By Cathy Clifton | Communications Director, Ama Foundation
Ashok was one of the original group of Ama Ghar kids who came to us from a remote village. He was always big and strong, smart and extremely good-natured, always enjoying time spent with his Ama Ghar brothers and sisters - in fact, by the time he was about 10 he became our official photographer. He was always assigned to carry our single digital camera when we went on outings because he did a stellar job of photographing his Ama Ghar family, whether they were engrossed in a book at study time or hiking a mountain trail.
But Ashok's big breakthrough came when an I.T. company in Kathmandu volunteered to come out to Ama Ghar on Saturday mornings to work with the kids on basic computer skills like word processing, spreadsheets and PhotoShop. Ashok was a natural "computer geek", and quickly became the go-to guy at Ama Ghar when Bonnie Auntie couldn't get her office computer to work, or when one of his siblings was having a problem with a donated computer.
Because we cannot afford to buy new computers, the Ama Ghar kids are dependent on hand-me-down computers that come from our donors to do their schoolwork. These are greatly appreciated, but all of them are running different operating systems and they vary widely in age - which created the perfect opportunity for a smart boy to learn all the things that can go wrong with a computer and figure out how to fix them!
When it came time for Ashok to move into Kathmandu to attend University a couple of years ago, everyone at Ama Ghar was very sad, not only because they would miss their big brother, but because now no one will be able to fix their computer! Ashok is in his third year of a Bachelor's degree in I.T. Engineering, and he's doing very well. He has fulfilled an internship with an insurance company in Kathmandu, and has big plans for next year, when he will graduate.
What an amazing leap - from underprivileged kid to I.T. guru - and it couldn't have happened without the help of generous donors like you, helping us to transform lives every single day.
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