Six hours to school

Six hours to school

When access to education means everything

Praying for this

Meet the change-makers you support, who gave everything for the chance of an education in Nepal.

Imagine growing up in a village where only three of your neighbours had completed secondary school. That was Krishna Bohora’s experience, and for good reason. The nearest high school to his home in the hilly, remote district of Panchthar, eastern Nepal, was a three-hour walk away. And his parents were farmers, working tirelessly to make ends meet. Walking for six hours a day wasn’t a good use of anyone’s time.

Despite the challenges standing in their way, Krishna does describe his parents holding out a “modest” ambition for their children. School might not have been a priority, but they did hope that their children would get their secondary education. When Krishna’s passion for reading and learning eventually convinced his parents to let him go to school, Krishna was delighted. Walking barefoot for six hours each day became the norm. To Krishna, it was worth every minute.

Some students accompany BMS mission worker Joy Ransom as she walks to school.
In Nepal, it's not unusual for students to walk for several hours to get to school.
A group of girls sit chatting by a view of a valley in Besisahar, Nepal.
Through his work, Krishna hopes to transform education for teachers and pupils.

“Regardless of the condition of the school, receiving an education remains a significant accomplishment for me,” Krishna reflects. However “modest” his parents’ dream might have seemed, and however basic the building Krishna attended – one without desks, benches or even a blackboard, where students sat on a dusty floor – it was radical that Krishna was there at all.

Krishna’s story is the story of a young boy achieving an education against the odds. But it’s more than that. It’s the story of boy who grew up to become a teacher, one who is supported through your generous donations to change the world he grew up in, one classroom at a time.

“While a few teachers were inspiring, most lacked proper training and a firm foundation in their subjects,” Krishna remembers.

A Nepali teacher trainer, Krishna, is pictured next to Maryada, a Nepali teacher.
Fantastic teachers like Maryada have benefitted from Krishna's support.

“I can hardly recall instances where teachers engaged us in discussions or problem-solving activities. It wasn’t until I began teaching myself that I realised the depth of what I had missed during my school years.”

In Nepal, rote learning is standard practice. BMS World Mission worker Alan Barker explains it a little like this: children doing their homework by sitting outside and chanting to themselves, trying to commit what they’re reading to memory. “This is one of the major things that BMS partner KISC EQUIP [for whom Krishna works] is trying to get teachers to move away from – as per Krishna’s story,” Alan explains. “I have experienced the struggles of deprived students,” Krishna adds. “I made it my mission to provide my students with the experiences I had missed out on.”

A young Nepali girl looks through a picture book, wearing a red headscarf.
Allowing children to learn through play is a first for many teachers in Nepal.
A Nepali NGO CEO is pictured in a round circle overlaid over the image of some Nepali students.
Kapil went from poverty to leading an NGO committed to tackling poverty.

Krishna now works as a teacher-trainer, passing on not only knowledge, but also inspiring, challenging and empowering teachers to create a better world for their students. He’s not alone in his passion for change. The umbrella organisation that KISC EQUIP comes under is headed up by Kapil Sharma, who tells his own story of overcoming immense hardship.
“I have had the experience of eating leaves and roots to fill my stomach,” Kapil shares. “I used to watch my friends going to school…but my uncle never sent me.” It wasn’t until a local blacksmith convinced Kapil’s uncle of the importance of education that Kapil was enrolled in school. Up until then, his uncle had called him “Bhalu”, meaning ‘bear’, due to Kapil’s long hair. It was there, starting Grade 1 at the age of 11, that his horrified teacher insisted his uncle choose another one, and Kapil first received his name.

It’s experiences like this that show just how important kind teachers and good schools can be in pupils’ lives. Krishna tells of a teacher who, known for his strict and unrelenting teaching methods, was struggling to engage his students. After seeing the example of the teacher trainers, he decided to incorporate kindness and diverse teaching methods into his classroom practices. “The results were remarkable,” Krishna shares. “Now the students and their parents are happy with me,” the teacher told him. “They love me, the learning outcomes have significantly improved, and I even got promoted.”

Up until now, you may have heard of KISC EQUIP’s work training teachers primarily through the work of BMS mission worker Joy Ransom. With Joy ending her service and returning to the UK later this summer, you may wonder what’s next for this crucial ministry, and whether it still needs your support.

