Saraswati Lama* was one of the first children that SFN supported since 2011. Saraswati was the oldest child at Early Childhood Development Centre, run by CNN Hero Pushpa Basnet – our first partner. ECDC houses children of prison inmates.

Saraswati had just completed Grade 7 when we first started our support for her educational needs. After her Grade 12 exams, she was in a dilemma – trying to figure out what to study for her undergraduate studies. After much deliberation and counseling from the SFN board member, Saraswati applied for Bachelor in Fine Arts (BFA) at the prestigious Kathmandu University School of Arts. SFN with its belief in long term commitment to every child it supports, ensured that she was enrolled in the university in spite of its high fee structure. Today, it gives us immense joy to see Saraswati excelling in her studies – she just aced her BFA third semester exams. Apart from that, she absolutely loves her course and is making the most of all her learning. We already see her as a great role model especially to all the other younger children at the same centre.