Udaya Lama (23 years) is a resident of Ward No. 1, Tarkeshwor Municipality. He is a grade twelve student at Sangla Balkumari Higher Secondary School. He lives with his mother and aunt– his mother’s elder sister and her two sons. His
father abandoned him and his mother when he was a little child. Ever since his father left, Udaya and his mother have been living together with his aunt and her family. His aunt’s family has been supporting them. Udaya’s mother is a daily wage laborer.

As it happens with most of the poor families, his mother couldn’t afford to send him to school. Luckily he was identified in 2002 and enrolled in a GNI Nepal supported hostel program. Along with room and board, all required educational materials and uniforms were provided with. All school fees were also covered by the program. Additionally, he was offered motivation and counseling regularly. In 2014, a GNI Nepal funded community development project supported him to take a six-month long computer hardware course.

He showed a keen interest in learning and consequently excelled at fixing broken computers. Even before completing the course, he was hired as a part-time instructor by the very institute he was training at. Currently, he is earning a small income which is enough to continue his plus two studies and support his joint family. Beaming with confidence, he says, “Our family is on the path to self-reliance. I believe, with hard work and determination, I will make it to the top”.