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    Lifelong learning

    KATHMANDU (AP) – Sushila Gautam, 77, checks her smartwatch, a gift from her son living in the United States, to see if she should leave for her reading and writing lessons.

    “At home, I get bored when my son and daughter-in-law go to work and grandchildren are at school. I want something to do,” she said with a smile.

    When Sushila was young, girls in her village weren’t sent to school.

    For about a year now, she has been going for free lessons near her home on the outskirts of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, at the Ujyalo Community Learning Center. The centre was set up three years ago by the local council to provide basic education to women like her.

    “Now, I finally have the chance,” said Sushila.

    She can now read signs in English and Nepalese, is able to check her heart rate on a smartwatch, and use a smartphone. But the skill she is most proud of is her ability to sign her name on official documents. Previously, she had to put thumbprints.

    Women write their names on the board during a class at the Ujyalo Community learning centre in Kathmandu, Nepal. PHOTO: AP
    Women during a class at the community learning centre. PHOTO: AP
    ABOVE & BELOW: Sushila checks her digital watch during class; and an elderly woman reads a textbook. PHOTO: AP
    PHOTO: AP
    ABOVE & BELOW: Photos show women play football during break time. PHOTO: AP
    PHOTO: AP

    Bimala Maharjan Bhandari, who runs the centre, said she had difficulties at first to convince women to join.

    “I had to tell them that being able to read phone messages, product labels and signing documents can benefit the whole family,” Bhandari said.

    Slowly, by quietly persevering, she was able to persuade the women and their families. The centre has made more than 200 women literate in its first three years.

    Women sit at desks reading aloud from their Nepali language textbooks, following their instructor. Some write down simple sentences in their notebooks. During a break, they file out of the classroom to play football on a small hard court.

    Bhandari believes that the centre encourages friendship and physical well-being among the learners, creating a supportive environment for personal and collective growth.

    Among the older students is 88-year-old Thuli Thapa Magar, who has spent her entire life as a homemaker. She, like Sushila, never went to school and was illiterate before joining the centre.

    She is proud of the fact that she is finally learning. – Niranjan Shrestha

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