Impact Schools Annual Report 2019

IMPACT SCHOOLS
Annual Report 2019

A Message from our Founder
We here at Impact Schools had an amazing year in 2019. I would like to
thank all of our generous donors, sponsors of our children, our supporters
and all our staff working on the ground at our schools in some of
the most remote villages in Western Nepal. With your support, we have
been able to make a difference in the lives of the children and people in
remote villages in Western Nepal, which lack access to basic infrastructures,
such as road, electricity and running water. Thanks again to all who
directly or indirectly helped make Impact Schools’ 2019 wonderful.
Prakash Bista
Founder/President
Impact Schools, a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Charity
26985 Aliso Creek Rd, #B-1015
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656, USA
www.impactschools.ngo | info@impactschools.
ngo | +1-9494392143

Our Mission
Impact Schools’ mission is to foster leadership and change among poor and disadvantaged
students in remote villages in Nepal, through free or affordable quality education.
We at Impact Schools strive to provide innovative educational opportunities to
the world’s impoverished and remote communities with a low-cost model.
We use a multidimensional approach to education so that local communities can be
pos itively impacted and the children from the poorest families can have access to high
quality education and leadership skills, while maintaining financial independence and
sustain ability of the schools.
Our Framework
Impact Schools operational framework consists of four main programs:
• Build schools
• Sponsor orphans and children in extreme need of support
• Support school-led social entrepreneurship projects
• Support teaching resources
Through these four programs, we help start, run and manage quality non-profit
schools sustainably and effectively in remote villages in Nepal.

Sponsorship of Orphans
and Children in Need of Support
Impact Schools sponsors children in need at a low cost. With just $396,
an orphan or a child in extreme need of support gets a life-changing
support to receive education, room, board and an environment to thrive
at our hostel facility.
In 2019, we have a total of 30 orphans and children in extreme
need of support at our hostel facility. These children
have been sponsored by our board members and other
generous donors to give them a lifechanging opportunity
to shape their future. Children’s profiles and the names of
sponsors can be found in this link: www.impactschools.
ngo/meet-our-students. In 2020, we are looking forward to
doubling the numbers of such children at our hostel facilities.

Our
Teachers
In 2019, Impact Schools supported our schools to recruit five teaching
fellows and teachers.
Rural Teaching Fellowship is an integral part of our programs at our schools
as it attracts talented youths from cities to teach at our schools generally for
a year. These fellows, along with other teaching staff make the core team at
our schools.
We spent $9,000 in supporting these teaching fellows and teachers. We are
looking forward to enhance this program as it progresses.

New Infrastructure
Impact Schools builds school buildings which are low-cost, made with government standards
and well equipped with classroom resources. We build a fully earthquake-resistant
two-room school building with just $15,000.
Hostel Building
(Boys’ Wing)
In 2019, Steven Patton, our supporter from
the very beginning of Impact Schools, and
Justin Barr, one of our board members
pledged $10,000 to support building a
hostel building at Modern Model Residential
School. In 2019, Steven, Justin
and their friends donated $7,333, and we
have been making a good progress with
the construction of the building. The construction
is scheduled to be completed
in 2020. The building will have four small
rooms and will house around 16 boys.

Four New Classrooms
In the second half of 2018, we launched a
GoFundMe campaign to build a school building
and install auxiliary services such as solar
panels and a fence for Modern Model Residential
School (MMRS)’s school block after
we received a matching grant pledge from
Jason Kryski, the founder of Strawhouse Inc.
in Canada. The funds raised from GoFundMe
campaign were used to build a school fence
and pay for the first installment ($5000) for a 4
kW solar power plant installed at the school as
highlighted in 2018 Annual Report. Jason donated
CAD 13,000 through a Canadian Charity,
Nepal Community Development Foundation
(NCDF) to our school, MMRS in Nepal. After
NCDF’s service charge, transaction and transfer
fees, amount equivalent to US $8,685 were
received by MMRS in Nepal in the first week
of January 2019. Mainly these funds are being
used to build the four classrooms.
These new classrooms are being built with the
Compressed Stabilized Earth Bricks (CSEB)
technology, used for the first time in our region
and at our school. CSEB bricks are eco-friendly
and sustainable and are approved by the
government of Nepal for earthquake-resistant
construction. The machine to make the bricks
was purchased in Kathmandu and brought to
the nearest road by a vehicle, whereas it was
carried by the villagers from the nearest road to
our school premises.

