Nepal

A New School Year and New Surprises at Kopila Valley!

Kopila Valley students Goma, Kalpana, and Ganga smile for the camera!

Kopila Valley students Goma, Kalpana, and Ganga smile for the camera!

Although the new school year started just slightly over a month ago for students at Kopila Valley Children’s Home in Surkhet, Nepal, the school has been filled with a flurry of activities! The “newest little kopilas” – as they’re affectionately called by the school’s founder, Maggie Doyne – are enjoying classes, playtime and making new friends. Seven new teachers also joined the school and big plans are on the horizon for Kopila Valley’s school and health clinic!

Though the school grounds are filled with lots of smiles and back-to-school excitement, Kopila Valley has been dealing with water shortages and no electricity or Internet as Nepal worked to meet its May 27th deadline to finalize the country’s new constitution. According to Maggie, this left the school, and country, in shutdown mode. During Kopila Valley’s first full school week, the country was facing several days of political strike, meaning several days of school not being in session. Though the well has been a saving grace for everyone at the school, keeping so many children occupied for days of extreme heat and no power has proven to be quite a challenge. The students distracted themselves with an ultimate Frisbee match, scavenger hunts, singing during music month and of course, schoolwork.

As if all of this activity wasn’t enough, Kopila Valley made a huge announcement in mid-May. After years of searching, the school finally purchased their dream plot of land for the future and permanent site of Kopila Valley School! Tucked in a valley amidst fruit trees and fertile land, Surkhet’s first sacred temple, and a farmhouse, the location is perfect. The new construction will allow Kopila Valley to expand and offer 9th and 10th grade. In her blog post, Maggie writes, “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us and a lot of big dreams for the future . . . I am so excited for Kopila Valley and honored that I get to keep living my dream each day, doing what I love and bearing witness to the children blooming before my very eyes.”

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Community Service at Kopila Valley

Students from Siddha Bahira practice sign language with Kopila Valley

Last month was community service month at the Kopila Valley Children’s Home in Nepal.  Within the first week of the service celebration, the students had already cleaned litter from a local park, visited and gave gifts to hospital patients and cleaned the city’s iconic Deuti Bajay temple.  Their good work was featured on the front page of the local newspaper as well as on national Nepali television!

On February 3rd, children from Siddha Bahira, a local school for deaf students, visited Kopila Valley. No talking was needed to play games, share a meal, or face-off in a soccer match. After Siddha Bahira’s chairman taught the Kopila Valley students basic sign language, the students divided into different classrooms to practice together.

As the week drew to a close, the students at Kopila celebrated Sabita’s birthday and helped out with the construction of the school’s new science and computer lab. Despite all of this exciting activity, Maggie, the school’s founder, writes that things are quiet and happy at Kopila Valley. However, she warns to tuned because some “big dreams are brewing!”

To read more about day-to-day life at Kopila Valley, visit Maggie’s blog.

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Guess What’s Happening at Kopila Valley!

Celebration room

The room is packed at Kopila Valley's anniversary celebration!

As our blog readers know, we’re all about the “firsts” here. However, today I’m writing about a “second” that She’s the First is thrilled to share.  On Christmas Day, Kopila Valley School celebrated its second anniversary! A beautiful celebration filled with butterfly songs, bird dances, colorful streamers and balloons, the students and supporters in Nepal gathered round to commend the wonderful work of Kopila Valley.  The highlight of the ceremony was a moving speech by Deepa Nepail, a young student who is filled with strength, courage, and grace.  Over the summer, Deepa was diagnosed with advanced lupus.  Despite her diagnosis, Deepa attends school daily and shines brightly at Kopila Valley.  In her speech, Deepa reflected on the blessings that Kopila Valley brings and the hard work of her peers.  She finished her speech with this note, “We Kopila children feel lucky that we get this amazing opportunity to study in this school.  We love our school and we are soooo proud of it.  We are the Kopila Children and we are blooming like flowers!!!”  Maggie Doyne, the school’s founder, shared Deepa’s speech in its entirety on her blog here.

