Kathmandu:

Even if we want to, many of us are unable to do things for others. Perhaps it is just time that we don’t have.

Well, meet the men from the Round Table Nepal, who have vowed to make the lives of those people who are not so fortunate a little easier, especially the children. Round Table is a club established by men for men to network and expand their reach. Besides having good times together, their main objective is to provide quality education to children.

Round Table was founded by King Arthur to ensure all his knights would have an equal say at the table. Round Table Nepal was founded in 1999 with five tables and has now grown to 12 tables.

Simon Cusens, president, Round Table International, was in Nepal last week as part of his Asian tour to assess work done by Round-tablers in the rebuilding of schools particularly those in the tsunami-affected areas of India and Sri Lanka.

Cusens represents Round Table International, a worldwide organisation founded in 1927 spread across 60 countries. “Our objective is to create networking between young men of 18-45 years, to use these networks for fellowships (fun and meetings) and to use our possibilities to be of service to our communities. We have 35,000 members.”

Round Table International operates with the motto of Adopt, Adapt and Improve, and it has opened more than 1,000 schools in Asia alone. “There is so much disparity in the world. Round Table cannot provide solutions but we believe it can make a difference,” added Cusens.

Round Table’s prime effort has been to create education infrastructure not only to help existing students but also to create opportunities for many more. Round Table Nepal has created opportunity for over 4,000 students with more than 82 classrooms built in different 20 odd schools. The club is continuing towards its quest ‘Freedom Through Education’ with more projects in the pipeline.

“Round Table Nepal is doing very well with their school building programme. I visited the schools (16) and the latest project is that of an all girls school in Biratnagar, which will offer education to around 800 girls,” expressed Cusens.

Round Table also emphasises on programmes with the elderly and the differently-abled. “The accomplishments of the Round Table in Nepal is due to the dedication and devotion of the members, who in spite of having busy schedules make sure they take out time to make the lives of people better,” said Cusens.