CONTRIBUTING TO EDUCTION

Marcopolobybike.com supports Education in Nepal

With our trip we want to support a charity that was founded in 2001 by a friend of ours, Coen Koomen. Coen Koomen has traveled - by bike, like us - in China and Nepal in 1999 and 2000. After a break from cycling of 8 months, during which Coen worked as a volunteer to teach the English language in a school in Nepal , he developed a concept to give his contribution to education in Nepal a more permanent effect.

The Spark Foundation

This concept developed into the Spark Foundation (initially named Surya Kiran Foundation; see www.sparkfoundation.org or www.suryakiranfoundation.org ). Coen Koomen is founder and member of the board of the Spark Foundation. The Spark Foundation is a Dutch charity that is funded and operated privately.

The aim of this organization is to stimulate the potential of young children by supporting local schools in Nepal . Generally, the program involves the teaching of the English language by Dutch volunteers, providing material support for schools and a program of sports. Especially the sports-program - supported by 2 premier league football clubs that provide team outfits and footballs and other materials - greatly stimulates the motivation of the children, most notably also in their school work.

In Nepal , the graduation rates of students have increased from 32% to over 65% in the schools in which this program was implemented. These are only initial results, and the Spark Foundation expects these results to improve after the schools have more experience with the Spark Foundation's method. This shows the long term potential of the Spark Foundation's approach: the local school's staff learn and become self-sufficient in applying methods introduced by the Spark Foundation.

The Spark Foundation uses a pull strategy: the school that improves its graduation percentage attracts more students, which sends a clear message out to other schools in the district. In Nepal , this strategy resulted in a high demand of schools asking for the support of the Spark Foundation.

The Spark Foundation is completely non-profit and depends on gifts and volunteers who want to go to Nepal to implement the program in a specific school for a 5-month period.

Contribute to education in Nepal

Would you like to be a sponsor of the Spark Foundation?

You can make a difference too - without having to cycle a quarter of the earth's girth that is... Please sponsor the The Spark Foundation by making a donation to us. You can do so by sponsoring us for the distance we've cycled. All proceeds of this sponsoring scheme will be transferred directly and in full to the Spark Foundation, who will use it to send volunteers and provide material support to selected schools in Nepal .

Please note: We kindly request to you that you transfer the money to the following account: 49.21.14.358, ABN Amro Amsterdam, f.a.o. C.P. Koomen (this is the founder of the Spark Foundation).