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Some time in 2006, a chance meeting between two men in a hilly village 30 kilometres from Kathmandu, was to be a moment of fate for them both. Irish national Fachtna ‘Doc’ Clandillon, then 28, and Nepali citizen Dhurba ‘Baba’ Bhujel, then 38, met in Nagarkot and shared a few days in each others company. It could have been like so many other chance meetings between strangers, fun, but short-lived.

Instead, more than ten years on, these two ‘brothers’ have worked together, lived together, shared good and bad times, but essentially remained the best of friends. This relationship has been the basis of what Nagarhope stands for, and so many others have also made up the jigsaw of how this organisation came into being and has evolved over the years.

Nagarhope has grown over the years, from simple beginnings when assisting just two children’s education until now when Nagarhope has assisted more than 300 children’s education in various ways. The initial two children have grown up, one is a teacher in Nagarhope’s own school, the other is currently studying Pharmacy in a teaching hospital in Bhaktapur.

Nagarhope’s main focus over the years has been education and with the establishment of our own pre-school in 2014, our work and focus has been concentrated more so on improving our facilities, surroundings, education methods and attitude towards running a school. A big part of improving is actually ‘providing’ in the first place, providing quality education, be it theoretical, physical, sensorial or whatever methods.

In April / May 2015, devastating earthquakes and many aftershocks shook Nepal to its core. This opened a whole new chapter for us as an organisation, and put us both on the back foot as well as forcing us onto a new footing.

There are literally hundreds of people, in Nepal, in Ireland, and elsewhere who have been a part of Nagarhope’s evolution, and hopefully, there will be hundreds more in the years to come that guide and light the path ahead . . .