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She’s the First Success Story Premieres on NBC!

This commercial, which aired during the Notre Dame football game on NBC yesterday, is one of the most powerful two minutes I’ve ever watched:

You’ll recognize Lindsay Brown, of course! She’s the creator of the first tie-dye cupcake bake sale for She’s the First, which sponsored the three girls in Nepal whom she visited on this trip–when she created the first girls’ soccer team at Kopila Valley School.

Lindsay’s cupcake sale exactly one year ago inspired the Tie-Dye Cupcake Bake-Off this past November 1-8, for which 100 teams signed up! The grand fundraising total is still being tallied, but I can tell you this: It’s no chump change. We’ll announce later this week!

So, what do you fight for? She’s the First is proud to fight for girls’ right to an education and their opportunity to break barriers and be a “first”…with all of you, I feel like we’ve created quite an all-star team to fight in the most creative, productive, and peace-building way possible.

Thank you, Maggie Doyne, for working so tirelessly on a school and building a community of deserving children for us to support. Thanks to Maddie Fox, the NCAA-winning womens’ soccer team at ND, and She’s the First*{Notre Dame} for helping to make this small idea so huge, and thank you, Notre Dame, for bringing millions of hearts to Surket, Nepal. You never know where it will lead…hopefully to many more sponsorships, and in turn, girls who are the first to graduate!

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What Can a Cupcake Do? Let Us Tell You!

Fun with Footprints at the Kibera School for Girls

Fun with footprints at the Kibera School for Girls!

This week, the famous She’s the First cupcakes will be tasted ‘round the nation. As many of us, myself included (!) prepared for a week of colorful cupcakes, maybe you found yourself being asked by your peers, “Why cupcakes? Why girls’ education?” As a researcher for She’s the First, I hope to show you just how much your cupcakes can do by sharing with you some updates from our partner schools.

At the Selamta Family Project in Ethiopia, the ten girls that started a small business have closed up shop temporarily for the school year. However, they had a booming hair braiding business throughout the summer and plan on reopening during summer break! The students began the school year by celebrating the Ethiopian New Year and are now in the full swing of school. A week ago, She’s the First*{Pitt} hosted a fashion show and raised enough to sponsor a girl at Selamta. Congrats Pitt!

Between a morning adventure to Kahkre Vihar, visits from Maggie’s uncle and cousin, birthday parties for Birendra and Madan, and of course lots of studies and learning, Kopila Valley Children’s Home in Nepal is also buzzing with activity! Other exciting news is that there is 99% chance Kopila Valley will soon have its very own well. For more information on this phenomenal story, read on here. To continue the good news, Kopila Valley is featured on the new documentary Opening Our Eyes: The Movie. More congratulations are in order! Watch the trailer here.

And now on to the Kibera School for Girls – also a burst of sunshine in my updates. A new microfinance group, comprised of KSG mothers, is flourishing. If you’re interested in the budding businesses, read on here. The girls have also been immersed in a “My Body” science class and are having lots of fun learning about footprints. The Kibera School was also featured in the New York Times last month in Nicholas Kristof’s article “Just Look at What You Did!” This article is a must-read!

So, can we use these little cupcake treats to make a world of difference? Of course! Our directory schools are doing absolutely incredible things; one cupcake at a time, we can spread the sweetness!

Posted in AfricAid's Kisa Project, Kibera School for Girls, Kopila Valley Children's Home and School | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How a Cupcake Changed My Life — and Hers

the original poster!

I have a bright pink poster hanging in my Notre Dame dorm room that reads “She’s the First: Tie-Dye Cupcake Sale September 15, 2010 Help us send a girl to school in the developing world!” At the time, little did I know, this “girl” would quickly turn into three, and before I knew it, I’d be on a plane to spend my summer in Nepal.

A few days before I left for my trip to Kopila Valley School, I received a little envelope in the mail. Inside was a crumpled note from one of the girls my Notre Dame soccer team and I sponsor, Hima Tamata.

