Home: Kathmandu, Kathmandu, Bagmati

Education: BA (English), People's Campus

“Taan ke bahulais?”, was one of the many reactions I got when I told people that I was joining TFN. Though I had an inkling of the reactions I might get, I wasn’t prepared for the avalanche of negative feedback that came my way. I was pushed to the point where I felt maybe I was being naively idealistic, or even just plain stupid.

Most people had genuine concerns–why go and live in a village? Why work for so little money? Why teach when so many other, “better” opportunities exist? What about my future plans? When I applied to Teach For Nepal, I had just returned home from working in Mauritius as a senior subeditor for a newspaper. I’d previously worked at ECS Magazine and TheHimalayan Times, and everyone was telling me I could have got almost any job in a media house or I/NGO.

And yes: if one were to take a practical trajectory of life, the above options would have been perfect choices – but they just did not appeal to me. I was looking for something ‘different’, but I wasn’t quite sure what.

The thought of volunteering in rural areas crossed my mind, but I let the thought lie dormant, as I never believed that I would actually do something like this – until Ifound out about TFN. I checked the website, and was quite impressed by how well planned out it was.

Of the numerous questions I’ve been asked the most common one is – gahro hundaina ra? Obviously, gahro hunchha. I don’t think any of us have applied expecting this to be a smooth ride. We all know we will face difficulties. I guess that is the charm of it as well: there is a part of us that wants to get out and see if we have it in ourselves to face these challenges.

I studied in ‘English medium schools’. I passed my SLC from Brihaspati Vidyasadan, but it is Alka Primary School where I did my primary schooling that I was fortunate enough to have devoted teachers, who taught us to think and be creative, and to not just study but to learn.

It is the education that I received that has given me a quiet confidence and allowed me to avail myself of the opportunities that have come my way. And, as clichéd as it might sound, it is this ‘gift’ of education that I would want to pass on to the children I teach, so that it opens new avenues for them.