Maya Universe Academy

Maya Universe Academy.

Maya Universe Academy.

Maya Universe Academy

“We don’t believe money is power, but we are convinced that knowledge is power. This way we empower the whole community”

-Manjil Rana

Initiating a sustainable model for rural Nepal with education at the core.

Maya Universe Academy.

Why it Emerged??•Ministry of Education and Teach Nepal indicate that 222,070students in Nepal failed their School Leaving Certificate (SLC) in 2012 alone•64% of students educated in Nepal's public school system fail their SLC.•90% fail in core subjects: Mathematics, English, and Science. •The alternative is the private sector. •costs of such education is obstacle to the rural communities of Nepal•The education system in rural areas need a new community centered approach/ an alternative model.•ALTERNATIVE’ Maya Model provides rural communities with viable, accessible, and holistic approach to education and promulgates love, or “MAYA” in Neplai.

Maya Universe Academy.Maya Universe Academy.

•plan in 2011 was to enroll 10 students and start a small

community school- Tanahun District

•200 families showed up for admissions

•private charter schools are motivated by profits and do

not cater to the needs of the poor or rural families. This

led to the formation of Maya Universe Academy

•Private School

•quality education free of cost

•Today, the project operates in 3 different

• locations

(Tanahu, Sagarmatha, & Jaipate)

People across the world resist corrupt and oppressive regimes. We at Maya Universe Academy have chosen an alternative; we

have created a movement focusing on empowerment, community, and education.

Each day we plant our feet on solid ground, ready to battle inequality with knowledge and love.

This is the change we strive for: This is the revolution we work towards.

We resolved to challenge the government by showing that the quality of education provided to children, especially in rural areas of Nepal, is abysmal and that we can do better with little or no resources.

It was then in 2011 we established our first classes and farms literally from inside a tent to delivering hope, love, and change through the empowerment of education.

Maya Universe Academy.

Challenges

Maya Universe Academy.

Vision It s holistic, community-supported primary school devoted to bettering the lives of students, their families, and the community.

Mission•Social responsibility• Creative-mindfulness to educate•Inspire students their families to build community• transform their lives.• Believes in the right of every child to receive a free education.•Dedicated to positive leadership and partnership with those providing education and other social welfare programs in Nepal and beyond.• Human, financial, social, and environmental resource building

Maya Universe Academy.

Maya Universe Academy.

Education philanthropy

MUA -battle inequality with knowledge and love

• to enable the child to live life to the fullest as a child and to realize his or her potential as a unique individual

• to enable the child to develop as a social being through living and co-operating with others and so contribute to the common good

• to prepare the child for further education and lifelong learning• to motivate the child to achieve their full potential• to cultivate a caring, safe learning environment• to emphasize individual and community responsibilities and self-

discipline• to enable the community to grow and flourish through cooperation and

communication

Maya Universe Academy.

Primary aims of the curriculum at Maya:

Maya Universe Academy.

Schools by Maya

Tanahu School

Maya Universe Academy.

Schools by Maya

Sagarmatha School

Maya Universe Academy.

Explaining the Economic Model.

•The community recognizes the power of education and the wonderful opportunities

that are afforded to their children at no monetary cost

•In exchange for the children’s admittance, the parents work two days per month in

operations. They contribute to the production process (eg: farming, sewing school

uniforms), or just help with facility construction and other needs.

Maya Universe Academy.

Explaining the Model.Maya Universe Academy emphasizes :

•Environmentally conscious and sustainable practices in all that we do. •The classrooms are constructed from an eco-friendly design using bamboo from our own farms. •They collect rainwater for washing, and harness the sun to power weekend movie screenings for the children

Maya Universe Academy.

From Loans to Self-sustaining Social Enterprise

•In the beginning, the school survived only through the

support of friends, but soon infrastructure and more

organization was needed.

•The Maya were able to obtain bank loans to support their

project by using family property as collateral.

•This helped the team to leave the tents and build better

facilities, it strained family relationships.

•In communities where schools were established, it did not

take long for the villagers to understand the value of the

project, and soon they began contributing especially those

whose children were attending the new schools.

Maya Universe Academy.

Financial Sustainability•Community, parents and fertile land are their resources.

•We have 240 parents working 2 days a month, which is 480 a

month.

•In 2013 they acquired 15 acres of land in Udayapur, and 4

acres for a goat farm in Tanahun in 2014.

• Their investment in acres: 11 of Cardamom,4 of organic

coffee,2 of oranges,1 of banana & pineapple,450 indigenous

chickens,17 pigs.

•MUA Bracelet & briquette production unit.

• In 2012 generated $12000 & expect to increase further

Maya Universe Academy.

Financial Sustainability

Maya Shoppe

irie i ‘ is a collaboration work of artists around the

world solely to support students of Maya Universe

Academy in Nepal.

Literally 100 % of profit goes to financially support

students and the community.

All our goods are handmade in Nepal.

Spend for a good cause!

Maya Universe Academy.

Impact of MUA•In the first year they started with 45 students in Three years into operation providing free education to more than 230 children aged 4-14•Students at Maya are more talented, benifited and well educated compared to other Govt. schools.•Empathy in child rearing was introduced as part of the curriculum and put at core of its mission for the first time in Nepal by MUA•More than 1,200 farmers have benefited from Maya Farm vocational training program•253 farmers currently benefit from the small scale loans provided by MUA.•Female teachers (17) are trained every year on empathy by Dr. Bonnie Tai,educationdepartment director at the College of the Atlantic.•Innovative ways (naming grades as desired by students, eg. at present Simba class is actually grade 3, morning circle instead of an assembly, circular classes in place of a rectangular, among others) have been praised by national media .

Maya Universe Academy.

TEAM !!•Dr. Bonnie Tai, Harvard Phd in education, ed.

studies director at College of the Atlantic is

adviser on the design of their curriculum.

• Surya Karki has a degree in agriculture and is

currently pursuing another degree in

community development and sustainable

business.

•Asish Adhikary,MA in social work from

St.Xaviers is leading the East MUA school.

• Manjil Rana,a sociologist is the current team

leader at MUA.

• Subhash Rana,is heading the farm dept.

Maya Universe Academy.

Volunteers-

•National•InternationalLive a local life and eat cooked in firewood.Pay some amount to host family.

Maya Universe Academy.

Future plans: strategies moving forward

•For one school one Maya farm in each of the 75 districts in Nepal by 2020.•Aims to facilitate vocational training to at least 400 farmers every year.

Maya Universe Academy.

OUR TEAM-

Ribas GCKamal MagarParit ShresthaShreyasha KhadkaRoji Maharjan

THANK YOU!