Scholarship Ceremony for Class of 2013

Event Report by Niroj Shrestha, Program Officer, Rukmini Foundation

Special Thanks to:

Chief Guests:

Participants:

• 2012 Rukmini Foundation Scholars and Parents
• 2013 Rukmini Foundation Scholars and Parents
• Staff and Founders of ASC, WESD
• Students of Shikharapur Community School
• Volunteers and students of open school and training school at ASC

Program Inauguration:

Sweta Tamang, One of the new scholars of class of 2013 inaugurated the ceremony by presenting a handmade logo of the foundation that included all of the names of the new scholars. The artistic drawing of the logo and the names of the scholars was a big surprise for all of the guests, scholars and parents. We were overwhelmed and it was the highlight of the program. Unlike other traditional concepts of bringing political leaders and so called intellectuals to inaugurate a ceremony like this, we chose a scholar to do so and it was very well received by the community.

One of the new Scholars, Sweta Tamang created this design to commemorate the new class of 2013

Welcome Note and Briefing about the Foundation

I then had the pleasure of welcoming all guests, scholars, parents to the program. I shared the vision we have for Rukmini Foundation and the importance of girls education. I provide some details about our programs like GYAN, AAYUSH and Didi.  I talked about how these programs will help the students to grow mentally as well as emotionally. I also shared with the guests about the day’s program, the agreement papers that had to be signed, and some guidelines for the parents and scholars as members of the Rukmini Foundation family. I also urged these parents and others in the community to overcome social evils like child marriage and child labor. Finally, I asked our new students to do their best in school and to listen to their mentors and wished them the best for the coming school year.

Binod Mahat – Princiapl, Shikharapur Community School

As Principal of Shikharapur Community School, where most of the scholars attend, Mr. Mahat highlighted the importance of this scholarship for the girls and the community. He highlighted the Project Based Learning (PBL) initiative of the foundation to talk about the innovative things that are happening within Shikharpur Community School. He further shared his commitment to the collaboration with Rukmini Foundation to continually improve the programs offered. He thanked the foundation and Dr. Nabin Aryal for his guidance over the new initiatives. Finally, he wished the new and previous scholars all the best and asked them all as well as their parents to utilize the scholarship to its best potential.

Ram Kumar Basnet – Principal, Setidevi Secondary School

The Prinicipal of Setidevi Secondary School thanked Rukmini Foundation’s Regional Director, Shashi Sharma Aryal for all of his innovative ideas that have made Pharping a model village for education within Nepal.  He wanted to express his desire to help implement the new ideas that were being initiated by Rukmini Foundation.  He also shared his happiness about Rukmini Foundation including his school as part of the new schools we are partnering with from 2013 on. He further thanked the foundation for our dedication to girls education. He also congratulated all scholars and suggested that the parents take an active role in their education by creating a learning environment for their children.

Krishna Kumar Shrestha – Principal, Pharping Higher Secondary School

As Principal of Pharping Higher Secondary School, Mr. Shrestha congratulated all of the scholars and expressed his pride in having his school as part of the Rukmini Foundation’s program. The key thing that he shared during his speech was that, he suggested all scholars should take an active part of the foundation in the coming days. He hope that all scholars would grow to become successful in future and hopefully give back to similar scholarships for new deserving children.

Ram Kaji Basnet – Principal, Arunodaya Higher Secondary School

Mr. Basnet also shared his thankful message to Rukmini Foundation and expressed his best wishes for a bright future for the scholars. He applauded the idea of distributing the scholarships to many schools as he felt that it should not be limited to just one school and one area. He understood that the distribution of the scholarships depends on the capacity of the Rukmini Foundation team in Nepal.

Sweta, who made the wonderful poster of the logo with new scholars’ names receives her scholarship.

Nabin Aryal – Program Manager, Rukmini Foundation

Mr. Aryal congratulated all of the new and previous year scholars. He talked about our experiences with the first group of scholars and asked the new scholars to continue where they began by getting involved in activities and doing their best in academics. He talked about his own work where he promotes grassroots development in the poorest parts of India and Sri Lanka through a Japanese NGO.  He then emphasized how the foundation’s motto of empowering girls through education came from the great inspiration from the role model of his family, his great-grandmother, Rukmini. He then thanked the team in Nepal for the work we do daily, and thanked all of the donors and supporters working in the USA to make this happen here in Nepal.

Kedar Nath Acharya – Selection Committee Head, Rukmini Foundation

As the chairperson of this program, Mr. Acharya thanked all of the guests, scholars, students and guardians for being a part of the program. He expressed his happiness about the success of the program and congratulated all scholars. He also requested that the parents and guardians try to create a learning environment for the students to make their scholarship fruitful. He then talked about the campaign to improve the quality of education that is being spearheaded by Rukmini Foundation in recent years and further assured the community that Rukmini Foundation will continue to work to improve the services offered for all schools in the community.

Welcoming the class of 2013 with class of 2012 in the background.

It was a great and auspicious celebration.  Once again, thank you to our supporters all over the world for making this possible.

Niroj Shrestha,
Program Officer, Rukmini Foundation

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About Niroj Shrestha

Niroj has been managing many of the activities of A School for Community (ASC) in Nepal that has been established to not only promote formal education, but also to leverage the experiences and skills of community leaders and members to promote local development. Niroj will bring his local expertise as well as his experience in managing programs at the grassroots level. He seeks to help the foundation to continually improve the delivery of programs while also building the capacity of our Didis and local volunteers.

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