Many people raised in poverty have difficulty believing they can change their lives or communities. If we are to harness their skills and firsthand knowledge to solve social problems, it’s time to unleash more dreams. Schools with a strong career readiness program and a focus on social entrepreneurship can help pave the way.

Opportunity disparity is a major setback for developing countries, and it can lead to a despairing mindset. In impoverished areas of the world, the struggle to survive on a daily basis often takes overwhelming precedence in the mindset of residents. These are also the very people who know their community’s problems and could be highly motivated and skilled at solving those problems, if provided the opportunity. Based on our experience with students in rural Nepal, we are seeing that student dreams and business ideas will be a key to empowering communities to lift themselves out of poverty and create social impact. It’s time to unleash more dreams.

Jobs Wanted

One cause of poverty, among many, is often lack of jobs and economic growth. When there are not enough jobs, or not enough living-wage jobs, it is extremely difficult to look outside for opportunities beyond poverty.

Opportunity disparity is a major setback for developing countries, and it can lead to a despairing mindset.

In emerging markets and developing economies, informal work (day labor and one-time projects) may account for two-thirds of employment. People who are caught in the cycle of poverty often do not have other options in their communities or the opportunity to apply for a long-term and ongoing job. Informal work is associated with higher income inequality and poverty, as well as less progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (according to this World Bank report).

One key to reducing poverty and inequality, as well as increasing worker productivity, is living-wage jobs. Access to “full and productive employment” is key to reaching the 2030 SDGs, but the question of how remains difficult.

Human-Centered Solutions

We know from human-centered design practitioners that the solutions to any community’s social problems are often with its people. People in the midst of the circumstance are often very wise in pointing out the weaknesses, as well as the strengths, in their own lives and communities.

In many ways, we must depend on people in poverty to help us understand the opportunities they need in order to improve their situations.

Some impoverished communities around the world have been transformed when residents take collective social action, advocate for dignified jobs, and start their own businesses. This requires a shift in mindset – not everyone is aware that they have power over their own lives.

People living in poverty must be free to dream of a different and better world.

Guidance Counselor Manjula Shrestha works with a student at Kopila Valley School in Surkhet, Nepal. Photo courtesy of BlinkNow Foundation.

How can dreams be unleashed? We begin with students.

In the western region of rural Nepal, we work with a school that provides free, high-quality education to over 400 of the most disadvantaged children in the region, on an innovative and sustainably-built ‘green campus.’ We use place-based learning and an environmental studies curriculum with outdoor agriculture projects, as well as technology courses to develop media and computer skills.

We focus on the whole child, providing the free education alongside our locally-grown healthy lunch program, health and wellness program, social and emotional learning, and community service.

In many ways, we must depend on people in poverty to help us understand the opportunities they need in order to improve their situations.

Not only are students gaining a cultural and global perspective throughout their studies, but they also work with our Futures Program to explore career options, learn about social entrepreneurship, and have opportunities to dream. Our Guidance Counselor, a rare resource in Nepal’s schools, assists students with career ideas and scholarship research, if they wish to apply to a university. Caption: Guidance Counselor Manjula Shrestha works with a student at Kopila Valley School in Surkhet, Nepal. Photo courtesy of BlinkNow Foundation.

We are proud that the graduates of our Kopila Valley School are the first in their families to be educated and to obtain full-time jobs in the formal marketplace. They have been able to move out of their situations of hopelessness and into a healthy mindset where they can dream.

Kopila Valley School students participate in a social entrepreneurship workshop in January 2023, in collaboration with a local college. Photo courtesy of BlinkNow Foundation.

Students also engage themselves in social services, volunteer activities, and internships as learning opportunities before they enter any university. This process has helped them to become more socially attached as they invest in their communities. For those who may not receive love and care in their family of origin, they are finding it with their school and workplace peers and are now able to offer compassion to the world around them.

In conjunction with a local college, secondary students attend workshops focused on social entrepreneurship, presentation skills, and building confidence for both personal and professional development. As a result, these teenage students are dreaming of building their own lives and uplifting the lives of their family members, and they have action plans for making their dreams a reality.

Graduates are interested in businesses that will benefit their families and community. Many are applying to higher education, and some are starting enterprises and pitching ideas to our Business Startup no-interest loan fund. Several have become teachers to educate the next generation. Caption: Kopila Valley School students participate in a social entrepreneurship workshop in January 2023, in collaboration with a local college. Photo courtesy of BlinkNow Foundation.

Photo courtesy of BlinkNow Foundation.

The Future Looks Bright

With the opportunities available to them, students who have been empowered by education and dreams are looking for gaps in services and needs they can fill in the community. Our town of Surkhet is a place that is rapidly developing, and customers are excited about supporting small businesses. The student entrepreneurs want to provide jobs for themselves and for others, using businesses we don’t have yet – online retail, cafes and bakeries, budget-priced health and hygiene products for low-income families, laundromats, and poultry or organic mushroom farming to increase food security.

These young people are innovating new approaches to business and job creation, and we are thrilled that they are free to dream. Now that a few dreams are starting to take shape, those who witness their success are considering more innovation, and the community impact is multiplying.

Our hope is that this model is setting an example for more schools, organizations, and adults to help more young people expand their creativity for community solutions and find the freedom to dream.