SCH students | Grade 11 | Dolakha
“I hope in the future I can build a hospital for my village to provide health facilities to everyone, and free health treatment to those people in weak financial condition, and to promote the local employment opportunities to help village development.”
— Pema Doma Sherpa
Challenging childhood.
Pema Doma Sherpa is 17 years old. She has been living in SCH since 2018. She is originally from Dolakha, Nepal. Her family lives in a remote area of the Himalayas. She has nine family members, including her parents. Her parents ware Yak herder. The family had a yak farm in the remote mountain. They used to live a nomadic life around the Himalayas. Her mother sold the yak herder for the father’s treatment.
Difficulties with her school education.
Since she was living on the yak farm, she could only go to school in the winter when her yak farm shifted around the village. She used to walk three hours descent to reach the local school and three hours ascent to return to her Yak farm. She had to cross a dense jungle every day. The life of children in the mountain is full of risk and challenges. They have to face whatever to come ahead with the hope of a better future. There are still many children in the mountain who have to follow the lifestyles of their parents. They even cannot see the school. “When I was with yaks and goats, I thought I could not go to school anymore”, said Pema Doma.
Turning point in her life
When she was 12 years old, her father got depression and brought him to Kathmandu in 2017. Her mother stopped Pema Doma from going to school because her mother became alone in the mountain. Therefore, she and her sister helped her mother with herding yaks and goats. Due to her father’s mental disorder, her mother had to sell the yak farm, which was the only source of family income. Her father is still not very well and taking medicine regularly.
A better place for education.
Luckily, she got the full sponsorship of ICEF-Taiwan and was invited to SCH in 2017. Her mother sent her and her younger sister to Kathmandu. She is very brilliant and hard-working as well. She secured 1st position during the grade 10 final Exam in Holy Angels public school, in 2022. She is studying in grade 11 with a major in Science at Venus college. She wants to be a doctor if time and luck favor her again. Pemdoma said, “I hope in the future I can build a hospital for my village to provide health facilities to everyone, and free health treatment to those people in weak financial condition, and to promote the local employment opportunities to help village development.”
