Thank you to the sponsorers who have promised contributions towards Shophia and Nelson's Education

Thank you to those who have responded to my request for help for Sophia and Nelson.
Elizabeth is now off the list as 2 people have offered to sponsor her; thank you very much.
I have contacted Father Felix D'Souza, and am awaiting his instructions on how to forward monies for the above pupils. He has said that he is sending letters from them to you.
Gitdubling and Lolaygaon are very isolated villages in the Kalimpong hill region of West Bengal,
so please do not get discouraged that you may have to wait a bit longer than we are used to in our "corner of the world"!
Sophia and Nelson will need a little more help, so any donation towards their education costs will be very much appreciated.
Denmit, Winifred and Upasna are still hoping for help so that they can continue to go to school and complete their Education to Grade 12.

Winifred

Upasan

Denmit

Re: Looking for Sponsors or part Sponsors for the 6 pupils listed in this and the next blog post.

 A Special Birthday present or an Anniversary gift to the couple who have every thing they need or maybe a  Social fund raising event with your family and friends to help one of these children continue in Education until Grade 12 when they get the opportunity to sit their Leaving Examinations set by the West Bengal State Education Department. Until 2010 the vast majority of Pupils in the Villages in the Kalimpong Hill Region  had no possibility of continuing in Education even to Grade 10, which is necessary if they wish to be accepted in the Schools in the Hill Towns which have Senior Secondary Schools.

 This is Sophia Lepcha she lives in the village of Gitdubling in the Kalimpon Hill Region.  There are 4 children in her family, her 2 older sisters are still studying as is her younger brother. Sophia's family's only income is from their small plot of land  which her parents plant food for their own consumption. Land for planting in the Hill Region is very limited as much of it is owned by the State Government for tree planting and for Tea Estates. The wages earned by those who do get work on them are minimal-(not a living wage)
Sophia is sitting her Grade 10 Board Examinations at present, If she is successful she hopes to get help to continue in Grades 11&12 in one of the Schools in Kalimpong or Darjeeling with the aspiration of going to College or University to study for a career  Her present need is 2 years funding to finish her schooling.
Amt. needed School fees Rs 5,000  books etc Rs.2,500 ;                       Hostel accommodation and food Rs.18,000.
The Indian Rupee varies between 79 & 85 rupees to the £1.

This is Denmit Gloria Lepcha she comes from a village called Lower byoung Gitdubling, , she is in Class 10 at St. Stephen's School, she will sit her Board Examinations in March 2014 and then hopes to continue in a Senior Secondary School for a further 2 years at which stage pupils sit examinations equivalent to our Grade 6 exams. She won the best Student award in 2012;she is a good leader and would really like to be able to continue at school. Denmit has a younger brother at school also. Her parent have no paid employment and a very small parcel of land so they can not pay anything towards their children's education. St Stephen's School is struggling to support pupils who can not contribute to the cost of their education, but are reluctant to deprive any child of the right to receive an education at least to the age of 16.
Amount need for Denmit for this year at St. Stephen's school is:            Fees Rs.8,500, Books Rs.2,500 and Hostel Rs.24,000

If you feel that you can help any of the pupils even partially or if you want any further information, you can contact me at HCETproject@hotmail.com   

Re Can you help these children to complete their Education please?

(1) Winifred Subba is 10yrs old and in Class 6.
 She comes from a village in Central Nepal, the name of the school she goes to is Dayanada Anglo Vedic (DVC). She has a younger brother and her father died when she was 3 and her brother 1. Her mother is illiterate and works as a cleaner in a school.The Cluny Sisters are supporting her and her brother but they have so many children in the same situation that they are finding it very difficult to manage and really need some financial help if children who can not pay anything towards their education are going to continue being educated to at least grade 10 when they sit their Board Examinations which are equivalent to our O-levels.
Cost per month for all expenses 4,500 NPR per month and
actual tuition fees work out at 3000 NPR per month
£1 = 131.965 NPR (Nepalese Rupee)
(2) Elizabeth Katte is in Class 9 and is 15, she has 3 younger sisters, 2 of whom are also being educated; she attends DVC School also. Elizabeth comes from a village in East Nepal, where her father has a small local shop selling everday clothing items, his wife does not have paid work, their youngest child is still a baby. Elizabeths parents are struggling to educate her and her 2 sisters. They would be very grateful for some help.
Cost per month for all expenses is 4825 NPR. Actual Tuition fees work out at 3100 NPR per month.
£1 = 131.965 NPR (Nepalese Rupee)

(3) Nelson Lepcha is in Class6, his birthday is 21-05-2003, there are 6 children in his family with 3 of them at school at present.
He is a good student and is regularly in the top section of his class.
 Nelson has 4 more years to study in St. Stephen's School, Lolaygaon, a village in the Kalimpong Hill Region of West Bengal, India.
The people of the Darjeeling/Kalimpong Hill Region are poor financially as the infrastucture of the land is very inadequate and there is  minimal paid employment. Much of the land is owned by the State or by the Tea Growers and wages from both groups are minimal.The pesants survive mainly by subsistence farming, which is time consuming and hard manual labour as there is no mechanical equiptment and the land is mountainous, so terraced farming is the rule.Nelson's parents would be very grateful for help to enable Nelson to continue in Education at least until Grade 10, which is equivalent to the stage at which our children sit O-Levels

Fees for St. Stephens:  Rs.8,500books Rs.2,500,     Hostel Rs24,000 The Indian Rupee varies between Rs.79 & 85 to the £1.

(4)  Upasna Tamang  Comes from Jalpaiguri in West Bengal,she has a younger brother and a step father and her mother and grandmother both suffer from chronic health problems requiring constant medication,
all Health treatment has to be paid for in India.
Upasna's step father can not afford to continue to let Uspana continue her education, because of the large medical bills he has to pay.  Upsana has 1 more year to complete at St. Joseph's School when she can sit her Board Examinations and if possible then continue on to Grades 11 & 12 in another school to sit her exams which are equivalent to our 6th year examinations.
Upsana really would like to be able to continue in education if possible, she is a good student and works hard.
Fees for St. Joseph's School in the village of Gitdubling are:
Sch. fees Rs.5,000, books Rs. 2,500 and Hostel Rs.18,000
The Indian Rupee is Rs79 to 85 to the £1.