My Experience at CANSHIP-Seeta Sharma Dahal, School Administrator

Ms Seeta Sharma Dahal

I am Seeta Sharma Dahal, an English Teacher and the School Administrator for Canopy Nepal Scholarship Project (CANSHIP) at Kanti Ishwori Rajya Laxmi Secondary School. I have been involved with CANSHIP right from its kick-off at the school and have found it to be an important program for children’s overall development. My involvement was primarily because of the impact it would create on the lives of the poor children who are still capable of acquiring a lot despite them not being able to support their education due to a lot of financial reasons.

My initial perception of CANSHIP was similar to what other scholarship programs are really are. Like other scholarship programs, I expected it to be a scholarship merely emphasizing on the materialistic availability of children. Unlike what I had expected it to be, CANSHIP turned out to be a program that provides an opportunity for the all-round development of the children. Through different workshops and regular consultation activities organized for the children have not only made them more confident but have also made them smarter and have ignited their interest in learning. The children have now started volunteering to read in the classroom, pushing themselves from the comfort zone and have now been encouraged to work harder. It makes me proud when I hear a shy student volunteering to read aloud in the classroom after her engagement in CANSHIP. 

Ms. Dahal receiving certificate of recognition from CANSHIP Manager

CANSHIP has undoubtedly helped our students being self-sufficient in multiple ways. Hadn’t CANSHIP supported these children, getting these children to complete these schools or end up to high school would have been impossible. Undoubtedly, the materialistic aspect of CANSHIP in the form of school supplies, uniforms and meeting school fees have encouraged our students to be regular to school and study hard. The absenteeism has decreased to a larger extent among our students who are receiving the scholarship in comparison to the ones who are not getting it. Apart from that, the students are now encouraged to look at their creative sides and have been focused on thinking out of the box, being creative and more than that working collaboratively for helping each other. After the launch of the recent book clubs as a part of this program, the students are now seen reading the books out of their curricula and have been seen sharing their knowledge with their peers.  Something I really admire about CANSHIP is the regular meetup session which binds the students and parents together making the essence of the program more transparent and participatory. 

Of course, working with the children belonging to the underprivileged background is filled with challenges, but CANSHIP has worked in its best terms and more persistent towards overcome these challenges. One of the major challenge is the meeting up the parents as they are not seen to be concerned about their kids. However, from regular meetup sessions, the participation of the parents and the students towards the betterment of the program is observed, which has encouraged the parents to be more concerned about their children, which has, in return, encouraged our CANSHIP scholars to bring a most out of themselves.  

Canopy Nepal is a team of visionary youths working in the field of education, skill and leadership development, diversity and inclusion. Canopy Nepal works in collaboration with like-minded individuals and organizations to achieve the targets of empowering the organizations’ beneficiaries with skills they need to bring about positive change in the community. Canopy Nepal aims at creating an environment where individuals have a choice to equip themselves with skills and abilities of lifetime importance. The organization intends to promote intercultural understanding among diverse groups by means of various programs.

*Based on consented conversation with Seeta Sharma Dahal conducted by Pransu Khakurel, Canopy Nepal Team Member.