Kailash Hostel
Kathmandu, Nepal
Administration
The Kailash Hostel is operated by the Himalayan Children’s Foundation
(HCF), a Nepali charitable organization providing education and general
care to underprivileged children. The children are selected from
remote mountain regions. Particular focus is placed on the Tibetan border regions of Dolpa, Humla, Mustang , Manang and Solo Khumbu. Due to the remoteness of these areas, basic education is essentially not available. With the approval of their family, the children come to the capital city of Kathmandu where they are provided food,
clothing, housing, healthcare and schooling.
Kailash Hostel children - March 2005
Education
Education unlocks doors and is the foundation of our journey into the future. Thanks
to our numerous sponsors and donors, the Kailash Hostel is now home to 82 children with forty- two boys and forty girls. All the children attend the excellent Young Heart Boarding School in the Siphal area of Kathmandu, a 15 minute bus ride from the hostel.
The overall standard of performance of the children is well above average: 13% of them received grades of 80% and higher. Last year, all of our children moved up into their next class. Credit for this achievement also goes to the staff of the Kailash Hostel which helps and encourages the children to complete their home assignments in good time. We closely monitor the progress of each child. We find that the majority of the children do very well on their own and relish at the chance to learn but, when necessary, we offer extra tutoring for those who take more time than others to settle into life away from home and a new routine of going to school. Some of our older students have already set very precise and ambitious goals for their future careers.
Morning assembly at the Young Heart Boarding School
The New Kailash Hostel
The one major problem faced by HYF in Nepal has been finding adequate housing for 90+ children. The children have been forced to move from three previous rental buildings and were facing eviction as the owner planned on selling the latest hostel. After many months of searching, we found a beautiful area of land in the Gorkarna area of Kathmandu, in a quiet valley.
Kailash Hostel site in Gorkarna, Kathmandu
The plans of the new Hostel were approved. We opted for three separate buildings (service building, boys dorm and girls dorm), in a traditional Nepali architecture. The estimated space in the new buildings is 12,414 sq. ft on .82 acres of land.
We are extremely happy and proud to announce that, after 9 months only, we have concluded our Capital Campaign. We have raised “pledges” of 450K.
The buildings are well under construction, on schedule for the Grand Official Opening on October 27, 2007.
New Kailash Hostel under construction in Sept. 2007
Thanks to the generosity of all our supporters and the hard work of our staff in Kathmandu, hundreds of children will pass through the Kailash Hostel over the years and have the privilege to call it “home”!
Health Care
Appropriate medical care is necessary for the youth to perform optimally both
at school and at home. A doctor of western medicine visits the Kailash Hostel
once a month to provide regular check-ups and is also available for emergency
services as they arise. All the children are vaccinated for the diseases
common to that part of the world.
Children's Extra-Curricular Activities
Music classes
Since we moved into the new Kailash Hostel, the larger size of the hostel allowed us to expand the extra curricular activities. We initiated a music program, giving the children an alternative interest and the opportunity of opening other doors.
 The program has been a resounding success with two thirds of our children participating. Some of the children performed at the Hyatt Hotel in Kathmandu and have been asked to perform at an old peoples home, the Tsering Elder House.
Computers
We are soon opening our new “computer room”. Thanks to a generous donation of the Dorothea Haus Ross Foundation, our children will have the use of 20 new computers!!
Home visits
We recognize the importance of keeping all the children in touch with their families back home and the way of life of their villages. At some stage, in the ideal world, we would hope and expect most of our children to take the knowledge and experiences they have learned with us in Kathmandu back to their village. With this in mind, we have initiated a yearly home-visit program. Children are escorted back to their villages and spend the school holidays with their extended families. In cases where it is not feasible for the children to travel home, we arrange to sponsor a family member to visit Kathmandu.
Edouard Baud Grant
| Through lectures and presentations given at the Hostel by accomplished world mountaineers and day outings with Nepali guides, we will instill in some children the love of the mountains. Nawang Sherpa, first man to ascend Everest with a prosthetic leg has already visited our children. |
Anselme Baud's first contact with our future mountain guides! |
Through the Edouard Baud Grant, we will allow them to pursue their dreams by offering them proper schooling in Nepal and in Chamonix, France. This grant was created in memory of Edouard Baud, son of our Board member Anselme Baud, tragically killed on the mountain in 2004.
Be part of their future.
Make a donation to keep HYF growing.
Help us make the promising future
of our children a reality.
|
