School offers hope for kids
In a winding alley in one of Kathmandu's slum neighbourhoods, a pink building with windows decorated with bright childish drawings stands out against the grey concrete and dirty streets.
Two children dressed in rags are trying to climb over the side gate of the Moonlight School, while others crane their necks to get a glimpse through the school's doors whenever they open.
Every day 75 children leave the streets of Kathmandu, swap their rags for a crisp uniform and enjoy their only proper meal of the day while they get an education.
Public education is very limited in Nepal, with government schools lacking basic items such as books and furniture.
Consequently, many children do not go to school and spend their formative years on the streets or working.
Ambulance officer Theresa Foster and builder Ben Davey, both from Perth, visited the school, which is run on donations, and left vowing to help its founder Santosh Koirala continue his work.
"The school for us was absolutely wonderful," Ms Foster, a mother of three from Clarkson, said. "Seeing and experiencing the poverty that the children and their families endure makes one truly appreciate what we have.
"This school is a ray of hope, not only for the student themselves, but their own families and inevitably their community."
When the couple entered a classroom, the children stood up and said in unison, "Good afternoon, ma'am. Good afternoon, sir", before firing questions at them in English about Australia and whether they liked Nepal.
Pupils study subjects including English, Nepalese, social studies, maths and drawing, and are fed lunch.
"In the beginning, we didn't have a plan to provide food but some children started to come to school without (having eaten) any food, then they started to not pay any attention to the study," Mr Koirala said. "So we started to provide the food."
Malnutrition rates in Nepal are among the highest in the world. According to the World Food Programme, 41 per cent of children under five are stunted, 29 per cent are underweight and 11 per cent are wasted.
Mr Koirala, 30, was born and raised in the remote Nepalese village of Kerausagara, 400km from Kathmandu.
Mr Koirala's parents enabled him to attend the nearest school, a two-hour trek away.
His early education led him to eventually move to Kathmandu and become the first person in his family to go to university.
"I have a big dream to help poor people with their education because I'm from a poor background where there was nowhere to go to school," he said.
Mr Koirala was working as a trekking guide when he told two clients from Hong Kong about his dream to set up a school for underprivileged children.
The couple went back to Hong Kong and raised one million Nepalese rupees ($11,422) to build the school in 2009.
Mr Koirala later set up his own trekking company, which gives 60 per cent of its profits to help run the school, but the increasing number of pupils means more money is needed to keep the school running.
