Many foundations and individuals are rightly concerned about the potential "sustainability" of the programs they support. Will the results endure after the infusion of money is gone?

It is for this reason that NYOF focuses on education. Education creates opportunity for the rest of a child's life, enhancing the society in which they live, and thus improving the world we all share.

Additionally, we work to imbue the children we serve with a strong sense of social responsibility. Here are just a few examples of how our kids are using their knowledge and skills for the betterment of the world around them:

The K House girls visited an ashram of impoverished elderly men and women. They brought treats, washed their clothes, cut their nails, cleaned their rooms, and washed their hair. They left to a chorus of “I wish I had a daughter like you.”

The children at the houses regularly donate some of their spending money to funds for disasters like the tsunami and the earthquake in Pakistan, plant trees, and help clean up the riverbeds on Saturday, their one day off from school. They also raise money for these causes by selling their art work and cooking and serving meals to visitors – for a price. Even the smallest kids are asked to contribute a few cents, though their resources are pretty negligible – about 75 cents a year they receive as a holiday gift. What is inspiring is their enthusiasm and joy in sharing the little they have with others less fortunate.

Though many of our children are still completing their schooling, we are seeing some of our older "graduates" choose careers in social service. Others are giving back to NYOF financially, or helping put their younger siblings through school. The list is long, but here are a few stories of the contributions made by NYOF graduates:

• Bhupendra recently graduated as a dental surgeon and has founded his own NGO which conducts health camps in rural areas providing free medical checkups and free medicine to isolated villagers who have little access to medical care.
  
  
• Sangita, a young doctor, regularly volunteers her services at the NRH, providing free checkups to the mothers and children.
  
  
• Choodamani, is one of the first graduates of J House. His left foot had been amputated at calf level at the small children's orthopedic hospital in Kathmandu. His one aim in life is to help the disabled, with whom he has an extraordinary empathy. He is working as a physical therapist at the same hospital where his foot was amputated and has started his own NGO to provide vocational training to disabled youngsters. He is on the Board of the FNC, NYOF's counterpart.
  
  
• Shyam is the CEO of the excellent school the J and K House attend. He assists NYOF and the J and K House children in many ways – he is a an experienced party planner and arranges our celebrations with great expertise.
  
  
• Sita and Madhu, both K House alumni, are now enjoying successful careers as nurses – one in a rural area, and the other at Nepal’s first heart hospital.
  
  
• Nirmala, a former K House girl, is on an American government college scholarship in the U.S. She and two other members of her family are blind. Her siblings both received Masters degrees, funded by NYOF, and are teaching in private schools. From high school onward, Nirmala had her own radio program in Nepal devoted to educating the public about the problems and talents of the disabled. She has made speeches before many groups on this subject, has been written up in numerous Nepali magazines and newspapers, and been interviewed on radio and television frequently as an example of what the blind can accomplish. She plans to return to Nepal and devote herself to improving the lives of the large and oppressed disabled population of Nepal .
  
  
• Dr. Ana Dawadi, supported by NYOF through medical school, has worked part time at NYOF's Nutritional Rehabilitation Home, and provided medical services to the J and K House children for many years.
  
  
• Dhum Lal, a severely disabled graduate, founded a non-profit group which advocates for human rights of the disabled.