Dolakha, February 22

Illiterate young mothers in Sherpa Tole of Jiri Municipality 7, Dolakha, have devoted themselves to ensuring that their children get proper education.

Some 73 young mothers of the Sherpa village want their kids to be well-educated unlike them, who were mostly married off in their childhood and missed the opportunity to learn, read and write.

Having entered matrimony at a tender age, mother of four — Duk Lhamu Sherpa, 24, gave birth to three daughters and a son. Her 3 daughters study at the local Chhahare Primary School and the youngest one has yet to reach school-going age.

“As I couldn’t go to school, I always had that dream of getting an education. Now that I’m past the school-going age, I don’t want my kids to remain uneducated like me,” said the mother, admitting that providing education to four kids would be expensive.

“My husband took to foreign employment to manage education for our kids but he couldn’t work there, and we ended up spending our savings to bring him back,” she said. Her eldest child Phu Doma is 9-year-old and studies in Grade 3. The other two are six and five years old studying in Grade 2 and pre-school respectively.

Solyam Sherpa of the same village is the mother of three at 25. “I couldn’t study and had to marry at a young age. I don’t want my kids to be like me,” she said, adding, she has been sending her kids to school by working as a wage labourer.

Like Solyam and Duk Lhamu, the young mothers of the Sherpa village have now realised the value of education and are sending their kids to schools. They have even formed a mother’s group to monitor education of their kids by visiting their kids’ school turn-wise. Every Friday, they consult with the teacher at the school to learn about their progress. They also hold meetings. The school in their locality had been set up about 10 years ago with local initiative.