This past Sunday, October 19th, Literacy for Nepal hosted a 5K run and 1-Mile fun run for kids on campus. The Fun Run and 5K benefits students in the rural village of Nichuta in the Parsa District of Nepal, who receive academic scholarships from the organization. In addition, it will help fund the two existing libraries the organization has helped to build, as well as the construction of a new school.
Co-President of the organization, Lizzie Bastien ’15, said that this year’s run exceeded their expectations. The organization raised $1,200, which is $200 more than last year. There were about 10 participants in the Fun Run, and 47 runners, 3 dogs and 2 strollers in the 5K race. “We were exceptionally pleased with the support we received from students on campus as we are working to raise awareness of our organizations and continue getting students involved,” Bastien said.
Bastien explained that “Literacy for Nepal started in 2010 when a Nepalese student, Brijlal Chaudhari, wanted to use his connectsions from St. Lawrence to benefit his home village in Nepal.” He wanted to build the library to encourage education and change the way the people in his village think. Brijlal recognized his unique opportunity to study here at St Lawrence in the United States. He wanted to allow more students from his home the opportunity to receive a quality education, as he did.
Bastien and Co-President Charlotte Caldwell ’15, along with another group of students, traveled to the village along with Brijlal to build the community’s first library. The village is very small and located about five hours from the nearest city. Because of this, most of the kids do not have access to an education. The library in turn is able to give children access to books that they otherwise would not be able to use.
Ever since this visit, the Literacy for Nepal organization has built and provided supplies for an additional two libraries. Bastien said “this cause is important because it allows students in rural villages of Nepal the ability to attain high levels of education that would otherwise not be a possibility.” As an example, she explained that there is one student they have sponsored over the past four years who just recently completed her high school education and is continuing on to get her medical degree. The LFN organization funded both of these endeavors. She plans on returning to her village after completing her education to open the first medical practice in the immediate area. “This is a huge accomplishment,” Bastien said, “as there are very few women in the medical profession and she will now be able to provide services to women that felt too uncomfortable to visit with a male doctor.”
Bastien said that the biggest effort now for LFN is raising funds to build a new school for “untouchable” children in a rural Nepalese village. “Untouchable” children are at the bottom of their caste system and are denied the basic rights that we take for granted every day like water, citizenship, education and freedom. They are the most prone to human trafficking. The LFN organization is planning to send a group of students to Nepal this summer to help build the school. If you or anyone you know is interested, the organization meets Sunday’s at 8 pm in the Crandall Room in the Student Center. Anyone is welcome, and any questions can be forwarded to Bastien, ecbas011@stlawu.edu or Caldwell, cccald11@stlawu.edu.