How it all began…

When Trevor Patzer was growing up in Ketchum, Idaho, he received an unusual offer from family friend Ric Ohrstrom: get admitted to New Hampshire’s prestigious St. Paul’s School, and Mr. Ohrstrom would foot the entire bill for his schooling there.

Mr. Patzer was accepted and graduated three years later. He says the experience of someone offering to pay for his high-school education had a profound effect on him, and the gift was always in the back of his mind, even as he moved to college and into the work world.

During one of his vacations in 1998, he decided to visit Nepal and see “the biggest mountain in the world.” While there, Mr. Patzer had another life-changing experience and it had little to do with the majestic awe of Mount Everest.

His tour guide for the trip was Usha Acharya, an author and the wife of Nepal’s former ambassador to the United Nations. While they took in various historic sites together, she talked to Mr. Patzer about the plight of poor children in Nepal. He decided on the spot that he wanted to fund the education of a Nepalese child, in the same spirit Mr. Ohrstrom had funded his education.

Mr. Patzer and Ms. Acharya then went ahead and founded the nonprofit, the Little Sisters Fund, which provides long-term scholarships to girls in Southeast Asia.

From paying for the education of the first girl, whose name was Bindhaya, the organization has grown and today, it is  providing long-term scholarships to more than 700 girls and the Fund will continue to grow proportionately with the commitment of additional resources.

How the fund works…

By supporting the Little Sisters Fund, a sponsor insures one girl’s education for 8-10 years –the equivalent of a U.S. high school graduate – in her quest for knowledge.  In doing so, the sponsor not only changes a girl’s life through the gift of an education, but they give the Little Sisters opportunity. And most importantly, hope.

Please take a little time off to view this half hour documentary showing a day in the life of three Nepalese girls —Shanta, Pragya and Karuna. Their stories give context to the plight of women in Nepal and the invaluable role education plays in ending the cycle of female oppression.

The Little Sisters Fund (raiser) from NonFiction Media on Vimeo.