By Amanda Chou
Hello again, readers of Thrive Project updates!
Our summer in Nepal has ended, but our work certainly has not. My name is Amanda and I am back with exciting announcements on what our educational programs have been up to in Siddhipur and Dhulikel.
When Brian and Ryan left Nepal for Syracuse, they handed off the reigns to our good friends and coworkers Raskin and Wangyal. Under their leadership, our programs have not only continued, but expanded! This has allowed Brian, Ryan, and Josh to focus on finishing up their own degrees so they can return to Nepal as soon as possible.
Since our mid-August departure, we continue to work closely with the Nepal team to ensure that our programs are still running up to speed. Over the past couple of weeks, they have confirmed availability of parts needed to build SPARK Systems in the local shop Watt and Volt House.
More notably, they have trained an additional 24 young “solar entrepreneurs”.
Our team carried over the successes from Siddhipur earlier this summer over to Dhulikel just last week. A group of 14 hardworking and innovative young students at Dhulikel’s government high school split into two teams of seven each for our traditional Race Day, with the winning team putting together the SPARK System in just 40 minutes. And then put it immediately into action, devising a plan to use SPARK to ignite their early morning classes! I told you I had electrifying news, right?
This is further proof that the communities we’ve encountered have digested our message of creating sustainable solutions. They have experienced the impacts of reusable, self sufficient, environmentally friendly energy. Our students are now able to assemble and maintain the SPARK System with their own local means and methods. This progress is exciting, and we know it’s just the beginning.
Now, a new academic year has begun in Syracuse and our team here has been busy regrouping and recruiting. With a focus on fundraising and spreading awareness of our mission, we are currently elbow deep in creating content and planning events that engage the Syracuse community.
As always, please support us through our SPARK to the Heart Campaign that is taking place in Boudha, Kathmandu right now. You can find out more information and donate directly through this link: https://www.generosity.com/community-fundraising/spark-to-the-heart-boudha-kathmandu.
Thank you so much for checking in with us! We’d love to hear from you. Like us, follow (hyperlink with Twitter) us, send us some love by commenting on this blog or through Facebook (hyperlink with our FB page) messaging.
Live. Learn. Thrive.
260 total views, 2 views today