Krishna is unequivocal in his answer. “I am grateful for the support of BMS and its supporters who have sent mission workers to Nepal. Your unwavering dedication and commitment have allowed us to reach remote areas, bringing Christ’s love and implementing effective educational practices. Through your support, we have influenced the lives of thousands of students and empowered hundreds of teachers.

“Your continued support is vital in shaping the future of education in Nepal. Together, we can make a lasting difference in the lives of students and educators, equipping them with the necessary tools and knowledge for a brighter future.”

A white British woman with white hair sits and plays with four Nepali children.
Education work in Nepal still needs your support.

Words by Hannah Watson, BMS World Mission.
Photos: Joy Ransom and ©Clive Thomas, for BMS World Mission.

Pray for Nepal

Could you show your support by praying for vital teacher training projects in Nepal?

– Please pray that more recognition would be given to the voices of teachers in Nepal, giving them the ability to influence and shape the education system for the better.

– A huge problem for Nepal’s talented young people is unemployment and a brain drain that makes moving abroad for work a much more attractive option. Ask God to move powerfully in Nepal, engaging young people in politics, enabling them to start new businesses and encouraging them to take on roles as change-makers.

– Please pray that Krishna and other educators would have the resources they need to carry out life-transforming training that makes life better for both teachers and pupils.

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Food for thought

Food for thought

The humble school lunch has received a lot of press recently – with famous footballers, TV chefs and politicians all joining the debate about what a nutritious school meal should look like. And in Nepal, the mission to feed hungry school children has been equally passionately fought.

BMS World Mission workers, Joy Ransom and Annie Tanner, work with the Kathmandu International Study Centre (KISC) to help train teachers in remote areas of the Lamjung District of Nepal. It was during a visit to a school in which a teacher spoke about the challenge of trying to teach hungry children that Joy had a revelation. “I realised that it doesn’t matter how good the teaching is,” explains Joy. “If children are hungry, they’re not going to access it.”

Nepali children eat free school lunches
Annie and Joy knew that without having enough to eat, the children they were teaching couldn't thrive at school.

“Many of these kids won’t have eaten anything from 10 am until 4 pm,” continues Joy, “and they might have walked for an hour to get to school. So it’s no wonder that, by the afternoon, they can’t concentrate.”

Annie, Joy and their team at KISC knew they had to do something.

“One of the advantages of lockdown for us was that we had the time to think about things that we otherwise might have struggled to do,” says Joy. Within weeks a plan had come together: parents would create a rota to purchase and cook locally-sourced food, and each day, children would get a different nutritional snack such as rice-based porridge or cooked vegetables with lentils. The team would keep in regular contact with schools to support them and ensure that snacks maintained their nutritional quality. Best of all, taking turns to cook the food meant that parents had ownership of the project and were very much a part of their own children’s solution.

Nepali children eat free school lunches
Parents made sure that every child was eating a healthy meal at school.

The way to a boy’s brain…

The link between food and learning cannot be over-estimated. One principal shared the story of Pradip*, a boy in her school who had little interest in learning and came to school sporadically. After some time, the teachers realised that his family often struggled to find food to eat – and when Pradip was hungry, he did not come to school. One of the teachers started bringing food from home to share with Pradip and he started coming to school more often. For the past two years, Pradip has been given a snack every day at school and is now attending regularly and doing well in his studies.

This was before lockdown. For the last ten months, as in the UK, schools in Nepal have mainly been closed. For many Nepali families lockdown has been devastating.

Much of Nepal’s population are casual workers, paid daily for the work they do. “If they can’t work, they can’t get money, and so they can’t eat,” explains Joy. This meant that, for many children, there was even less food around. The team at KISC were also worried that, once lockdown lifted, many children may not have come back to school.

“They’ve been out of the habit of studying for ten months and, for many families, it’s an expense to send their kids to school,” says Joy. “And so to have [a free snack] as a draw to pull kids back is a really big thing.”

Responding where you are

Annie and Joy have spent the last few months in the UK before returning to Nepal, but they’ve been keeping busy. Through the wonders of technology, Joy has been running training sessions for teachers in Nepal via Zoom, and Annie has been putting her experiences in Nepal to good use: helping run a similar feeding programme in Fife. “We were providing lunches for around eighty families during lockdown,” explains Annie. “I would be in the church hall, packing those lunches, and then I would look that evening and see that my colleagues had been to Lamjung that day to visit the feeding programme there!”

