-Palubari Community School of Sankhu, Nepal.

As my kids load their backpacks and head back to school this fall, I am grateful for their access to a quality education. At this time of year, however, I am also keenly aware there are children in other parts of the world who are not so lucky.

In fact, it is estimated that in Nepal 2.6 million kids don’t attend school, but instead work as child laborers.

The Advocates for Human Rights, a Minnesota-based nonprofit human rights organization, is working to help a few of these kids avoid child labor and get an education.

In 1999, The Advocates collaborated with community leaders to found a school for disadvantaged students in the small Sankhu-Palubari community. The school, which now serves more than 300 students each year, works to prevent child labor, encourage gender parity in education, increase literacy, and improve the lives and well-being of the neediest children in the Sankhu-Palubari area.

While public education is technically free in Nepal, high uniform expenses and other fees make it unaffordable for many. By covering these expenses and providing a free lunch to all students, the Sankhu School provides a real alternative to child labor for poor children in the community.

The school:

• Provides Pre-Kindergarten through 9th grade education to children at risk of child labor, as well as scholarships for its graduates to attend 10th grade.
• Gives students an outstanding education. Last spring, its second group of students, who started school in kindergarten, graduated from 10th grade. All of the graduates received either high distinction or first division on their School Leaving Certificate examinations.
• Encourages gender parity in education. In the 2011-2012 school year, 49% of the students in K-8th grade are girls, a significant increase since the school’s establishment.
• Provides an alternative to child labor. Approximately $250 provides one child with a free education including books, uniforms, and school supplies for one year.

This year alone, the Sankhu School is educating, feeding, and providing hope and opportunity to 327 students; children who otherwise would be at risk for child labor.

The school is a true community asset and is supported by the entire Sankhu-Palubari community. In fact, when the first class graduated from 8th grade, the whole community attended the ceremony.

Our community can make a huge difference in the lives of these children as well. Several supporters have pledged to match - dollar for dollar - the first $1,000 raised for the school on GiveMN.

Please join me in taking advantage of this match and supporting the Sankhu School!