This is Hima at age 7

The note read, “Dear Lindsay, you are so nice. I love you. Lindsay and Hima are best friends.” To say it made my day would be an understatement. When I made it to Kopila Valley I couldn’t wait to finally meet Hima, the girl I had been following on Maggie Doyne’s blog for months, and tell her how thankful I was for that note. But before I could get a word out, Hima walked up to me and starting singing, “let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.” At first I had no idea what she was referring to considering it was around 90 degrees in Surkhet everyday. Then Hima pulled out the Christmas card that my Notre Dame friends and I sent her back in December. She had saved it in a plastic bag in the front pocket of her backpack. When you open the card it plays a Christmas carol. Hima had memorized the song and had even memorized the note I had written inside. She named each of the girls that had signed the card and asked, “Are these all my friends in America?” Hima’s eyes got so big when I replied yes. All she could say back was “oh ma gawd.”

As I spent more and more time with Hima I began to understand how one little girl could inspire a person like Maggie to build an entire children’s home and school. When I was with Hima I would forget how much she’s been through. She’s such a happy, energetic, carefree young girl. I really don’t think there’s a word to perfectly describe her.

Lindsay and Hima at Kopila Valley School

She still has a long way to go — she’s 12 years old and in the second grade but that doesn’t seem to defeat her in any way.  She has this “silent self-confidence” about her that I believe will get her to the places she wants to go in life.

Above all, Hima has the biggest heart of anyone I know. I gave her a journal the first day we met so we could continue to write notes to each other once I went home. A few days before I left Hima pulled out the journal and gave me 8 notes, one for each of the girls that signed the Christmas card. Each said something like “Dear Maddie, I love you. My name is Hima. I read in 2 class. My mom breaks rock. You are my best friend. Hima loves Maddie.” I read through each of the following notes addressed to Courtney, Melissa, Jordan, and a couple other girls but I stopped when I got to the last one, it read, “Dear Dreams.” I couldn’t figure it out at first but then I realized the last sentence I had written in the card was “Follow your dreams!”

Hima

Hima was confused and thought that “Dreams” was one of her friends in America. I was about to break it to her that “Dreams” really isn’t a person, but then she turned to me and said, “I am so lucky to have 9 friends in America. I work hard in school so one day I come visit and I see Dreams.” After taking a second to think about it, I decided maybe Hima is on to something after all. Right now her friend “Dreams” might not exist, but Hima’s right: If she continues to work hard in school, one day “Dreams” will be true.

Now when I look at that bright pink poster in my dorm I can’t help but smile. I’ve surrounded it with several pictures of happy Kopila girls. I always think about how crazy it is that something as simple as cupcake can make such a profound change in a girl’s life half way around the world. But what I’m starting to realize is that the same cupcake has made such a profound change in my own life. Getting to know Maggie, Hima, and all the other Kopila girls over the past year has shown me that we may be young, but together we really do have the power to make a difference in this big world. That’s what I love about She’s the First — we set out to empower girls around the world without realizing we are empowering ourselves.

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The Tie-Dye Cupcake that Started it All

Who would’ve guessed that a tiny, brightly colored cupcake would be able to make the lives of girls in Nepal a little sweeter? Along with some sugar, flour, and eggs, Lindsey Brown mixed determination, passion, and creativity to create a life-changing recipe.  Last year, Lindsey, then a sophomore at Notre Dame, wrote to She’s the First asking how she could help. Inspired by the New York Times Magazine piece on Maggie Doyne, founder of the Kopila Valley Children’s Home & School, Lindsey was driven to action. Her fundraising efforts came in the form of the now iconic She’s the First tie-dyed cupcakes. After her NCAA champion soccer teammates joined her efforts, their cupcake sales raised nearly $1,000!

