About The Foundation
Our mission is to empower and support neglected, marginalized, and at-risk girls and young women in Nepal. We work with girls who are at the greatest risk of being forced into child marriage, sold into sex slavery, or abandoned as orphans. We provide scholarships, mentoring, career guidance, and subsistence for children who would not otherwise have the opportunity to attend school and pursue future careers in medicine, engineering, business, teaching, and other professions.
Originally established as the Madhav Ghimire Foundation in 2001, and later transformed into Empower Nepali Girls in 2010, our organization was created to raise funds from individuals and organizations to assist and mentor girls with the greatest potential to transform their communities and country. Girls are selected based on financial need, as well as academic potential and performance. Home and school visits are conducted several times each year by our staff in Nepal who carefully monitor progress and welfare of the children. An international team of volunteers goes annually to see the impact of our programs and meet some of the scholarship students. We now support almost 200 scholarship recipients who receive all the necessities they require, including uniforms, supplies, books, shoes and fees paid.
It costs just $170 per year on average for a child to attend primary or secondary school (through grade 9), $800 per year to attend “college” (grades 10-12), and approximately $3,000 per year to attend university, medical, or professional schools.
Since almost all our administrative staff volunteer their time and expertise, outside of a few administrative and overhead costs, all the money donated goes directly to support the children’s education. We are currently supporting almost 200 children in dozens of different villages around the country. Empower Nepali Girls is a tax-exempt charitable organization that is supported from individual contributions and volunteer efforts. It is registered in both Nepal and in the United States as a 501(c)(3).