New School Building and
Hostel (Girls’ Wing)
As part of an agreement with Partners Group, we started with building a
school building and a hostel building at Modern Model Residential School in
the village of Lalu in Kalikot district in Western Nepal. The school and hostel
buildings are being constructed. The construction of these buildings will
complete in 2020 alongside the construction of another school building,
another hostel building and ten toilets.

New Technology
Solar Power Installation
A 4 kW solar power plant was installed towards the end of 2018 at our first school,
MMRS. The first installment of $5,000 was used in 2018, and the final installment of
$5,700 was used in 2019. The solar plant provides electricity to run the computer lab,
digital resources and a grinding mill at the school premises of MMRS. The electricity is
also used to cook rice for the hostel family and to provide heating and lighting for the
chicken farm.

Brick Machine
In the second half of 2019, we had an agreement
with Partners Group to build two school
buildings (each building with three classrooms),
two hostel buildings (each building with two
rooms) and ten toilets at our two schools’ locations
and to install a 4 kW solar power plant
at our first school, Modern Model Residential
School with a donation of $80,000 from Partners
Group. All these buildings were to be built
with Compressed Stablized Earth Brick (CSEB)
technology. To carry out the project, we had to
raise $10,248 extra to cover for the expenses
related to brick machine purchase, building
design, mason training and supervision during
the construction.
With $5,000 support from Mr. Gregg Wolpert
and $5,248 from Mr. James and Mrs. Shiela Peterson,
we were able to support our first school,
Modern Model Residential School to have an
agreement with Buildup Nepal, an engineering
firm in Kathmandu specializing in Compressed
Stabilized Earth Bricks (CSEB) technology, to
purchase a quality brick machine, to provide
designs for the school and hostel buildings, to
provide production and construction trainings
to local villagers and to have an engineer oversee
the trainings and construction work.

IT Support
Two portable power stations and a few laptop accessories were also supported by Impact
Schools to MMRS in 2019. The portable power stations were meant to provide electricity to
charge cell phones and to light essential bulbs when the solar batteries run out of power in monsoon.
The laptop accessories such as HDMI cables were meant to support digital learning at
MMRS. The overall cost of the IT equipment and portable power stations were $499.31.
With Hope in Life Foundation’s
donation, Impact Schools also
supported $900 to MMRS to pay
for the annual subscription of 2
Mbps internet hotspot at MMRS
after the internet devices were installed
at the school with support
from Pratik Kafle, a Nepali student
at Reed College in Oregon,
USA. Availability of highspeed
internet provided more access
to digital learning resources and
improved communication means.

Water Filters
In 2019, we received support from Kay
Singh and Peggy Peterson, two American
nurses to install water filters at
MMRS to provide clean drinking water
to all students so that their learning
would be enhanced as they would be
less likely to get sick. $450 was supported
to MMRS to purchase three
water filters.
Furthermore, during their two weeks
of volunteer service at MMRS, Kay and
Peggy brought essential medicines
and first aid items to set up a medicine
corner at the school. They also taught
good hygiene practices, handwashing
techniques and basic health check-up
of all students.

Social Entrepreneurship Projects
Impact Schools supports in establishing school-led social entrepreneurship to support
locals and make schools more sustainable.
Chicken Brooders
In 2019, we purchased six chicken brooders at a price of $282.90 to be used at the
chicken farm at Modern Model Residential School. The chicken brooders would keep
the chickens warm in winter and increase their survival rates.

Finances
Impact Schools’ Expenses 2019
Program Expenses
93.5%
General
Expenses
6.5%
We are 100% transparent with our finances; anyone can see each and every donation
and expense at our transparency page.
In 2019, we had a total available fund of $115,117.25 including all donations and balance
from 2018. Our total expenses for the year were $97,995.85. Out of these total
expenses, 93.5% ($91,646.21) of funds went directly to projects, whereas 6.5%
($6,349.64) were indirect general expenses related to utilities, transaction fees, website
hosting renewal etc.

The Year Ahead
2020
In 2020, we are looking forward to complete the construction of existing
two school buildings, four classrooms, a library building, three hostel
buildings and ten toilets. Furthermore, we will also install another 4 kW
solar plant at our hostel facility at MMRS to meet its energy needs. Besides
these projects, we are also looking to build two more hostel buildings,
two permanent walls to secure our school and hostel area and
purchase new lands for the schools so that the students and our hostel
children have more space to play and learn. We hope you will continue
supporting our projects in 2020.