The cupcake that started it all

Lindsey’s cupcake-filled journey with She’s the First began small – selling the small treats out of her dorm room.  Now, she’s busy baking the cupcakes with the students at Kopila Valley in Nepal!  A few weeks ago, Lindsey traveled to Nepal to visit the school that she has dedicated the past two years to supporting.  During her trip, Lindsey whipped up a batch of her famous cupcakes to celebrate two of the young girls’ birthdays.  As Lindsey wrote on her Tumblr, “My friend Maddie Fox and I always joke that we’re saving the world one cupcake at a time.  But, after coming here and meeting the three girls that my team sponsors, I’m starting to think it might not be a joke after all.”

Because of her team’s creative fundraising efforts, Lindsey launched a cupcake coalition that’s taking over the nation. From New York City to Rome, She’s the First*{Campus} chapters will be hosting cupcake sales in support of girls’ education.  Lindsey certainly created a recipe for sweet success! Like the young students they’ve sponsored, She’s the First*{Notre Dame}’s cupcakes have proven that big change can come in small packages.

Do you want to join our first national bake sale? Let us know by signing up at shesthefirst.org/cupcakes!

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She’s the First*{Notre Dame} Goes Global!

Chapter Members Monica Townsend (2012), Lindsay Brown (2013), Maddie Fox (2013), Casey Kraft (2012)

Between Casey Kraft’s recent departure to volunteer in Peru and Monica Townsend’s return from Shanti Bhavan in India, our She’s the First*{Notre Dame} chapter has gone globe-trotting this summer!  Now, one more of their members joins our world traveling roster.  This week, Lindsay Brown, a sophomore at Notre Dame, arrived in Nepal to visit our partner school, the Kopila Valley Children’s Home.

As a member of the She’s the First*{Notre Dame}, Lindsay represented She’s the First at the Clinton Global Initiative University.  She is also one of the creators of the now iconic She’s the First tie-dyed cupcakes. As a national soccer champ, Lindsey and her Notre Dame teammates also sponsor three girls at Kopila Valley.  Lindsay is a star both on and off the field!

Make sure to check the Kopila Valley blog to see how Lindsay’s soccer team, “The Sagarmatha,” (Mt. Everest in Nepalese) does during her stay!

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Kopila Valley Wins Prestigious Award!

She’s the First is honored to congratulate its latest first!  The Kopila Valley Children’s Home in Nepal is our first partner school to be awarded the 2011 Norman Borlaug Humanitarian Award.  This award, named for Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Norman Borlaug, is given annually to humanitarians committed to changing the world.  In addition to this outstanding honor, Maggie was awarded a $100,000 contribution from MedAssets.

Maggie has already been named 2009’s Do Something! Grand Prize Winner, CosmoGirl of the Year, and has been featured in the New York Times’ Magazine.  Now, one more tremendous award can be added to the growing list of the Kopila Valley’s supporters!

Even though she was in Las Vegas to accept the awards, Maggie still made time to say goodnight to the Kopila Valley children over skype.  Between celebrating two birthdays and welcoming new students into the start of the new school year, it goes without saying that Maggie and the Kopila team stays busy!  To read more about the honors, adventures, and new students of Kopila, check out Maggie’s blog.

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Poems from Girls at the Kopila Valley Childrens’ Home in Nepal

After the heartfelt poems from Shanti Bhavan students in India, we received poems from girls at the Kopila Valley Children’s Home & School in Nepal to add to Poetry Month! She’s the First most notably sponsors four girls in the Kopila Valley program, through the tie-dye cupcake bake sales of the women’s soccer team at Notre Dame, as well as the yard sale & coin collection fundraiser of NJ teen Mackenzie Olsen.

Enjoy, and please share your reactions in the comments so they can be shared with Kopila Valley Children’s Home & School Founder Maggie Doyne and her girls. (Don’t forget to tweet your own #stfpoem verses, too!)

White Cloud

by Nisha

I saw a white cloud floating by in the sky

Nisha

She was looking down on me saying hi

I told her to come take me for a ride.

She said sorry my dear, you need to stay behind.

