Every once in a while I come across a story that I find so amazing and inspiring that I can’t stop thinking about it. This morning in the NYTimes I discovered the Kopila Valley School in Surkhet, Nepal. Kopila Vally is a home for orphans and abandoned children in Nepal, as well as a school for children from surrounding villages. It was founded by Maggie Doyne, a native of New Jersey who moved to Nepal when she was 19. She used $5000 that she had saved up from babysitting to lay the foundations for the organization.
The school started small with just a handful of students, but due in part to a grant from DoSomething.org, has expanded quickly over the past few years. It now has a library and an auditorium, and is working its way up to being able to accommodate high-school age kids. Along with providing education, the school houses the children, offers them food and health care, and teaches them vocational skills like repairing bicycles and raising livestock.
To learn more about Maggie’s story and how she started the school, click here. For more information on the Kopila Valley Children’s Home, as well as video clips, and to donate, visit their website. To read about Maggie on the NYTimes and learn about the philanthropic work of other women abroad, check out their article on The D.I.Y. Foreign Aid Revolution.
