ABOUT EDUCATIONAL SPONSORSHIP

Selecting Girls for HIO Sponsorship
Girls are selected for sponsorship based on their economic need and their family’s belief in the power of education. We do not select girls by pre-testing their academic ability. We rely on anecdotal information from teachers and families to determine academic promise.

Despite being raised by illiterate mothers, some HIO girls have far exceeded our expectations. It would be unrealistic, though, to imagine all HIO students having remarkable academic gifts. Most are average students who try hard in school. We encourage and help all of our girls become better students regardless of their abilities. We fully embrace the notion that all girls have their unique gifts.

Most single mothers we partner with have not gone to school themselves. Many are skeptical that education will change their children’s lives. The few fathers we work with often believe that daughters who are educated will be less likely to find husbands. We try to show parents how education can greatly improve economic prospects for their daughters and provide pathways out of poverty.

Beth and Jack Isler with their sponsored girl, Pooja, who is now going to medical school.

Education alone won't solve Nepal's many problems, but offering one girl a chance to go to school is a giant step in the right direction.

Alixe and Kelley Daniels visit with their sponsored girl, Puja.

Our Nepal directors, Ram and Palmo, are well-known and trusted members of our partner school communities. They have deep understanding of Nepali culture. Their insights are vital during our sponsorship selection process. During their daily travels to children's homes, Ram or Palmo may peek into the doorway of a neighbor's rented room and find a very desperate situation they are compelled to address.

Others girls are suggested by social workers, school principals and teachers we know and trust. We sometimes take on the younger sister or relative of a girl we currently sponsor. We actively interview all prospective families over several home visits before making final choices. Each year, after much discussion and careful consideration, we select several poor, young girls to receive the benefit of HIO’s educational intervention.

Matching New Sponsors and Girls
The Nepali school year begins at the end of April. We identify potential sponsors throughout the year and make most placements of new girls by the end of June. New sponsors receive a photo of their girl and a brief story about her family. We provide sponsors with periodic updates throughout the year about their individual girl and about HIO programs in general. We encourage sponsors to develop personal connections by corresponding with their girl as they’d like.

Why HIO Advocates for Sponsoring Girls
HIO understands that poor young boys also deserve the right to an education, and this opportunity is often denied. Government schooling in Nepal is not free. However, with little money to spare, if there is a choice for a family to send either a girl or a boy to school, the boy will most often be given that opportunity. For this reason, in 1995 HIO made the decision to offer sponsorship opportunities to girls only.

HIO is committed to improving the overall quality of education in our partner schools through a program of active teacher training. This educational intervention not only affects the girls and young women we sponsor, but also makes a difference for the thousands of students in our partner schools and the community at large. We recognize the acute need for poor boys to receive a good education and for boys to become aware of the value of the presence of girls in their classrooms. For a literate democracy in Nepal to flourish, there must be a new generation of educated girls, learning alongside boys who value and accept them as equals in every way.

Nothing uplifts a society more than educating its girls and women.