Room to Read focuses on literacy and gender equality in education, working in collaboration with communities and local governments across Asia and Africa to develop literacy skills and reading culture among primary school children.

Gorkha Foundation has collaborated with Room to Read for over 10 years in distributing library books to more than 75 Gorkha schools.

Open Learning Exchange Nepal is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing teaching and learning in schools through the integration of technology in the classroom. Their mission is to promote inclusion and provide uniform access to quality educational materials across different geographic areas and socio-economic strata.

OLE is committed to making learning more relevant, fun and engaging via the flexible medium of ICT; allowing children to focus on their strengths and learn at various paces.

As well as working on large-scale projects with partners such as Nepal’s Department of Education, OLE Nepal has prepared an extensive collection of interactive digital learning materials based on school curricula, and has developed a digital library with support from the Nepal Library Foundation.

OLE has also provided training for over 200 teachers in using laptops and digital learning materials in their teaching practices. OLE Nepal has been instrumental in advising Nepal’s Ministry of Education in the preparation and development of their ICT in Education Master Plan.

Gorkha Foundation teams up with OLE Nepal to build e-libraries in Gorkha schools, and so far the partnership has successfully installed 10 new facilities. As part of the earthquake rebuild project, OLE Nepal is also building several elementary schools in the region.

Lending Promise is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization started in Nepal in 2006, which enables mothers in some of the world’s poorest villages to take charge of their finances by providing them with microcredit. It is hoped that through these loans and the acquisition of requisite skillsets, families can make independent, sustainable improvements to their living conditions and the future prospects of their children.

Microcredit is offered to women who are too poor to qualify for bank loans, so they may acquire the resources to start up small businesses in sectors such as animal husbandry, agriculture, crafts or tourism. Lending Promise is also committed to providing valuable literacy and small business training to ensure that enterprises are successful and sustainable.

So far, Gorkha Foundation and Lending Promise have helped over 2000 women farmers in Gorkha to increase their livelihoods through enterprises in goat, pig, chicken, cow and bee farming.

The World Food Programme (WFP) operates in 20 of Nepal’s 75 districts. Their work primarily targets the most food insecure and hard to reach districts of the mid- and far-western hills and mountains. Key schemes aim at: 1) enhancing agricultural production; 2) creating rural infrastructure for poor and disenfranchised rural communities; and 3) helping communities to build resilience against weather shocks in adaptation to changing climatic conditions.

In 2013, WFP started a five-year programme to actively support the Government of Nepal in tackling food insecurity, focusing on social safety nets in the areas of nutrition, education and rural livelihoods support. The main components are mother-and-child health and nutrition, school meals, productive assets and livelihoods support and capacity development of WFP’s partners.

Gorkha Foundation works with the WFP logistics team to distribute earthquake recovery to different parts of the region; the two organizations continue to share resources and manpower to collect and successfully transport crucial materials. To date, WFP have helped the foundation on more than 130 trips delivering school construction supplies up into the remote hills and mountain areas.

The Himalayan Stove Project is dedicated to preserving the Himalayan environment and improving the health of the people living in the trans-Himalayan region.

They donate and distribute smoke-free, fuel-efficient Envirofit cook stoves, transforming the lives of families who until now have used traditional, rudimentary stoves or open fire pits inside their homes; consuming excessive amounts of precious fuel and polluting the indoor air to dangerously unhealthy levels.

Gorkha Foundation is grateful to be working with the Himalayan Stove Project to distribute both small domestic and larger industrial stoves in Gorkha District. The objective of the collaboration is to provide identification of target areas in the region, community consultations, equitable distribution of stoves and evaluation of stove acceptance and effectiveness.

Women for Human Rights envisions a non-discriminatory and equitable society where single women are respected, leading dignified lives with sufficient legal provisions to protect their political, social, cultural and economic rights.

Discrimination is prevalent in the deeply patriarchal Nepali society; particularly against single women, and WHR campaigns for an end to discrimination based on marital status.

At the core of their activities is meaningful participation of single women at decision-making levels in the social, economic and political spheres. This is achieved in Gorkha through grassroots engagement with village communities to enable local women groups to design, pioneer and manage their own development projects.

WHR works in 73 districts and 1550 VDCs (Village Development Committees) with over 100,000 single women members.

The Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) strives towards poverty alleviation with sustainable growth in farming practices through the development of appropriate technologies in the agricultural sector.

It was established in 1991 as an autonomous organization under the Nepal Agricultural Research Council Act, to conduct qualitative studies on different aspects of agriculture, and to assist the government in formulation of agricultural policies and strategies to combat areas of concern based on their research.

NARC has a long history of providing Gorkha Foundation with significant agricultural expertise in the design and implementation of farming development in Gorkha. To date, they have supplied valuable assistance in pasture and fodder production, vets for microcredit sponsored animals, as well as providing visiting husbandry, forage and forestry specialists to oversee foundation projects.

The UK Nepal Friendship Society (UKNFS) is a project-driven UK-based voluntary INGO promoting equality and empowerment in Nepali communities both in the UK and in Nepal itself.

Its initiatives are managed by specialists in two main areas: One, research and development towards equality in healthcare for the UK Nepali population and those living in Nepal; and two, the Nepal International Arts Programme (NIAP), which seeks to extend the outreach of Nepali artists by raising awareness, understanding and access to their arts and crafts in the international community with a view to supporting arts related cultural tourism and global citizenship.

The Nepal International Arts Programme (NIAP) is a unique online resource in English to promote the depth, dynamism and diversity of arts and crafts in Nepal, as well as providing a network for the broader international Nepali-speaking creative community to share its values, vision and needs. It aims to:

• Promote awareness of the equality, social justice, empowerment and anti-discrimination values and practices of Nepali artists, writers, filmmakers, poets and those working in theatre, street art and music

• Support the expansion of cultural tourism through providing greater awareness of the arts and the work of Nepal’s artisans/craftsmen

• Educate the international community about Nepali cultural heritage through meaningful engagement with the arts, for the benefit of all Nepali people living in the UK and the West

• Provide global citizenship to British and Western young people through knowledge about and first-hand experience of Nepali arts and artistic themes

• Grow the professional and economic capacity of Nepali artists through increased access to international audiences and markets for their work

Gorkha Foundation is working with UKNFS and NIAP to raise the worldwide profile of Gorkha and to promote the region as a valuable area for cultural tourism.

Trek to Teach is a nonprofit organization providing the opportunity for western teachers to immerse themselves in the culture and landscape of Nepal by working in Himalayan schools. Engaging pupils in a range of subjects, from English, Maths, IT, music, art and sport, teachers can use their expertise to inspire and enrich the curriculum for Nepali students.

In return for their services, teachers are afforded a unique perspective on life in the mountains; staying with a host family, becoming part of a village community and sharing in Nepal’s enormous geographical and spiritual wealth.

The Away Inward Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit established in 2013. The goal of our service work is to support non-profit organizations in Peru, India, and Nepal in conjunction with Away Inward Retreats on their annual visit.

We provide medical, educational and hygiene supplies, fund housing and school projects, as well as educational sponsorships. There is a great need in this world and our goal is to distribute materials and monetary funds to the poor so they may not only survive but also have a chance to thrive. Our focus is on orphanages and schools where education is a challenge.
501(c)3
2203 Astoria Blvd | Ste 2R
Astoria, NY 11102