Usha Acharya: A Mother to Thousands Through Education

Kathmandu. Social worker Usha Acharya gave birth to two sons, Achal and Avidit. However, beyond her own children, the number of those who address Usha as 'mother' has reached five thousand. She has dedicated her entire life to providing education, values, and the light of knowledge to orphaned and economically disadvantaged children.

Usha began the mission of educating girls 27 years ago. It started with just one person. Bindya Sharma, from a financially weak background in Sindhupalchok, was her first daughter. Currently, Bindya works as a nurse at Dhulikhel Hospital. The number of girls receiving education continued to grow. To date, over two thousand have graduated, 2,500 are currently studying, and 500 have passed their Plus Two.

Not only within the country, but many of these daughters have reached countries like the UK, USA, and Australia to pursue higher education and are moving forward on the path of progress.

No matter where they go in the world, these daughters have not stopped calling Usha 'mother.' Even today, they call her from every corner of the globe to check on her well-being. They still consider her their pillar of support. It feels as if many mothers who have left this world have found a home within Usha. Usha is sharing that same love from within her heart with these helpless daughters, a love that never runs dry. It never runs dry.

Usha provided support to stand, a roof to live under, and love to heal those who were broken, trapped in the web of scarcity, poverty, and structural discrimination. Those five thousand daughters still respect and honor Usha as their mother today.

For many who have lost their parents, Usha is an example of humanity and motherhood. 'We have never seen what God looks like, but if God exists, they must be like Mother Usha,' said Srishti Kafle (name changed), who was taking someone to meet Usha.

Usha is completely different from the crowd that wants to dominate social media by sharing not just two kilos of rice and a kilo of sugar, but even water. She is miles away from those who want to go viral. Having left a job in America to dedicate her entire life to social work, Usha prefers to stay away from videos, photos, and reels.

'Let's record your experiences on video; it could be an inspiration to others,' I proposed after following her for two days.

She politely declined my proposal.

Usha, who has spread the bright light of education among five thousand daughters, started the Little Sisters Fund 27 years ago. Helping hands continued to join her campaign. The daughters she educated took on the responsibility of educating at least one other person.

How did the idea of bringing the light of education to girls come to her? We will start that story in a moment. Before that, let's hear the story of her journey from Tanahun to Kathmandu.

Usha, who finally agreed to talk to me, returned to the old days. Hearing her story might feel like a movie plot to today's generation. It used to take 6 days of walking from Simpani in Tanahun to reach Kathmandu. One had to ride boats across the Trishuli River and other streams.

At that time, Usha's brother Madan Sharma worked at the 'Swatantra Samachar' daily. Because of him, Usha got the opportunity to come to Kathmandu. Journalist Madan had called his sister to accompany his wife, Chandrakala, whom he had married in Tanahun, as she would be alone on the way.

Usha's peers in the village were getting married one after another. It was the custom to marry at a young age back then. She, however, got to study at Kanti Ishwari Secondary School in Ganeshsthan in the capital. Having learned the alphabet on a grinding stone while in the village, she learned to write on paper only after enrolling in class 5. She finally learned the alphabet. Queen Aishwarya also studied at the same school she attended.

After passing the SLC from Kanti Ishwari Secondary School, Usha enrolled in Padma Kanya Campus in Bagbazar for her IA. Taking Economics and Nepali as major subjects, she topped her college in her bachelor's degree. That success took her to Delhi. She received a full scholarship to study MA in Economics at the Delhi School of Economics. Having studied in the Nepali medium while in Nepal, it was difficult for Usha at first. The steps taken slowly were destined to reach the destination.

Her teachers at the university were former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Nobel laureate in Economics Amartya Sen. At first, she didn't feel like she could pass. The then Nepali Ambassador to India, Durgeshman Singh, and Foreign Ministry official Badri Khanal, who was working at the embassy, made it easier for her.

Usha's pace, having had the opportunity to study in the presence of famous people, did not stop there. She did her M.Phil in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University. The process of learning never stopped in her life. It continued constantly. That hunger led her to Harvard University in the USA to study International Human Rights Law. And later, she got a job there.

Besides regular studies, while in America, Usha also took courses in Agriculture Credit and Banking, and Information Systems (computer course). While her peers in the villages of Tanahun were getting married and leaving for their husbands' homes, Usha never put a full stop to her studies. Instead, she faced challenges and moved forward. Along with that, other opportunities kept coming her way.

She got the opportunity to work at the International Labour Organization (ILO), Save the Children UK, and USAID. She worked as a Research Officer at Nepal Rastra Bank for eight years and as a Section Officer at the Agricultural Development Bank for five years.

While living in America, Usha's close friend was Saudamini. They used to meet frequently. They were fond of the Himalayas, and Trevor Patcher was a trekker. Usha had met Trevor, the son of Saudamini's sister, in America.

By 1998, Usha had returned to Nepal. One day, Saudamini shared the news that Trevor was coming to visit the Everest Base Camp. Since they were old acquaintances from their time in America, she went to the airport to bring Trevor home. When Trevor, an American youth who had come after taking his bachelor's exams, saw Usha, who was writing a book about human trafficking and child labor in Nepal, he was surprised by the issues of human trafficking and child labor.

'Why is there such a problem in Nepal?' the curious Trevor asked in surprise.

'If we can educate girls, we can stop this problem,' Usha replied.

From that point, Usha's new campaign began. Trevor, the young man who had come to visit Nepal, gave two hundred dollars to the campaign of educating girls and making them self-reliant. He promised to give two hundred dollars as support every year.

This campaign, which started by helping Bindya Sharma, has now reached five thousand. This campaign, which started with one person, is completing 27 years and is about to enter its 28th year.

It was a coincidence that on Thursday afternoon (3 Baishakh), while this conversation was happening, the same American youth, Trevor, was landing in Kathmandu. This is his 20th trip to Nepal. In recent years, he has been contributing four hundred dollars to Usha's campaign. Some people raise funds from abroad to support Usha's work.

Various individuals have been providing financial assistance to educate girls. Usha wants the daughters to be capable and self-reliant. For that, education is the first step. She has felt this in her own life.

Why does Usha emphasize girls' education?

She said, 'If you educate a boy, you educate only one individual. But if you educate a girl, you educate the entire family.'