Who wouldn’t want to interact with a personality who has over six decades of political experience and is known all over South East Asia? That’s what I thought.

Martyr Dharmabhakta Study Foundation and Society for Democracy and Development-Nepal jointly organised an interaction programme with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala for over 150 children representing 14 zones of the country.

It was the first ever programme of its kind to be held in our country. Twenty students were selected form Budhanilkantha school for the programme. We

attended an interaction programme a day before the scheduled interaction where noted educationists Professor Dr Kedar Bhakta Mathema and Dr Tirtha Khaniya briefed us on how we should present ourselves at the programme.

Accompanied by our principal, we we reached the PM’s residence at Baluwatar at around 8.00 am. The programme commenced at 8.30 am with the PM sharing his experiences in Biratnagar Jute Mill, where his political career took off with the Dui-paise Andolan (Two-penny movement).

The representatives from the various zones were then allowed to table their questions before the Prime Minister.

Questions raised were on various sectors like education, politics, development and nationality and also on the provisions made by the government for the recent flood victims.

There is no doubt that each participant gained a lot of experience and got a chance to clear doubts regarding different aspects of the country at the interaction programme. As for

me, the three hours that I spent with the PM will always remain one of my most memorable experiences ever. — Nimesh Ghimire, Grade X, Budhanilkantha School, Kathmandu