Our Story
“Others Before Self” — The motto of the Marhsyangdi School.
In 1993, Sonam Lama built the Marshyangdi School to provide a safe place for the children of Nepal to receive a quality education. The school currently provides education, room, board, and health care to 210 students from all over the country. Some attend as day students from Kathmandu, but most students are boarders, coming from remote villages in the Himalayas, including the Langtang where villages were buried from avalanches triggered by the 2015 earthquakes
Since its inception, Marshyangdi School has provided quality education and a loving community, striving to serve the poorest of the poor students by finding them foreign sponsors to fund their education.
As with most of Nepal, the earthquakes in the spring of 2015 rocked the school. Five beloved students died, and others lost parents, siblings, and other relatives who provided love and financial support. The rented school buildings are still standing, but damaged and not safe. Thus, our goal is to build a new, earthquake-safe facility in Kathmandu that can host twice as many students.
Not only do Marshyangdi students receive a high quality education, but they do so in a loving environment that provides health care, food, housing, and a sense of family. Many of the students come from villages and lives that were not able to meet those basic needs.
Originally located in Kathmandu’s Nayabazaar district, in 2022 Marshyangdi School opened the doors to it’s brand new Raniban campus. A state of the art facility which expanded our size and services, including onsite healthcare, counseling, a computer lab, a science lab, library, Futsal, basketball, music, and dance. We also educate day scholars from the Kathmandu area.
We aim to expand to provide 11th and 12th grade education by 2025.
Meet Us
On-site
Sonam Lama, principal and founder (pictured above far left)
Prakash Tamang, vice-principal and boarding house master (far right)
American Board
Shereen Sarick, President
Mark Rothman, Treasurer
Griffin Bohm, Vice President
Rocky Altman, Secretary
Paulina Vander Noorda, Board Member
Donate
Sponsorship provides student with education, food, healthcare and a loving community so they can thrive.
Donors may sponsor a student by making an annual gift to cover the cost of attendance. In exchange, donors receive a photo, report card, and handwritten letter from their student at the end of every semester, and the chance to connect directly with the student they support.
Please consider sponsoring a student. Friends of Marshyangdi School is a registered 501(c)(3) and your gift is 100% tax deductible. If you would like to support a student please contact us. Gifts can be sent to:
Friends of Marshyangdi School
133 Prospector Rd Ste. #4102
Aspen, CO 81611
By mailing a check you allow us to use 100% of your gift for the benefit of the school and children.