Nepali children eat free school lunches
Offering free school meals is a great way to get kids back in school after lockdown closures in Nepal.

For Joy and Annie, the call is the same no matter where they are. “As mission workers… your heart is turned to where God needs you,” says Annie simply. “That could be anywhere. Our mission heart doesn’t change just because we’re stuck here in the UK.”

Even so, Annie and Joy can’t wait to get back to Lamjung and see for themselves the difference that feeding a child’s body, as well as their mind, can make.

You can support Joy, Annie and many others working to make a difference around the world. Become a 24:7 Partner today and help vulnerable people across the world when you give monthly to BMS.

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Sending JOY to Nepal

Sending JOY to Nepal

Praying for this

In 1989, Joy lived six days’ walk from the nearest road and could only communicate through letters. Things are going to be very different during her second long-term stint with BMS World Mission in Nepal. Get to know her and her fascinating story in our Q&A!

It’s almost thirty years since Joy Ransom first boarded a plane to Nepal to teach with BMS. Now, God’s called her back. She flies on Tuesday 28 August, arrives in Tansen (her new home) on Friday 31 and begins teaching on Monday 3 September – talk about hitting the ground running! The next two weeks are going to be an absolute whirlwind for Joy and she would love it if you would pray for her.

But how rude of us… first you better get acquainted.

You’re about to leave to serve long-term with BMS in Nepal, but this definitely isn’t your first rodeo. Tell me about when you’ve worked with us before.

In 1989 I went to teach missionaries’ children in a very remote place called Okhaldhunga, in the east of Nepal. There was a hospital there, a community health project, a forestry project and non-formal education. I taught the children of the missionaries who were working there.

I was there for five years, and at that time Okhaldhunga was very remote and the nearest road was six days’ walk away. We used to travel by plane, which only went twice a week, and in the monsoon it often didn’t fly at all because it was too cloudy. So it felt quite isolated. But there was a good community there as well.

What was it like to live so remotely?

It always felt like a lot of thought to leave, because you had to walk to the airstrip and that was about five hours away. So it wasn’t like you could just nip home again if the plane didn’t come. And in the monsoon it did feel quite cut-off. We had no radio, no telephone and no computer in those days, so it felt very different.

I went back to Nepal with BMS as a volunteer in 2015, and I had the chance to go back to Okhaldhunga to visit. That’s the first time I’d been back in 20 years. Now they’ve built a road and you can actually get there by jeep or bus. It’s changed the place. It was lovely to be back there.

Florence nearly got washed away – and the porter literally saved her life

How did you keep in touch with people? Through letters?

Yes, through letters. But we only got mail when the planes came. Quite often I’d be in school with the tutorial group and we’d hear the plane overhead, and the children got very excited and so did I, because we’d think ‘oh yay, the plane’s come today, we might get mail from home.’ But some letters took three months to get to us.

Tell me about your most memorable experience from that time?

It was monsoon time and I needed to leave the project because it was the holidays and I’d just been in the village for such a long time. So a friend of mine, Florence (who was in her 60s), and I decided that we would walk out. There were no planes, because it was the middle of the monsoon. So we set out with a porter.

I kept asking God, ‘is it time to go back?’

The first few days were fine, but then when we got further south the rivers were huge, and we ended up walking through flooded rivers really, full of grit and sand. Florence nearly got washed away – and the porter literally saved her life by helping her. Reaching out to her, holding her up, and then taking her across the river.

When we eventually got to the road, we still had a 12-hour bus journey to get to Kathmandu.

Wow! It sounds like it’s going to be pretty different this time. Why are you going back to Nepal?

When I left in 1996 I felt that God had still got a work for me to do in Nepal. I had just adopted my daughter Bethany, and she was six months old when we came to the UK. I thought maybe she and I would live in the UK for a few years, and then when she was old enough, we would go back. But that didn’t happen. And although I kept asking God, ‘is it time to go back?’, it wasn’t.

But then three years ago, Bethany was at university and so I applied to go as a volunteer. I thought I’d go for a year just to see what it’s like, because, having been there 20 years ago, I knew the country would have changed, but also I would have changed. So I thought it would be a good chance to see if there’s still a role for somebody like me, and if that was really what God wanted me to do.

I built up relationships in the community and found that my Nepali language came back, and I felt very comfortable in Nepali church. So I felt like that was confirmation that I should explore the possibility of going back longer term. And maybe God did have a plan for me in Nepal.

