| projects & activities Support for the Notre Dame Campus in Bandipur Bandipur and surrounding villages benefit in many ways from the presence of Notre Dame School, a private institution established in 1985 by four School Sisters of Notre Dame from Japan that has become one of the finest schools in Nepal. Today four members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame provide inspired leadership at the school: Sister Miriam and Sister Evangela from Japan (both of whom are founders of the school) and Sister Barbara and Sister Andre from the United States of America. The school offers high-quality education from the primary through the grade 10 levels. All classes at Notre Dame are taught in English. Students from outlying villages are billeted at local hostels. At Notre Dame girls receive the same privileges as boys, and there is zero tolerance for discrimination of any form. Many children at Notre Dame are members of disadvantaged communities. The school facilities are maintained in top condition, and all classrooms are well equipped. With support from the South Asia Children's Fund, in August 2007 Notre Dame reopened its Campus for students in grades 11 and 12. The South Asia Children's Fund has provided financial support for a new computer laboratory, a high-speed VSAT satellite internet system, and a generator to provide electricity during the regular power outages. It’s essential that Nepal has a new generation of well-educated leaders, including young women, who share a progressive and inclusive vision for their country. Toward that end the South Asia Children's Fund has provided full scholarships for 17 highly qualified students from across Nepal to study at the Notre Dame Campus in Bandipur. Included among these students are seven young people from the Bhutanese refugee camps in Eastern Nepal who were selected from among 2300 qualified grade ten students who are residents of the UNCHR-administered camps. It is expected that many students enrolled at the Notre Dame Campus will go on to selective colleges and universities in Europe, Asia, and North America. |
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