Imagine a world where potential isn't stifled by poverty.
Meet our scholars:
Right now, we're unlocking the dreams of 15 extraordinary young minds in Nepal – 5 new students and 10 returning scholars. In a country where higher education is an impossible dream for most, your donation directly fuels their futures.
Unlike the United States, in Nepal there are no Pell grants, no government student loans, no merit scholarships and no athletic scholarships. They rely entirely on the generosity of people like you. You can help by donating to help with college tuition for them and the many others that we want to help.
Give today and ignite a ripple effect of change, empowering these students and paving the way for countless others to achieve their full potential.
Meet our 2025-26 scholars
Their individual tuition costs are listed below, each representing a chance to rewrite their story.
Sunita
From the Fields of Guwaltar to the Gates of Her Dream. In Guwaltar village, Golnjor Rural Municipality, Sindhuli, a 17-year-old girl named Sunita is quietly breaking barriers that have stood for generations.
Sunita is Dalit, a caste that has faced centuries of discrimination and untouchability in rural Nepal. Her community survives mainly by doing daily labor for higher-caste families. For most Dalit girls, the idea of becoming an engineer was never even a dream. But Sunita dared to dream.
She attended her local school, which was destroyed in the earthquake but rebuilt with help from the Fort Collins Rotary After Work Club (RAW). That school became her sanctuary. She worked harder than anyone, eventually graduating as the top Dalit student in her municipality.
Life outside the classroom, however, was never easy. Every morning at 5 a.m., Sunita works in a high-caste family’s fields, weeding crops and feeding animals all before going to school each day. Her parents labor in other fields to support the family.
Despite these hardships, Sunita studied under a dim light, never once letting go of her goal. This year, she passed the entrance exam for a Diploma in Civil Engineering. If she can continue, she will be the first Dalit girl from her municipality to become a civil engineer. Her dream is to build roads, bridges, and safe buildings for her community to change not just her life, but the lives of those around her.
Without support, she risks losing the chance she worked so hard to earn. Supporting Sunita means breaking a cycle of poverty and showing her that her place is not in the fields, but in classrooms, offices, and construction sites where decisions are made. Her education costs $1,175 per year.
Ashmita
Choosing Education Over Early Marriage
In the heart of Kathmandu Valley lives Ashmita, a bright 20-year-old young woman from the Dalit community.
Ashmita has already achieved something remarkable: she completed her 10+2 in Education, a milestone many Dalit girls never reach. But instead of celebrating her accomplishment, she is now facing a heartbreaking choice.
Her parents, struggling with poverty, have told her they can no longer afford her education. They are pressuring her into an arranged marriage, believing it is the only practical option for her future. But Ashmita’s heart is set on a different path. She does not want to marry yet — she dreams of becoming a teacher, inspiring other children, especially girls from marginalized communities, to believe in themselves.
When Ashmita learned about Empowering Opportunities and our commitment to helping underprivileged students continue their education, she reached out to us. Listening to her story, her determination to break free from generational cycles of poverty and her deep desire to serve through teaching — left us both inspired and concerned. Without support, her dreams could be lost to the weight of financial and cultural pressure.
We are determined to help Ashmita continue her studies and complete her Bachelors in Education, a four-year journey. Ashmita has the courage to stand up for her future and all she needs now is the support to make it possible. With your help, she can avoid an early marriage, gain her degree, and return to the classroom as a teacher who will uplift the next generation. Annual cost is just $520 per year.
Dhan Maya B (B.K.)
Blind but Doesn’t Lack Vision
Dhan Maya B (B.K.), a 20-year-old, completely blind student from the Palpa District of Nepal comes from a Dalit family. Despite her blindness, she completed her earlier studies in a school near her village, where both blind and sighted students studied together.
Now, for her 10+2 studies in education to be a teacher, she needs to live in the district headquarters of Palpa, in Tansen. Thankfully, her school family is providing boarding facilities and a helper for her daily needs. What she requires support for are her educational expenses, including uniform and notebook, which total $630 per year.
Januka
From War’s Shadows to a Dream of Hope
At 20 years old, Januka has already lived through more heartbreak than most people will ever know. She was born in Sunsari during one of Nepal’s most violent and uncertain times the Maoist insurgency.
Her mother was just 13 years old when she was kidnapped during the conflict. In the chaos of war, she became pregnant. Januka entered this world not into safety, but into secrecy and fear. When she was only 10 months old, her mother was killed.
With no parents to protect her, she was taken in by her grandmother, who gave her love but struggled to provide for her. When her grandmother passed away, Januka was sent to an orphanage.
Even today, she faces challenges many of us can hardly imagine. She is still fighting for citizenship and without legal recognition, many doors of opportunities remain closed.
And yet, Januka refuses to give up. She has faced poverty, stigma, loneliness, and legal battles, but still passed her Secondary Education Examination (SEE). Now, she dreams of studying 10+2 Business Management, building a career that will allow her to stand on her own and give back to her community.
Without financial support, her dream may come to an abrupt halt. Helping Januka is not just paying for tuition, it’s telling her that she matters, that her life can be different, and that the world has not turned its back on her. Her education costs $645 per year.
