Because of the amazing generosity of our customers we have been able to sponsor all 27 students. With our customers and some help from local students at Cedarburg Highschool we have also donated $500 plus to be used for adding additional classrooms and building benches for the students!

We are currently focusing on helping to provide the school with basic supplies since enrollement has increased. Following the letter from Katie Lillie, you can find a list of supplies that can be donated to help the school. Please stop by the store to learn more about the donation cards, to see the donation cards, and to donate to Little Star English School.

I spent the summer of 2009 in the remote village of Parewadanda, Nepal teaching English. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life where I met the most inspiring people. I know that if they only had the resources, the children I met have the ability to change the fate of their country.

Nepal is a developing country located just north of India. It is facing many challenges; its literacy rate is under 50% and over 30% of the population live below the poverty line. Three-fourths of the people still practice subsistence agriculture, meaning they live solely off their farming. Therefore unpredictable weather and lack of resources make their livelihood very unstable. Many families have been caught in a cycle of poverty with seemingly no way out. While some have migrated to the cities, the majority of the population still lives in small villages.

One of the simplest ways to break this cycle of poverty is to provide education for their children. However, in these areas many families cannot afford to send their children to even basic schooling. I believe education is the most effective long-term solution to ending poverty. It greatly reduces the need for aid in the future by creating sustainability; allowing people to gain the resources to help themselves.

Therefore, if you are looking for a way to help, I encourage you do so through education. Sponsoring a child to go to school has the ability to transform not only their lives, but the future generations as well. Every child deserves what we all too often take for granted, opportunity. For only $150 a year, you can sponsor a child to attend Little Star English School, where I was a volunteer. The money goes towards school fees, uniforms, student identity cards as well as school supplies. The children study English (written & oral), Nepali, Math, Science, Social Studies and Health. Currently the school consists of around 100 students ranging from pre-nursery to fifth grade. The mission of the school is to provide a quality and affordable education for village children, specifically those of the lower castes and minority ethnic groups.

I am very grateful for all the support I have gotten to help the uneducated children of Parewadanda. This year we want to make sure all of our sponsored children remain sponsored for the following year as well as continue to support the school itself. Unfortunately there are still many children who cannot afford schooling, so we are hoping to expand our sponsorship program each year. I am very excited to be returning to the school this summer to teach and see all the new faces in the classrooms!

-Katie Lillie