Nepal: Lumbini Girls School
New Building Equipped and Functional: Q2 2019
September 01, 2019
Gaurav Pradhan
Summary of Activities
In August of 2017, RMF began construction for a new 4-classroom building at Karuna Girls’ School with a capacity of 200 students. Construction for the building was completed in April of 2018, and the building was officially handed over to the school management in November. This is a step in helping the school to meet its long-term goal of accommodating 500 students.
Currently, RMF’s new focus at Karuna Girls’ School is in supporting the salary of one of the school’s teachers.
Karuna Girls’ School has worked especially hard in educating parents on the benefits of sending their daughters to school. As a result, more and more parents are becoming interested in enrolling their girls at the school. During the months of April and May, new admissions were announced, and there has been significant growth in inquiries from parents.
Karuna Girls’ School distributed pamphlets and visited nearby villages to announce the opening of admissions for the new academic session. The school will operate new classes for grades 1 through 4 from our new school building, which was built by RMF, starting in the next academic session.

Results &
ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Celebrity Visit
Positive Female Role Model
Ms. Komal Oil, a member of the Federal Assembly for Province 5, who is also a TV personality and folk singer, visited Karuna Girls’ School during the auspicious occasion of Buddha Jayanti, the birthday of the Buddha. She met with Venerable Metteyya, the founder of Karuna Girls’ School, as well as with the Vice Chairman of Lumbini Development Trust and Shankar Gautam, the Principal of Karuna Girls’ School.
They discussed the good work the school has been doing for educating both girls and their parents on the importance of literacy in society and in the home. As a female member of the Federal Assembly herself, Ms. Oil was highly aware of the challenges and lack of opportunity girls face in Nepal, and thus she deeply appreciated the work of Karuna Girls’ School.

Scholarships Awarded
Celebrating Excellence
May 17, 2019 marked the 2,563rd birth anniversary of the Buddha. This day is celebrated each year in Nepal. On this occasion, Lumbini Development Trust awarded 5 students of Karuna Girls’ School with scholarships for the year for their outstanding academic performance. The recipients were: Sima Harijan of Grade 8, Gauri Gupta of Grade 10, Manisha Chaudhary of Grade 9, Nirutta Bhattarai of Grade 9, and Sanjana Gupta of Grade 10.

New Building
Facilitating Growth
RMF has supported Karuna Girls School by constructing a 4-classroom building on the premises so that the school can have sufficient classroom space to accept new students. Previously, the building was not in use, as the school was still searching for funding for desks and tables for the classrooms at the time. However, they were able to start utilizing the building for classes at the start of this academic year.
The school is on a mission to increase the number of students, and they are doing this by going to nearby villages and conducting workshops for parents to educate them about the importance of literacy in modern times. The building which RMF has constructed for the school enables them to conduct this level of expansion.

Background
& Objectives
Background
Karuna Girls’ School was founded in 2013 by Global Karuna, a branch of the Nepali organization Lumbini Social Service Foundation (LSSF). The school is Lumbini’s only inclusive all-girls school, where girls can study regardless of religion or caste.
RMF began working with Global Karuna shortly after the April 2015 earthquake, and we are pursuing plans to construct an additional building for Karuna Girls’ School and, in partnership with the school, develop a nursing and midwifery program.
Objectives
- To build capacity at Karuna Girls’ School
- To develop a nursing and midwifery school
- To improve the education, health, and wellbeing of girls and women in Lumbini

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More Reports on: Lumbini Girls School Archive
Country Page: Nepal
Initiative Page: Lumbini Girls School