Room 15 Kids Sponsor Nepalese Child’s Education

Through a charity called ANSWER (www.answernepal.org), Room 15 students are helping a young person in Nepal get a decent education. For twenty years, my students at CPE and Sams Valley have each contributed $1 per month toward a Nepalese child’s school tuition.  I’ve challenged my current class to continue the effort. In the past we supported a young Nepalese named Nur (shown below) and Prakash (also shown below). These days were supporting a splendid young lady named Riva.

We started supporting Riva when she was in 4th grade. These days she’s in eleventh grade and studying to take her university entrance exams. Because Riva’s family lives rurally, Riva attends boarding school. She’s always been an excellent student. She’s one of 5 children.

Unfortunately, in Nepal and education is not a right, but instead a luxury.  Attendance at a decent school costs approximately $500 per year, a huge amount by Nepalese standards.  After all, Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world.  That’s where Room 15 comes in.  If each Room 15 students contributes just $1 per month–a nickel per day–we’ll have enough to guarantee Riva gets the education most of us take for granted.  Previous classes of kids successfully raised the funds to keep Riva in school.  Can this year’s Room 15 students match their effort and carry on this worthy charity?

ANSWER is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Crater High School graduate Roger Durham was a charter member of its Board, serving through 2011.  Roger is a political science professor and department chair at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids. Roger’s wife, Lisa, also a Crater grad, is the administrative professional at ANSWER.

Prakash, our former student appears at left. You can also click on the gallery pictures below to see pictures of and letters by Nur, our original adoptee.  Room 15 students reply each January and June with letters of their own. More pictures and items from Riva will be added soon.