Educate the Children, Inc.

A wonderful, high impactful NGO. The organization works at any given time with approximately 1,000 women, 4,000 children, teachers and headmasters in a cluster of villages for a 5 year program cycle. ETC then moves into another suitable area where they have been invited. By the time ETC has completed in an area, women are self-sufficient, making money, and their children are getting educated. Everyone has adequate food. The family finally has a bright future.

ETC Nepal works with the poorest and most disenfranchised families in the communities they engage. Helping these needy families to improve agricultural opportunities, increase earnings, educate their children, and empower their women raises the economic and social profile of the entire community. ETC does this very efficiently and effectively, hands on with community members over a 5 year project period. Money well spent, and results that endure.

I have been involved with ETC for many years and support them financially. As a Peace Corp volunteer in the 60s in Nepal for two years I taught in a school south of Pokhara and worked in agriculture and lived in a hill village. While life was hard, the Nepali people I worked with were wonderful. Unfortunately most of the people I worked with were upper caste people who owned land. ETC is unique because it focuses on untouchables and lower caste people and helps them live a better life and improve their financial position. Emphasis on education, particularly girls, is a total contrast to the Nepal in the 60s. While Nepal is still one of the poorest countries in the world, ETC has made a huge difference for the people it contacts.

I am an ETC Board member who has worked for many many years in education in Nepal. This gives me the advantage of seeing ETC both from the perspective of a US board member and a Nepal based educator. From both these perspectives I am continually impressed by what the organization accomplishes. The Americans and Nepalis involved with ETC are incredibly dedicated to assuring that that our limited funds are spent with careful thought to maximize their impact on improving the lives of Nepali villagers, especially women and children. When we revisit areas where we had worked 6 or 7 years previously, women are still meeting in groups, saving and loaning money, and supporting each other. They talk about being more valued members of their households and their communities now that they bring resources to improve the lives of their families. ETC's impact is lasting and deep. It is a privilege to be involved with such an organization.

As ETC prepares to complete its program in one area it is looking forward to moving to another area and adjusting their programs to the needs of this area of Nepal. It is this vision and flexibility that has allowed this special organization to meet the needs of the women, children and families they work with and for in Nepal. We look forward to see the special programming they will create in meeting the needs of their new community.

I continue to be thoroughly impressed with ETC. The board is very effective and thoughtful. The staff are among the most hard-working and efficient that I have ever encountered. The results that ETC gets through their long-term, sustainable program are truly impressive. I would give more than 5 stars.

I've been involved with this nonprofit for more than 25 years, starting as a volunteer/intern in Nepal and continuing on through a variety of volunteer, staff, and board roles, including former Executive Director. Educate the Children is a fabulous organization doing very good work with communities in Nepal. There are so many good things I could say in this review; I'll focus on what I think is most important for potential donors to know. Few international nonprofits, whether small or large, manage to run integrated community-based programs the shape of which is not driven by funder interests but rather by community needs and careful design. This is made possible by generous unrestricted donations and donations that fit within the framework of the integrated community development program model and plan. It makes a huge difference in terms of the sustainable impact of the programs. In Nepal the staff is composed of all Nepali nationals; they are very committed and do a terrific job. The US staff is very very small, and they, too, are very committed and do a great job. When current and past staff people are donors, you know the organization is doing good work! This is a truly a treasure of an organization and program.

ETC is the model of an excellent nonprofit that has made a huge difference in the lives of many people. I have donated to them for a number of years, both because I have personal ties to Nepal and because I am very impressed by how effectively the organization is run. It is very much an on-the-ground effort in which rural Nepalese women work with Nepal-based ETC staff to develop and sustain effective community development programs. Education is central but it is not just aimed at children: it also crucially involves their mothers. Nor is education pursued in isolation from other community needs such as sanitary toilet facilities. ETC follows an integrated community-centered vision, and the results have been consistently impressive. The US-side of the organization is also superb--a very small but exceptional staff and an excellent and knowledgeable volunteer board. Money given to ETC has far greater impact per dollar than money to larger, less locally accountable, organizations. I strongly endorse ETC.

I have been involved with ETC for the last 10 years. Because I spend part of each year in Nepal, yes I came originally as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I have been able to travel regularly to visit ETC's current project site in Dolakha. Several things are immediately striking. The ETC staff in the field are incredibly dedicated to their work. They connect regularly with the women they work with unlike many NGO staff that are rarely at the project site. ETC staff are recognized wherever we go with people constantly accosting them about advice on their kitchen garden or ideas for taking a loan. Another striking feature is the commitment of the women themselves. They meet monthly without fail, often outdoors in a courtyard as they have no sheltered meeting space. The women all sign in proudly writing their names. Records are kept of every transaction as women hand in their monthly contribution to the savings program, pay back loans, or take out a new loan. All the women are witness to all the transactions. If a woman wants to take a loan, she has to be vouched for by another women in the group who stands to say she supports the loan and she will repay the amount of the loan taker is unable to. The women are incredibly supportive of each other. My visits to the areas where ETC works always leave me feeling humbled and awed by what these women are doing with ETC's help.

I have been involved with ETC for 12 years. As a former Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal, I became intrigued with the methodology and successes of ETC. Their integrated community development model of skill-building - women's empowerment, agriculture, and schools - has helped thousands of families move from abject poverty (malnutrition, ill-health, illiteracy, and so forth) to lives in which they can make a sustainable living for themselves. These women have worked so hard to improve their lives and that of their families. Formerly illiterate women are respected members of their communities, even holding public office. Formerly penniless women are earning money with their farms and have built up savings in their co-operatives. Formerly malnourished children are thriving in schools. It is remarkable.

I have known, worked with and supported Educate the Children (ETC) for many years now. I am an anthropologist and linguist and have been working in Nepal for 25 years now. The community-focussed approach to engagement and ethical development to which ETC is committed is truly transformative and unique. I remain a great supporter of the work they do - and HOW they go about it. Keep the fire!

I have been a Board member on Educate the Children, Inc. for two years and can say it is the finest group of people with whom I have ever worked. The organization supports women and children by empowering them with the dream of education and a better future. All members of this organization strive tirelessly to bring hope to people in the most remote parts of Nepal and do so with the courage of champions.

ETC does remarkable work. When I visited their project site in Dolakha in 2010, I was so impressed by the huge difference they were making in the lives of the local people, along so many dimensions, that I decided to join the board. ETC's integrated community development approach involves teaching low-caste women to plant and cultivate kitchen gardens, upgrading local schools, forming women's groups, microcredit, scholarships, and more. The overall effect is to create new opportunities for better lives, and to prepare women and their children to take advantage of those opportunities. I would urge anyone looking for a way to help the world's poor to consider supporting ETC. It's a small organization, so even a little money makes a big difference in the good that ETC can do.