Girls and young women in Nepal often have less opportunity to access education than males.  The current ratio of boys to girls in primary and secondary school is almost 2:1, and this imbalance in the classroom leads to the social disempowerment of Nepali women.  While NCEP does not believe in making cultural impositions, we believe that gender equality is a universal value, and one to which both our Canadian and Nepali teams are committed.  For this reason, our target is for at least 50% female scholars.

While females represent one marginalized group in Nepal, other factors such as background, language, religion, and family can also form barriers to education.  We believe that every child has the right to go to school, and often work with agencies that support families from disadvantaged groups when seeking out new prospective scholars.  Any child with a passion to learn, supportive home environment, and financial need can be an NCEP scholar, and by meeting regularly with each of our students, NCEP Nepal team members can attend to the additional challenges that a child from a marginalized group may face at school.

From our vision, mission, and values to our everyday operations, we strive to be a true and equal partnership through and through between our teams in Canada and Nepal. While NCEP Canada is responsible for fundraising and financial oversight, our Nepalese partner organization – called Canopy Nepal – takes the lead in running our operations and ensuring they are truly helping the families and communities that we work with and making a meaningful impact. All strategic decisions are made jointly and without hierarchy. Our partnership is built on the foundation of friendship and trust between its Nepali and Canadian co-founders, and the spirit of mutual respect and inclusivity flows through everything we do.

Partnership and inclusivity also means forging ties with external groups whose values align with ours. From school facilities improvement, to women’s empowerment, to teacher training, there are many organizations that focus on different – and vital – pieces of the same puzzle. By finding our role within this bigger picture and getting everyone working together, we can have a much greater impact in helping families rise out of poverty and pursue a brighter future.

We make a commitment to every one of our NCEP scholars. We will never discontinue support of a student who meets the renewal criteria each year – except in extraordinary circumstances, such as if the student moves to a region where we have no presence – and only add new students if we are able to maintain this same level of commitment. We also run academic and career guidance workshops, so that as each NCEP scholar nears the completion of their secondary school, we can help them get to where they want to go next.

Our model is designed to foster stability and sustainability and avoid creating dependency. We exist to give students and families a helping hand in pursuit of their own aspirations, but not to tell them what those goals should be. We are committed to their education for as long as they are, with no strings attached. It’s a – here’s that word again – partnership.