Program areas at Blinknow Foundation A NJ Nonprofit Corporation
The kopila valley children's home, located in surkhet, nepal, has been home to 72 children. This year, we welcomed 12 new kids into our home and transitioned 9 out to live independently with our support. There are now 40 children residing in the home. A total of 32 young adults have "graduated" from the home. Of these, 21 have completed their upper secondary education and are either enrolled or in the process of enrolling in universities. Four young adults from the home are studying overseas. The children are provided with A safe and loving environment and are cared for as A family. Our additional hostel, the "big sisters' home", provides A safe haven for at-risk girls who attend kopila valley school. We have 9 young women in our care this year. During the course of the year, our social workers continued to work with families and four were successfully reintegreated with their families. We conducted 19 different life skills development workshops and continued to offer regular counseling to all.
Kopila valley women's center uplifts community members through personal empowerment sessions, vocational skills, entrepreneurial training and business start-up funds. We offer A safe space to build community, complete training, conduct counseling and develop business. This year we focused on programming while continuing to develop in new key areas and networking with the wider community. We offered basic electrician course training, empowerment sessions, counseling, beauty parlor training and tailoring. We continued our entrepreneurial business start-up fund and awarded funds to 17 recipients, all of whom have started their own businesses. We continued A literacy and financial management program implemented in partnership with the local government. Over 7-8 weeks, women with less than A 3rd-grade reading level learn basic nepali reading and writing, numbers, and math.
The kopila valley school (kvs) in surkhet, nepal serves 422 students from nursery to 12th grade, including A management program for class 11 and 12. Blinknow also supports the education of recent kvs graduates who attend 11th and 12th grade "plus two" programs at schools in the community. Kvs provides high-quality education in math, science, social studies, english as A second language, and computer skills. Enrichments include art and music programs as well as numerous clubs and sports. The school strives to create A warm, nurturing environment for students, serving nutritious home grown lunches and providing medical and counseling services. Kopila has earned A reputation for excellence in the region based on national test scores and student performance. (see schedule o for cont'd statement)