From the Classroom to a Calling

My journey began when I joined Teach For Nepal as a science fellow and was placed at Shree Secondary School in Bijaybasti, Parsa. I vividly remember encountering the fellowship’s tagline — “What if your first job was changing the nation?” At the time, it felt ambitious and intriguing. But over the next two years, those words slowly became real inside a small rural classroom. Teaching science there was more than finishing lessons and checking notebooks. Every day, I witnessed the curiosity, resilience, and untapped potential of my students — along with the harsh realities they lived with. Limited resources, long walks to school, and responsibilities far beyond their age were part of their daily lives. Yet, they showed up, eager to learn. As time passed, I came to realize many of my brightest and most motivated students were not continuing their education beyond secondary level. It wasn’t because they lacked ability or ambition — it was because of circumstances. Financial constraints, the absence of quality high schools nearby, lack of information, and family responsibilities quietly stood in the way of their dreams. During my first year, I began visiting students’ homes after school and during holidays as part of a home-visit schedule. Those visits changed everything. Sitting in their homes, listening to their parents, and seeing their living conditions allowed me to understand their struggles from their own perspective. To respond to this gap, four friends and I came together to establish UDAAN, a profit not distributing organization committed to supporting students from rural community schools in pursuing high school education. Our approach is simple: identify deserving students and support them by covering tuition and accommodation costs, in order to cover their high school studies. So far, UDAAN has supported three students from different parts of Nepal. The journeys of these students remind us that change does not always come in grand gestures, but often through consistent belief in one student at a time. For us, UDAAN is not just an organization — it is the continuation of a dream born inside a rural classroom. A dream of expanding educational opportunity and empowering young people to realize their full potential. We envision empowering students for equitable communities. This is just the beginning — and we are committed to walking this path, one student, one story, and one future at a time.