Aarisha
Building the Future She Dreams Of
In Golnjor Rural Municipality, Sindhuli, one student’s name shines brighter than any other — Aarisha. From a large family with very limited income, Aarisha has always known what it means to struggle. But she also knew that education was her way forward. She studied in the government school rebuilt by the Fort Collins Rotary After Work Club after the 2015 earthquakes. Since Grade 5, she has received year-long notebook support from Empowering Opportunities so that basic supplies would never be the reason she had to stop learning.
Her dedication paid off and she graduated as the top student in the entire municipality. Yet, like many rural girls, she faces the hard truth: being the best in school does not guarantee the ability to afford further education.
Aarisha has passed the entrance exam for a Diploma in Civil Engineering, and her dream is to design safe roads, strong bridges, and better transportation networks to connect rural Nepal to opportunity. She wants to serve her own community to be the engineer who helps build its future.
Without financial assistance, her dream will remain out of reach. With support, Aarisha will not only earn a diploma but she will become a role model for other rural girls, proving that poverty does not have to define their future. Her education costs $1,175 per year.
Samjahana
Tribhuvan University
Samjahana is following in her older sister, Kopilla’s, footsteps, who just graduated with a BBA and getting a college education. Samjhana is from Chainpur, a municipality in Sankhuwasabha District in the Kosi Zone of north-eastern Nepal. She is currently enrolled in 11(+2) and is attending Lincoln College and studying humanities with a dream of getting a degree in Social Work.
Her annual college costs are $340 USD.
Nabaraj
Information Technology
Nabaraj is following in the footsteps of his sisters, Kopilla and Samjhana. Both sisters asked EO if we could support their brother in his pursuit of a Diploma in Information Technology. EO attempts to purchased a laptop computer for all of our college students. They are expensive in Nepal and Nepal Customs has recently imposed taxes on one like the one Nabaraj just received.
Annual tuition cost is $900.
Shivangi
Shivangi is from Bhairawa near the Indian border. Shivangi has faced unimaginable hardships. Her family’s poor economic situation led her uncle to take her to Mumbai, where he betrayed her by selling her into the sex market. After enduring this trauma for two years, she bravely escaped in May 2023. Now, at 16 and a half years old, Shivangi is determined to continue her education. With the help of the local Rotary Club in Bhairawa, we plan to enroll her in a private school in grade 9.
The total cost, including admission, tuition, exams, bus fare, and uniforms, is $900 per year.
Balkumari
Balkumari is originally from Khurkot Sindhuli. Her mother died when she was 8 years old and her father is partially deaf. She was abducted when she was 13 years old and was eventually rescued by Maiti Nepal, a non-profit program that rescues girls from sex trafficking. This year she completed her SEE (Grade 10) will be studying 10+2 in Management in Kathmandu.
Her annual college costs are $600 USD which includes tuition, uniform, and text books.
Rajkumari
Rajkumari is the first SEE (Secondary Equivalency Exam) female graduate from her indigenous (Majhi) community from the Ramechhap District of Nepal. She is from a poor Majhi indigenous family and both of her parents are fishermen on the Sunkoshi river. She wants to study for a Diploma in Civil Engineering in Sindhuli. We believe she will be the first female to be an engineer from the Majhi community in Nepal.
Her annual college costs are $ 1,200 and includes tuition, uniform and text books.
Kunta
Civil Engineering
Kunta is the fifth of nine daughters of a family from Sindhuli. She completed grade 7 at Shree Prabhat Lower Secondary School, rebuilt with funds from the Fort Collins Rotary After Work Club. After the tragic loss of her mother in 2019 due to a belief in the necessity of having a son, Kunta narrowly escaped early marriage. EO covers her educational expenses, while the municipality provides for her living costs.
She is now pursuing a three-year diploma in Civil Engineering, with tuition fees of $1,300 per year.
Pallabi
Education
Pallabi is from the Sarlahi district and was a domestic child laborer until age 14. She completed her SLC from Gandhi Secondary School and now resides in Kathmandu. She has a part-time job at the Didi Café to cover her living expenses.
She needs support for her 10+2 in management education, with a yearly tuition fee of $700.
Manisha
Nursing
Manisha is from the remote Humla district. She is a very bright student but struggles with a physical disability affecting her mobility. After completing her SEE, she dreams of studying science to become a nurse. Her family are farmers, and she has two siblings with disabilities. Her maternal uncle in Kathmandu provides accommodation and EO will be supporting for her 10+2 education in Science.
Her yearly tuition fees of $1,400.
Sonam
Culinary Art and Hotel Management
Sonam is from the Himalayan region of the Dhading district, is the first in his family to complete SEE. He has a passion for Culinary Art and Hotel Management, inspired by the loss of his mother to food poisoning and diarrhea.
He is preparing for the CTEVT entrance exam and needs support with tuition fees of $1,200 per year.
Rimish
Plant and Animal Science
Rimish is from the Ramechhap District and has recently completed his SEE and is preparing for a Diploma in Plant and Animal Science through CTEVT. As a brilliant student from a Dalit family, he has a high chance of securing a seat.
The tuition fee for this program is $1,300 per year.
