Wonderful initiatives Best wishes to the runners! This actually got me thinking . . . ************* Just out of curiosity: Haven't we in Nepal had enough of this sort of "hardware" help in towns and villages? Don't get this wrong. I am not being cynical here -- just curious. YEAR ONE: Well-meaning people raise money to (physically) build a school or a health-post in some village in Nepal. It's usually a very good idea. The cause tugs at everyone's heart-strings. After the money is raised and the building is constructed . . . a mantri or someone big comes and does "ood.ghaatan" at the village. Everyone is happy. YEAR TWO or THREE: But visit the same school or health-post in 2 years' time, and you are likely to see "software" problems ruining the hardware, which is that charity-built building. The software problem would be: lack of teachers/nurses/health care providers . . . lack of (commercial) revenue streams for the school or health post to be sustainable .. . low trust among local political factions, negatively affecting the smooth functioning of the school or the health post and so on and on. RESULT? What starts out as a wonderfully heart-warming idea often results in something concrete (i.e. a building) before -- unintentionally -- hitting a "software wall" -- that deprives the hardware of necessary software of committed people, processes and continuous improvement. QUESTION: Having seen my share of these "bikasay cheehan" (or "development graveyard" to borrow Hem Bdr. Bista's memorable phrase from another context) in my limited travels across Nepal, my question: Is there a way to make sure that the establishment of 'hardware' (i.e. buildings and so on) also pays a lot of attention to these 'software' issues so that continuity of good work is assured? **************** Another point: "Bhai Bahini Program is designed to allow a child in the US to support a child in Nepal with their parent’s help." That's fine. BUT I have always wondered: Why is that most people rush to pay for children's education in Nepal, while no one pays for the MBA or law education of, say, smart but economically deserving Tharu or Gurung or Dalit or Magar or Byasi students in Nepal? I would think that returns to education and returns to society would be much. much higher when you invest in the education of smart but economically deserving Tharu student pay for his MBA at, say, Kathmandu University, or for a law degree at, say, the Kathmandu School of Law than helping a child to go to class 10 from class 1. My hypothesis is this: The more doors you open for "smartest" (as deemed by necessary filters) and economically deserving ethnic Nepalis to succeed professionally by way of helping them earn their higher (professional) degrees, the more likely it is that their ethnic communities will benefit from their expertise/competence/networks and professional prestige. Just food for thought. Please feel free to disagree with reasons. oohi ashu