You have so much to learn,

You have so much to do.

The world is at your fingertips.

Just waiting for you.

But why can’t I come too? I asked.

To learn all of those things with you?

Because you need to go to school,

And wear your uniform, and shine your shoes.

There are books to read

And sums to add

Little girls look good in plaid.

That’s where little girls need to be.

In school learning, you see.

Okay I said.

I will learn all there is to learn in the world.

And then I’ll go far away.

Up in the clouds.

With you.

Today

by Janak

Today is a day to play

Today is a day to win.

Today is a day to get started.

Come on!  Let’s practice the game

In the big field

In the sunny weather.

Today is a day to win.

I hope that we will win. Continue reading →

Posted in Kopila Valley Children's Home and School, Voice Your Verse | Tagged | 4 Comments

The Famous Tie-Dyed Cupcakes That Fundraised $900!

When we blogged about the cupcake fundraiser at Notre Dame, you wanted to see with your own eyes the tie-dyed cupcakes that raised $900 for She’s the First, sponsoring three girls at Maggie Doyne’s Kopila Valley Children’s Home in Nepal. Well, here they are! Post these beauties to your Facebook wall/Twitter to spread the word about how creative and colorful fundraising for girls’ sponsorships can be. Kudos to the Women’s Soccer Team at ND for inventing this magic recipe for making a difference. As you read in our blog post, they are the newly crowned champs of the NCAA…and certainly honorable champs of She’s the First as well. We look forward to reporting back in 2011 about the girls in Nepal whose lives they’ve forever sweetened with an education.

photo by Lindsay Brown

photo by Lindsay Brown

 

 

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NCAA Champs Send 3 Girls to School in Nepal with Tie-Dyed Cupcakes!

These aren't only NCAA Champs from the University of Notre Dame -- they are also sponsors of three girls in Nepal through She's the First!

Tie-dyed cupcake sales spread through the dormitories of the University of Notre Dame campus this past semester. The purpose? To fundraise for She’s the First by sponsoring a girl at Maggie Doyne’s Kopila Valley Children’s Home & School, the Nepal partner in our directory.

The passion & creativity? The idea came from the women’s soccer team, at the same time that they were on a quest for the gold at the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship. (They won on Sunday! )

The result? Nearly one thousand dollars were raised, each $2 cupcake at a time, to sponsor three girls! Maggie, who was recently featured on the cover of the New York Times Magazine for her work educating children in Nepal, has blogged about the impact the ND team had on her school here.

Notre Dame's cupcakes for a cause

We’d like to recognize the catalyst for these cause-filled cupcakes, sophomore Lindsay Brown, originally from Newport Beach, California, who simply wrote into shesthefirst.org earlier this year and asked how she could help. We encouraged her to have a fundraiser on campus, and she ran with the idea — running, after all, comes naturally to a NCAA star.

Lindsay hosted the first tie-dyed cupcake sale in her dorm, and when it was an easy success, her teammates followed the example and set up in their dorm. Sophomore Maddie Fox of San Jose CA hosted the second sale and continues to be Lindsay’s right-hand woman in hosting additional events. The rest is history…Notre Dame is now pending approval from their Office of Campus Activities to become an official She’s the First*{Campus} chapter!

If you are interested in forming a chapter of She’s the First at school, to host fundraisers and activities supporting girls’ education, apply here, or email info@shesthefirst.org.

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Inspiration for Sponsoring a Girl in Nepal: Maggie Doyne

Maggie Doyne and the Kopila Valley Children's Home graced the homepage of the nytimes.com today!

She’s the First is thrilled to report that Maggie Doyne, founder of the Kopila Valley Children’s Home and School, was just featured in the NY Times Magazine and on the homepage of nytimes.com this morning!

Well-deserved! We are so proud because Maggie’s school is in our directory,  one of our carefully selected partner programs of where you can sponsor a girl. In his article “D.I.Y. Foreign-Aid Revolution,” Nicholas Kristof applauded the efforts of young women like Maggie who are “driven by a passion to create a better world…in particular, a better world for women.”

