Durga Aran

Background

About Durga Aran

I am Durga Aran, Founding Director of First Steps Himalaya, an NZ registered charity that aims to give rural Nepali children their first steps to a life of education. First Steps Himalaya (FSH) is a charity providing early years education for rural Nepali children through early childhood and school support projects. It transforms dilapidated, run down classrooms into stimulating learning environments, run by enthusiastic teachers. The organisation trains and supports teachers while working with schools to ensure improved educational outcomes. As a child, I experienced Nepal’s deprivation and lack of access to quality education. After seeing how children have such a good start in Western countries, I wanted to ensure that Nepali children could receive the same start in life. Since its inception, FSH has expanded its programme significantly. Hundreds of children in over 20 communities now benefit from learning in classrooms that were once bare and dirty and are now furnished and painted. The smiles on the children’s faces say it all. In 2015, First Steps Himalaya is building an earth-bag teacher training centre, which will allow us to train hundreds of teachers in child-friendly methods. Our website is