Surya Karki
| Surya Karki | |
|---|---|
| File:Surya Karki.pngSurya Karki.png Surya at College of the Atlantic | |
| Native name | सुर्य कार्की |
| Born | |
| 🎓 Alma mater | College of the Atlantic;Tsinghua University; Schwarzman Scholars |
| 💼 Occupation | Country Director |
| 👔 Employer | United World Schools |
| Known for | Entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneurship in Education, Community Development |
| Notable work | Building Primary Schools in Nepal |
| 🏅 Awards | Forbes 30 Under 30; International Literacy Association 30 Under 30; WISE Emerging Leader 2020; Prince of Wales Sustainable Living Entrepreneurs; Facebook Community Leaders 2018 |
Surya Karki is a Nepali entrepreneur and educator.[1] He is the co-founder and country director of United World Schools Nepal[2]; co-founder and director/principal at Bloom Nepal School[3]; and co-founder and director at Delish Dairies - Nepal's first Greek yogurt company. For his work in education and social entrepreneurship, he was one of seven young social entrepreneurs felicitated by the Prince of Wales in 2014 [4] as sustainable living entrepreneurs. Karki was listed as a Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia[5] in 2017.
Early life and education
Karki was born and raised by his single mother in Sankhuwasabha district in Eastern Nepal, with his ancestral home in Madi, Sankhuwasabha. In 2009, he attended the Simon Bolivar United World College of Agriculture, where he completed an associate degree in farm administration. He then went on to complete his BA in human ecology as a UWC Davis Scholar[6] from the College of the Atlantic[7] before finishing his Masters in Management from Tsinghua University as part of the inaugural class of the prestigious Schwarzman Scholars program.[8]
Career
Surya has always looked to entrepreneurship as his strength. In 2011, he teamed up with a few Nepali youth to co-found Nepal's first free private schools[9]. As part of the six-member team at his first venture Maya, Surya led the overall institutional development of the company. During his time with the venture, Surya helped fundraise and expand the company's operation to two locations[10]. In 2014, after being listed as one of seven young Unilever Prince of Wales Sustainable Living Entrepreneurs for his work with Maya, Surya parted ways to co-found his new initiatives [11].
Moving on from Maya in May of 2014, Karki founded the Diyalo Foundation[12] as its president and CEO with the goal of bringing sustainable development to his home country Nepal. Through his involvement with Diyalo, during the devastating Nepal earthquake of 2015, Karki quickly helped with recovery as well as school reconstruction efforts.[13]
Post-earthquake, Karki led the founding of United World Schools in Nepal with the sole aim of bringing access to quality education to far-away rural areas of Nepal. As of the end of 2020, under Karki's leadership, the organization has constructed 40 schools, enrolled nearly 6000 children in them and graduated approximately 1000 of them into secondary schools.[14] For his work in the field of education, Karki was recognized as an Asia Foundation Development Fellow in 2017, and was listed on the International Literacy Association 30 Under 30 in 2017. As a community development activist, Karki was recognized by Facebook as a Facebook Community Leader in 2018.[15]
In October 2019, Karki was appointed as a member of the Education Development Committee of Province No. 1 under the chairmanship of the Minister of Social Development. He has been helping the province government with the integration of technology in schools, and also recently worked with the state and local government to use radio as a medium of instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic.[16] The radio program was able to reach an approximate of 22000 listeners per day.[16]
Work in Transforming Education
Surya Karki is known to the world for his work in the field of primary education in Nepal through Bloom Nepal School and United World Schools Nepal[17]. He started his journey into education when he worked with a few friends to help establish Nepal's first free private schools. A firm believer in the power of education and the need to strengthen the primary education of Nepal, during his early years as an education entrepreneur, he built schools where education and agriculture were at the core [18]. The reason, he says, for dedicating his time and energy to education is that
| “ | Educated people have access to their own free minds. You can only pursue opportunities and solutions to problems if you have access to information, so we are trying to create an environment where children have that access…[ultimately] making for a stronger food system and a stronger community with a brighter future. | ” |
| — interview with the Food Tank[19] | ||
References
- ↑ International Literacy Association. "International Literacy Association Unveils Second Annual 30 Under 30 List". PR Newswire. PR Newswire. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ↑ UWS Nepal. "Our Team". United World Schools Nepal. UWS Nepal.
- ↑ Bloom Nepal School. "Our Teachers". Bloom Nepal School. Bloom.
- ↑ CSRWIRE. "HRH The Prince of Wales Presents the First HRH The Prince of Wales Young Sustainability Entrepreneur Prize". CSRWIRE.
- ↑ FORBES. "30-under-30-asia/2017/social-entrepreneurs/".
- ↑ Davis UWC Scholars. "Class of 2016".
- ↑ College of the Atlantic. "Alumni Profile".
- ↑ College of the Atlantic. "Senior Wins Prestigious Scholarship".
- ↑ https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2013/0628/US-college-student-Surya-Karki-builds-schools-back-home-in-Nepal
- ↑ https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2013/0628/US-college-student-Surya-Karki-builds-schools-back-home-in-Nepal
- ↑ https://www.cisl.cam.ac.uk/about/young-entrepreneurs/pdfs/surya-karki.pdf/at_download/file
- ↑ Diyalo Foundation. "Founding Story".
- ↑ Portland Press Herald. "Second Quake in Nepal Gives Mainers More Reasons to Reach Out". Lisa DeSisto.
- ↑ The Telegraph UK. "How A Man Born Into Poverty In Nepal Inspired Thousands Of Children To Finish School". Telegraph Media Group.
- ↑ The Asia Foundation. "Development Fellow Selected for Inaugural Facebook Community Leadership Program".
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 TES. "The view from Nepal: Why radio lessons were our saviour".
- ↑ https://www.nayapatrikadaily.com/news-details/37230/2020-02-26
- ↑ https://foodtank.com/news/2019/02/sowing-the-seeds-of-change-integrating-education-and-agriculture-in-rural-nepal/
- ↑ https://foodtank.com/news/2019/02/sowing-the-seeds-of-change-integrating-education-and-agriculture-in-rural-nepal/
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