After high school graduation, Maggie embarked on a “gap year” to work with impoverished children in India, and then traveled to a rural Himalayan village that changed her life.  In this village, Maggie found that school was a luxury most children couldn’t afford.  She befriended a young Nepalese girl named Hema who couldn’t attend school. Maggie resolved to pay for Hema’s education.  For just $15, Maggie sent Hema to kindergarten and asked herself, “If I can help one girl, why not five?  Why not 10?”  In a life-changing move, Maggie telephoned her parents and asked them to send her life-savings to Nepal.  Immediately, Maggie began working with locals to construct an orphanage in rural Nepal.  In just a few months, Maggie raised $25,000 to continue construction.  After winning the DoSomething.org $100,000 grand prize and being named CosmoGirl of the Year, Maggie’s efforts quickly became nationally recognized.

At just 23, Maggie is now fluent in Nepalese and serves as principal and founder of a school that houses 200 young Nepalese children.  If you’re moved by Maggie’s story and would like to sponsor a young girl at the Kopila Valley Children’s Home, visit http://shesthefirst.org/directory.  For just $300, you can help empower a community by educating a girl.

Journalist Nicholas Kristof, who wrote the article, has been a long-time advocate of girls’ education in the developing world.  In the phenomenal book he wrote with his wife Sheryl Wudunn — Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity — he hopes to instill in readers the idea that “the best way to fight poverty and extremism is to educate and empower women and girls.”  Last month, I attended New York Women in Communications’ “A Conversation with Nicholas Kristof” event and book-signing with She’s the First President Tammy, where we were able to make a brief introduction to Mr. Kristof. Next up, a few She’s the First team members will be attending his lecture at Syracuse University on November 3rd and have the chance to meet him!

Read the full article on Maggie’s amazing work here. Maggie, we will continue to do all we can to support you. We hope to bring many more sponsors your way — Mackenzie Olson was the first!

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New School, New Beginnings at Kopila Valley Children's Home

Girls at the Kopila Valley Primary School look out the window on their second day of school

Girls at the Kopila Valley Primary School look out the window on their second day of school

One of my favorite parts of working with She’s the First is hearing school and student updates — which is why I’m ecstatic to be able to share with you this news: The Kopila Valley Primary School officially opened its doors! Two weeks ago today, on June 7, the school for the Kopila Valley Children’s Home in Nepal kicked off the school year.
The school building is designed with all local materials, mainly bamboo, and Maggie Doyne, founder, tells us that the curriculum will be innovative, going beyond traditional Nepali teaching techniques. They’re training local teachers to instruct in exciting and experimental ways, using lots of art, music, and theatre. Check out Maggie’s slideshow of the first day — I promise it will tug at your heartstrings.

The new school has a ton of after-school programs lined up, including sports, tutoring sessions, poetry programs, dance, and theatre performances. These programs, and the school’s facilities — including a library, computer lab, and health clinic — will be open to all children of Surkhet, not just students of Kopila Valley Primary. The school impacts the whole community in positive ways.

This year, the school will admit 250 orphan, abandoned, or handicapped children from throughout the Surkhet Valley. If you’d like to help support, you can find more info in our directory. And if you’d like to follow Maggie’s story, check out her blog.

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"Pocket Change for Change" — a NJ Teen's Fundraising Idea

MacKenzie Olson was crowned Miss New Jersey Junior National Teenager and is using her title to promote good causes -- she chose to support She's the First!

Mackenzie Olson was crowned Miss New Jersey Junior National Teenager and is using her title to promote good causes -- she chose to support She's the First!

One of our She’s the First Peer Advisors, Kaitlin Davis, competes in New Jersey pageants, and like many young women, uses them as a powerful platform for articulating messages of change. When she mentors junior contestants, she tells them about She’s the First’s educational mission, and one girl, Mackenzie Olson, ran with it! No wonder she won the title of Miss New Jersey Junior National Teenager. Here’s how she’s raising money to sponsor a girl at the Kopila Valley Children’s Home in Nepal via She’s the First.

