My Engineer, Marine, and Doctor

Lalitpur, Central Nepal

Genius Event 2018 contribution

by Prajol Ghising

It’s great running an alternative school. My mom started Nirmal School more than 30 years ago and I am glad to keep the candle burning. I thank Sippora, my wife, also for being a part of this life project.

I was 20 when I started working here. I had the opportunity to work with different types of young people. Some could not speak Nepali even because they came from far flung districts like Mustang and Manang. The cultures were very different. Some from the mountains and long lost traditions, some from the plains far away in the Terai.

But consistently, what was there was the brilliance, the heart to do something new, the will to follow their own truths. I meet these diverse young people who have passed out of my school and I hear and interact with these young people, some of whom sing so beautifully, some of them who are so shy but so bright.

Shiva from Gorkha district lived with his family in one room. He finished school, went to the US and joined the US marines. He did best in cadet training and received a medal from the US Vice President. He fought in Afganisthan to protect the innocent and the women and the children there. He has kept the name of the brave Gurkhas alive and shining.

Young Khatri from Godavari used to walk 45 minutes to the bus stop to come to my school. He did so well and went on to become an electronic engineer. He helped take the world to his village: he has opened his own company and provides wireless internet services to the community there. I too come from that village and my 92 year old father and my mother use his services to stay in touch with me and my brothers.

Young miss Lekhak is in Australia today. She innovates in the science field. Her sister who also graduated from my school is a professor of nursing in the US. Their father was a Hindu priest and mother a housewife. They have done their parents and my school proud. All the four children of the family grew up with me. I remember their childhood and growing so vividly.

Bikram came from the indigenous nomadic tribe of the Chepangs. He was the first person from his village to pass the School Leaving Certificate. I feel so humbled that people from such far off places trusted my school and brought their young to grow up with me, my wife, and my team. Things were so hard for Bikram and he was almost on the street by the time they approached me. We were proud to support him. Now he is a culinary arts expert in the tourist valley of Pokhara, maintaining quality and training chefs who serve visitors from all over the world.

Some of my students are now doctors, some are teachers, some are farmers, some are vets, one owns two restaurants in Spain. I am so pleased that I have been able to engage my students in programs with Spiny Babbler over the past 25 years. Nirmal School was a part of the Genius Event in 2016, in 2017 and now in 2018. This is a great platform provided by Spiny Babbler and 92Y of New York.

15 kids are submitting their voices and videos to the 2018 Genius Event. Sumi’s song is already up and its so beautiful, on Facebook, she has already had more than 1500 views. She is entering the Nepal Idol competition where I think she will do well. Thank you Spiny Babbler and 92Y for encouraging her to create! Best of luck to you!