Rupa Nepal, 21

Tarkeshwor  Municipality
Ward No. 1
Kathmandu District

Rupa was a sponsored child of Good Neighbors International Nepal from the fifth to tenth grades (2009-2015). The Nepal family of four is a smallholder household. They fall under the national poverty line and suffered from chronic food insecurity. Rupa’s parents are daily wage laborers. Due to poverty, her parents could not afford to provide her with adequate educational materials and a set of school uniform. Neither she was inclined to study, thanks to backbreaking chores at home and lack of sufficient nutrition. She faced this situation until she reached the fifth grade.

In 2009, she got enrolled in GNI Nepal’s sponsorship service program and started to receive educational materials, stationery, school uniform, and regular guidance. Her academic performance improved dramatically that very year. She secured third position in the fifth grade. Since then she has not looked back. From seventh to tenth grades, she secured first position.

Rupa has never shied away from taking part in co-curricular activities conducted at her school. Over the years, she came first, in essay, speech, and dance competitions. She also hosted many school-level events like parents’ day, annual function, children’s day, etc. Rupa also chaired the child club based at her school and led the school sanitation and plantation events. In 2012, she also participated in a football tournament, and later, acted in a street drama against social ills supported by GNI Nepal.

GNI Nepal’s investment and her diligence paid off handsomely. Rupa scored seventy-nine percent in the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) Examinations and got a full scholarship for studying ten plus two (secondary school). She completed secondary school with a first division. Meanwhile, she worked short-term jobs and earned NRs. 45,000 which she spent for college fees, stationery, clothes, and other daily expenses. Now, Rupa is studying for a bachelors in business studies (BBS) degree.