Mackenzie put Pocket Change for Change collections boxes at salons and at The Red Carpet Prom and Pageant boutique during prom season. She has raised $160 so far and on May 29th she is having a charity yard sale to raise even more money! She’ll be selling various childhood toys she doesn’t use anymore, like her American Girl doll collection.

Kenzie decided to fundraise for a She’s the First sponsorship because she said, “I feel that it is only right that everyone has a chance to get an education. I wanted to support She’s the First’s effort to make young girls like myself be the best they can be, so they have the chance to be the first!” Mackenzie has chosen to raise money for the Kopila Valley Children’s Home because the founder, Maggie Doyne, is a Jersey girl herself. She also hopes to become a pen pal to the young Nepali girl she sponsors.

Photo of a Nepali village girl, taken by Maggie Doyne, founder of the Kopila Valley Children's Home. You can sponsor a girl for $300 a year!

Photo of a Nepali village girl, taken by Maggie Doyne, founder of the Kopila Valley Children's Home. You can sponsor a girl for $300 a year!

In Kenzie’s own words, here is what she wrote on her Pocket Change for Change fliers:

Enable girls in developing nations to have a better future through education!

We in America take for granted our public education, while in developing nations some girls never have the option to attend school. With an education these girls can overcome poverty, grow up to be leaders, and better their world. Your pocket change will help a young girl who may in turn become the first in her family to graduate, the first female president of her country, or even the first to discover a life-saving drug. It’s possible that “She’s the First,” but only with your help! Every girl deserves the chance to be the first.”

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Durga Sunar

 

Meet Durga Sunar, a 4th grader at the Koplila Valley School in Nepal.

She is 9 years old and the first in her family to go to school! Durga’s favorite subject is English and she wants to be a teacher when she grows up. She also loves skipping rope, and her favorite color is yellow.

Durga was sponsored in 2011 by Katie Russell, an 8-year-old who donated her birthday party to girls’ education! She is currently being sponsored in 2012 by STF*{St. Thomas Aquinas High School}.

 
If you want to leave Durga a message, you can comment below. We’ll collect them and send them to her, and update here when she writes back.

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Sapana Thapa

Sapana is eight years old and in the first grade. Sapana’s favorite color is red, and her favorite subject is math. She has 4 sisters and lives with her uncle. When she grows up she wants to be a teacher. And she has a special message for you: She says, “Thank you for being my friend.” Isn’t that cute?

If you want to leave Spana a message, you can comment below. We’ll collect them and send them to her, and update here when she writes back.

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Swastika Sunar

Swastika Sunar

Swastika Sunar is seven and in kindergarten at Kopila Valley. (There are two girls with the same name at Kopila — this is the older one!) Her favorite school subject is English, and her favorite color is yellow. In school she likes to jump rope on the playground, and she loves eating oranges!

Swastika was sponsored in 2011 by the Tie-Dye Cupcake Bake-off and is currently being sponsored in 2012 by the STF*{Hofstra} Dance-A-Thon.

If you want to leave Swastika a message, you can comment below. We’ll collect them and send them to her, and update here when she writes back.

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Parbati Singh

Parbati Singh

Parbati Singh is six years old and in the nursery class at Kopila Valley. She lives with her sister-in-law and has four brothers and sisters.
She likes the Nepali song Simple Simple, and her favorite subject is math. When she grows up, she wants to be a teacher.

If you want to leave Parbati a message, you can comment below. We’ll collect them and send them to her, and update here when she writes back.

 

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Saraswati Singh

Saraswati Singh is four years old and in the nursery class at Kopila Valley. She has 5 sisters in her family. Saraswati likes drawing and playing football (American soccer), and her favorite food is grapes!

If you want to leave Saraswati a message, you can comment below. We’ll collect them and send them to her, and update here when she writes back.

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