We obviously agree! What are you going to be doing?

For the first year I am going back to Tansen, to the same place and same role that I had three years ago. The teacher who took over from me has to go back to the US for a year, so they have a need for a teacher.

After that year, I am hopefully going to work with KISC EQUIP [the Kathmandu International Study Centre’s Education Quality Improvement Programme] doing some teacher training or mentoring of teachers in local Nepali schools in Lamjung, with Simon and Wendy Hall.

This year I also have to complete my Master’s degree, because to get a visa in Nepal you need to have a Master’s. That’s what I’ve been working on this last year, but I still have the dissertation to write in Tansen.

Is it fair to say you’ve left a bit of your heart in Nepal?

Yes. I love Nepal. I love the people.

What are you most excited about, about getting there?

Meeting people again. The people that I made friends with last time. I used to walk every day along the same path from my house to where I worked at the school and there were lots of people who sat along the path, and we would chat every day. That was really nice.

It’s the Church who are supporting me and sending me. We’re doing this together.

What are you going to miss most?

Apart from family… I’ll miss having a bath.

Would you like people in the UK to get behind you with prayer and donations?

Yes! I believe that mission is a partnership, and although I get the opportunity to go to Nepal and hopefully have some skills and experiences that mean I can be useful there, it’s not just me going off on my own. It’s definitely the Church who are supporting me and sending me. We’re doing this together. And if I can pray for people here and they can pray for me then hopefully everything will be more effective.

What’s the first thing you’ve packed in your suitcase?

Family photographs and mosquito repellent!

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What can we be praying for?

Please pray that in the next few weeks I get to know the children quickly, and their families. Pray too that I can support them and find out what their needs are. I feel the role of teaching the children of missionaries involves supporting the families too, because often parents feel guilty about taking their children away from their family and culture and peer support.

Pray also that I can make a good start on the study for my Master’s dissertation, that I can choose a really good subject. And that with the internet and the time difference, I can still catch up with my tutor back here in Scotland.

Settling in basically and making a good start.

You can change a child’s life by praying today

You can change a child’s life by praying today

Praying for this

Extreme poverty, war and discrimination are denying children their right to an education as you read this. Your generous gifts to BMS are helping us to confront this injustice. And today, we’re asking you to support our education work with prayer too. Please read, pray and share this article so we can help more children in the countries featured below access life-transforming education.

Lebanon

Syrian and Iraqi refugee children in Lebanon are getting an education, thanks to you. Children who have had their lives shattered by conflict are being given hope for the future. Not only are they being taught, they are being treated with the love and respect that every child deserves.

• Pray that these children are able to concentrate on what they’re being taught and feel safe in their environment. Pray that they would love learning.

• Pray for wisdom and energy for the teachers, as they work with children who have suffered unimaginable trauma.

Children sitting at desks in school raise their hands to answer a question
Refugee children are back in the classroom in Lebanon after fleeing the horror of conflict in Syria and Iraq.

Bangladesh

Preschools across rural, very poor parts of Bangladesh are being supported by you. Boys and girls are being taught about letters and numbers, with BMS worker Louise Proctor training local teachers to give great lessons using free or cheap resources. We’re also helping to educate the children of mission workers at a school in Dhaka.

• Pray that the preschools will be a springboard to enable children to keep attending school, and that the children will be encouraged by their parents.

• Pray that the teachers will be equipped to provide stimulating lessons for the children, and can access all the resources they need.

Children sit in lines in a shed in Bangladesh. They are all staring at a teacher who is taking the lesson.
Children in rural Bangladesh are captivated as BMS worker Louise Proctor helps with a school lesson.

Kosovo

Underprivileged children and adults from marginalised and minority people groups in Kosovo are being given the chance to learn English thanks to your support for BMS teachers. More than 50 per cent of young people in Kosovo are unemployed and 30 per cent of the population live below the poverty line.

• Pray for BMS’ education work amongst marginalised people in Kosovo.

• Pray that young girls would have equal access to education, and that our workers would have the resources to help them.

• Pray for God to guide BMS workers Rose* and Robert* as they serve in education in Kosovo.

Albania

We’re working to help children from Roma and Egyptian communities access education. These children are shunned by Albanian society and live in abject poverty. We’re also helping further God’s mission in Albania by providing education for mission workers’ children at GDQ International Christian School.

