A public school just outside of Kathmandu

One of the best things I do here – and sometimes one of the hardest – is visiting schools. I get to see all kinds of age groups, public and private schools, as well as college level students. Education here is not available to everyone, and public education is hugely underfunded and mostly leaves a lot to be desired.  There are some amazing dedicated public school teachers who operate the best they can with very little but often this isn’t the case.  Sometimes it can be very hard to see how little they have. Many schools have virtually nothing in the way of facilities and school libraries are a rarity, which is why we have a mobile library that travels to road-accessible areas all over Nepal to bring books, educational presentations and internet technology to kids that have sometimes never seen them before.

Embassy book bus on a school visit

The upside to the visits is always meeting the kids and seeing/hearing their questions, enthusiasm and curiosity.  They love the books – which many of them don’t get to see very often – and it’s very rewarding to see them absorbed into the world of reading.  I can’t help taking pictures.  Here are a few of my favourites: