Nandraj Bist was born in Beldandi, Mahendranagar, Nepal—in the community where  JBPS will be providing education, medical care, and vocational training to the children and youth.
Beldandi is a very remote village. When Nandraj was young, there was no electricity, no roads connecting a nearby city, and it was difficult to buy daily necessities.
The nearest city (Mahendranagar) is 30 km from Beldandi. To get to the city to purchase staples (groceries, medicine, etc.), the villagers had to walk for two days—through a dangerous forest with wild animals.
Growing up, Nandraj saw the struggles in the village to obtain the necessities of life. Education in the village stopped at Fourth Grade, and it was difficult and expensive to get a further education.
When Nandraj reached fourth grade at 14 years of age, he left home and set off on his own to continue his studies in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, India, in a Gurukul (a school where students live and study with their teacher in a residential setting). Nandraj studied Sanskrit and Spirituality.
On finishing high school at the Gurukul, Nandraj found work in various cities in India–Delhi, Jammu Kashmir, Haridwar, Rishikesh. He worked hard and his living conditions were not always good. But, as eldest son, it was his responsibility to support his parents and family.
During his time in India, Nandraj’s dream to return home to Beldandi to help his family and the villagers never left him. After 30 years in India, he finally was able to return to Beldandi.
Now living in Beldandi with his family, Nandraj is eager to use his knowledge and experience to support the people of his village— not only in education and medical care, but also in farming and gardening which he is passionate about.
JBPS is very fortunate to have Mr. Nandraj Bist on its board of directors. Beside his education, knowledge, life experiences, and serving nature to humanity, Mr. Bist has already proven he is a man with a kind heart and strong passion for charitable work.

Gita Awasthi is a mother of three children and Ms. Awasthi lost her father in early childhood and did not get the opportunity to receive formal education beyond secondary school. She had faced deprivation most of her life. She was raised by her mother with 2 elder sisters in rural Nepal, Baitadi District.

She would spend most of her early life doing house work to make livelihood possible for her family members. She knows how difficult it is for children who don’t have financial support and education to make it through their lives. This is why she joined this cause to support children who are facing the similar fate that she faced growing up in her fragile early years.

Jagadish Prasad Bist is an academician and lecturer, specialising in Nepal’s social and economic challenges, for the past seven years. Jagadish has also published copious op-ed articles in the leading national newspapers such as The Kathmandu Post and Himalayan Times. In addition, his work and opinions have been featured in policy briefs of renowned organizations such as the International Financial Corporation, a sister organization of the World Bank. Jagadish is regularly invited to present his research at various international conferences and is well-recognized in his field. 

Jagadish’s personal experience, as a youth in the war-ravaged Darchula district of Nepal, serves as the impetus behind his mission to ensure that the children of Nepal are equipped with a strong educational foundation. Recognising the importance of education and the direct impact it has on the rise from poverty, Jagadish is focused on creating sustainable change via education. 

Jagadish experienced firsthand the challenges that people in the rural areas of Nepal continue to face to this day. Obtaining a formal education was a struggle from a very early age. He did not benefit from proper educational supplies and had to burn firewood to read and do homework in the evenings. He would go hungry because he had no money to buy a snack at school. The civil war during the Maoist regime (1991-2006) prevented movement to the city to seek better educational opportunities. When the war ended, with the help of his older brother, and a scholarship, Jagadish obtained his MBA in Finance. 

Intimately familiar with Nepal’s education system and its shortcomings, Jagadish has a clear vision of how to bridge the gaps. He brings this knowledge and his solution-oriented, pragmatic approach to Jyotirgyan Bhavan.

Nirmala Pant was born in the village of Kokhet (Mul Khatali) of Baitadi District, a far western region of Nepal. Kokhet is a very rural area of Nepal with no roads, good schools, hospitals, or other basic facilities. Her struggle in life began as a child. She studied in the village until 3rd grade, but due to financial and other difficulties relating to gender-based violence and patriarchal values in society, she was unable to continue her studies. When she was seven years old, her father moved to India with the entire family in search of work. They settled in Hyderabad (South India).

Nirmala endured the pressures of rural Nepal, where it is believed that girls should not go to school but must work at home. Very few women can realize their basic rights. Social boundaries and cultural norms prohibit women from speaking out when abused. Early marriages are manifestations of the patriarchal society in rural Nepal. Most girls drop out of school before the tenth grade and are pressured or forced to get married by the age of fifteen. Men are regarded as the breadwinners in families, while women’s hard work in the household, family farms, and the community goes unrecognized and undervalued. Nirmala is an example of one of these stories. She got married at the age of fourteen. Shortly thereafter, when she was fifteen,  her father passed away; this was a very difficult time for her, the second child in a family of three girls. She now lives in Mahendranagar with her husband, two sons, and one daughter and takes care of the family farm.

As a valuable member of the JBPS board, Nirmala can enable change for the rights of girls and women in the rural community of Beldandi. Despite societal norms, Nirmala instilled in her daughter that a good education is necessary for her self-confidence and success in life. Her daughter completed post-secondary education in technology and now works for an IT company in Bangalore, India, because of the lack of opportunities in Nepal.

Nirmala feels honored to be part of Jyotir Gyan Paropakari Samaj (JBPS) and to serve the marginalized children and women of Beldandi. She will be able to motivate many women who are depressed and face other mental challenges.

Born and raised in Beldandi, Jeet Bahadur Chaudhary is an esteemed member of the local community. He is also a proud member of the Tharu people, an indigenous ethnic group inhabiting the Terai region of Nepal. The Tharu people comprise the majority of the population in Beldandi and are one of the poorest and most disadvantaged groups in Nepal. Coming from a minority group that has been marginalized and discriminated against for centuries, Jeet Bahadur has not only witnessed his people struggle for many decades, but he has also experienced the same hardships.

Jeet Bahadur has a very strong connection to the land; it is his primary source of income. Multiple generations of his family have traditionally been engaged in agriculture and sustainable farming practices. Jeet brings a wealth of intricate knowledge of the local ecosystems and agricultural practices adapted to the Terai region, which makes him an invaluable asset to the agricultural and sustainable farming pillar of Jyotirgyan Bhavan Paropakari Samaj (JBPS).

Jeet Bahadur is proud to lend his support and influence and be an agent for change in Beldandi. He believes that the JBPS mission and objectives align with his vision and hope for Beldandi: a beautiful village where children grow up without any barriers to a formal education, where the community is thriving with access to basic healthcare and economic opportunities, and where gender inequality is eradicated.

Gokarna Mahar Kaami was born and raised in Gokuleshwar, which is situated in the Darchula district of Western Nepal. He currently lives in Mahendranagar with his family, working as an auto-rickshaw driver and farmer.

Born into the Dalit caste, Gokarna and his family have experienced caste-based discrimination throughout their lives. At different points in time, they have been subject to Halia Pratha (bonded labor) or Khala Pratha (forced labor). The family has often remained unpaid for their labor and occasionally received food grains as payment.

Turning his challenges and experiences into hope for a better future, Gokarna became a catalyst for change in the Dalit community by founding Rashtriya Dalit Vishwakarma Kirshi Sahakari Sanstha Ltd in Mahendranagar. As President of the organization and a leader to approximately 200 Dalit families, Gokarna is dedicated to fighting inequalities inherent in the system and improving the quality of life for the generations to come.

Gokarna’s strong leadership and unwavering belief that each person can make a lasting difference are invaluable assets to JBPS. A father to 5 daughters, he envisions a world where gender inequality ceases to exist, all children receive a formal education, and job training opportunities are available to all.