• Pray for the children who want to learn, but are stopped from attending school regularly because of reasons out of their control. Pray for a sense of hope for them.

• Pray for the children who struggle in school because of extreme poverty.

• Pray for increased resources for the science department at GDQ in Tirana, and pray for renewed energy for BMS mission workers Chris and Debbie Carter, Mat and Suzanne Gregory, and Jill Morrow.

Two girls sit at a table, drawing pictures on pieces of paper
You can help children in Albania know what it feels like to have a happy, fulfilling education.

Peru

Children from poor families attend an after-school club at the BMS-founded El Puente Baptist Church in the city of Cusco. They’re helped with their homework, learn about God, and play games.

• Pray that more children attend the club, and see the value in an education.

• Pray that other members of the church get involved and use their blessings to help the children.

• Pray for Denise and Melany, who run the club. Pray they would feel encouraged by the difference they are making to young people’s lives.

Children sit on a stage in front of musical equipment. They are smiling and waving at the camera.
These children have been learning and having fun at a BMS-founded church in Peru.

Nepal

BMS is working to transform children’s lives by improving teaching in Nepali schools. Teacher training written by BMS worker Annie Brown is being rolled out across the country. We do this work in partnership with the Kathmandu International Study Centre (KISC), where mission workers’ children are taught, with BMS support.

• Pray for the Nepali teachers receiving training, sometimes for the first time. Pray that they would go on to transform the lives of the children in their classrooms.

• Pray that poverty won’t stop children in Nepal attending school. Pray they would have all they need to learn.

• Pray for the students preparing to sit exams at KISC, and for the KISC staff as they settle into the school’s new site.

Two girls sitting at desks look at a school book
Children in Nepal have been learning through new teaching methods, thanks to your support for school teachers in the country.

Guinea

Boys from deprived communities are learning formal rules and structure through a football club set up by BMS mission worker Ben*.

Summer classes have also been set up by Ben and his wife Isabelle* – who is a teacher – helping not only the boys, but other children, too.

• Pray that the boys would continue to be inspired to learn and develop, and that education and football would give them a great sense of self-worth.

• Pray for Ben, that he would have the resources, time and energy he needs to help the boys who come to him.

Players of the Blessed Boys Football Club in Guinea train and play a match.
Boys in Guinea are not only improving their football skills thanks to your support, they’re being helped with their schoolwork too.

China

We support teachers in China, helping students at a nursing college improve their English language skills.

• Pray the students would feel encouraged in their studies, and form strong friendships with their classmates.

• Pray for energy for our workers, in both their teaching and in their personal relationships.

India

Street children in Kolkata are learning reading, writing and arithmetic through the BMS-supported Street Servants team, led by our worker Ben Francis. Our team is working hard to set up a second school, which will give more children a chance to learn the skills they need to change their futures. We also support other education initiatives in India.

• Pray that children at the street school would have an incredible appetite for learning. Pray they would sense God’s presence in their lessons.

• Pray that the children’s parents would understand the importance of a good education, and would continue to allow their children to attend the school.

A girl walks towards other children standing under a bridge in India
School is being brought to street children in Kolkata, giving them the opportunity to learn.

Mozambique

Young children from poor backgrounds are being given the best possible preparation for school through the PEPE preschool initiative started and supported by BMS. Children are being taught important lessons like colours, numbers and the alphabet in creative ways.

• Pray that the children enjoy their preschool lessons and want to keep learning.

• Pray for the resources to help more children from disadvantaged communities.

• Pray for BMS worker Liz Vilela, who has been training new PEPE teachers in child protection. Pray that Liz would find ways to overcome any obstacles she faces in her work, and that the teachers put into practice what they’ve learnt.

Children in Mozambique pray during a school lesson
Children in Mozambique are not only being given a preschool education, they are also learning about Jesus.

Education is critical in helping children who are poor, disadvantaged and persecuted walk towards a better life – a life that we know is possible.

Through your donations and prayers you are enabling us to help children access education. Please share this story right now to encourage others to pray.

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Are you a teacher? Come and work with us

Inspired by the education work we do? We’re looking for teachers to serve in countries such as Uganda, Afghanistan, Guinea and Albania.

You can be the person who helps change a young person’s life for the better. Take the first step by clicking here to find out more. We’d love to hear from you.

* Names changed for security reasons