All our seniors are back and studying ! (Oct 2020)

As mentioned in Anga’s article on the Pandemic in Nepal, in April, when the lockdown was decided, all our senior Home boarders – except Usha – had gone back to their families for vacation : so, they had to stay in their village a few months before they could come back to the SEA Home.

Sneha, Ananda and Rajendra came back in June. Anu came back mid-July and Junmaya only in September, due to transportation problems.

Simran, who passed successfully her SEE with a A+, was prevented from coming to the SEA Home in May – as planned – due the lockdown and then because her sister and her whole family were sick. In September, she was tested positive for COVID 19. She was placed in an isolation center and she finally joined Home early October. She is now admitted in grade 11 at the Kwopka college in Bio sciences.

Fortunately, all the schools and universities attended by our students quickly set up on line courses and examinations. Although it is certainly less efficient for them than being in a classroom, at least, they do not lose a full year of study…

Even if they had not taken their end of year exams, upon their return, all of them started their new year courses. In order to help them working more smoothly SEA purchased a second laptop for the Home in September.

Finally, Junmaya, Rajendra, Sneha and Usha had their grade 11 final examinations in August and were admitted in class 12. Anu is taking her 1st year exam right now.

Ananda resumed his 2nd semester classes as well. His 1st year at the Katmandu university (in Technology) ended up in September. He is now waiting for the 2nd year courses to start.

Besides, Nima and Deepak, who live each in a rented room, have both stayed in Katmandu during the lockdown period. Nima has now virtually terminated his 4-year studies in Computer engineering at the Orchid International College and should ideally now find a 6-month internship. Deepak‘s attempt to registrar in Biochemistry early this year was impeded by the lockdown and the fact that he lost his teacher job, that was supposed to help him finance his studies. With the sponsorship of SEA, he is now preparing for 3 Bachelor programs (Pharmacy, Agriculture and Forestry) which he should resume after the Dashain vacation.

Anga came to the SEA Home mid-March and stayed till September-end, when he left to pay a visit his family. He successfully completed his 4-year studies at the Motilal Nerhu NIT, Allahabad, India. He is now an engineer in Electronics and Communication and is looking for a job either in Nepal or in India. For newly graduated students searching for jobs, like him and Nima, the current economic environment is obviously extremely difficult.

Lastly, Pratikshya chose to stay in Bangalore during the lockdown. She was able to terminate her internship at AIDIA, an Indian think tank. Her virtual classes for her 3rd semester started early June. She obtained improved marks at her 2nd semester results, which is an encouraging and heartening sign for all of us.