In Kathmandu, the barrier between a life of begging and a life in the classroom is often just a few hundred dollars.

I first met 9-year-old Madhavi last summer near the Great Stupa. She was sharp, funny, and incredibly charismatic, but she was also her family’s primary breadwinner. Madhavi and her grandmother are refugees who fled to Nepal to escape severe domestic violence in India. With no free public education in Nepal, Madhavi was forced onto the streets to scrape together enough money for the school fees she was desperate to pay.

The Pact

In July 2025, I made a deal with her grandmother: if Madhavi stopped begging entirely, I would cover her tuition, tutoring, and school lunches through high school.

Madhavi has kept her end of the bargain. She is currently excelling in class, but her living conditions have made success nearly impossible. Until recently, she was living in a makeshift shack with no protection from the elements. The reality of her daily life is staggering:

She is frequently covered in bug bites from sleeping on the floor.

Rats recently destroyed her only school uniform, a devastating loss for a child with so little.

Food is scarce, and she often attends school hungry.

The Current Need

Madahvi and her grandmother were recently evicted from their shanty. While I have raised enough to secure a basic indoor apartment for the next six months, they are moving into a completely empty room. They lack bedding, furniture, and the means to cook.

I am raising funds to move Madhavi from survival mode into a baseline of stability. Specifically, these funds will cover:

Boarding School: Starting with the next school year, transitioning her to a stable environment where she is safe, fed, and receives a good education.

Home Essentials: Providing a bed, blankets, and a propane stove for their new living space.

Food Security: Ensuring a consistent supply of groceries for Madhavi and her grandmother for the next six months.

Any funds over the initial amount raised will go towards additional months of food for Madahvi and her grandmother, and additional years of school fees.

Madhavi never complains. She simply wants to do well in school so she can eventually take care of her family. Any contribution helps take this child out of a shack and put her in a classroom where she belongs.