ABOUT US
Since 1993, we have been enabling children in the mountainous regions around Pokhara in Nepal to receive a better education and supporting schools to improve their academic results. It started with three sponsored children. To date, we have supported over 1,200 students. We also support 11 schools with new buildings, renovations, teacher training and equipment.
“The deep gratitude and warmth that parents, children and teachers show us during our visits to schools in Nepal encourages us to continue working tirelessly on this project.”
– Jörg Overlack († 2023), founder of the Nepal Children Overlack Foundation
How it all began
(Our story)
It all began at Christmas in 1992 when Dagmar († 2023) and Jörg Overlack († 2023), along with their sons Bert and Marc, came across what is now the Morning Star Higher Secondary School (MSHSS) during a trekking tour in the Annapurna mountain region. The school is located in the small village of Naudanda, in the hills around Pokhara, Nepal’s second-largest city. At that time, there were no developed roads, only dirt paths, no electricity, and except for a few wells, no water supply. Our parents were deeply moved by these impressions. Throughout the rest of their journey, they kept asking themselves how they could most effectively help the children in what was then a very poor Nepal.
Jörg Overlack describes the discovery of the first school and his decision to support it:
"For me, the school was a fateful discovery. A few years earlier, the headmaster, Adhikari, had founded a small private school in Naudanda with two teachers and 60 students. The school's rudimentary facilities were at an absolute minimum. On-site, we learned about the extreme poverty of the people and the long school commutes, often one to three hours each way, despite poor footwear and even in bad weather."
Despite these hardships, Jörg Overlack noted that the students displayed enormous discipline, warmth, and gratitude. It was a privilege for them to be able to attend school. Both parents quickly decided that this school would be the perfect starting point for a project focused on helping others help themselves. It all started with funding the education of three children whose parents could not afford the school fees, including Ramjee Bhandari, about whom you can learn more in our success stories. These were the beginnings, at a time when the illiteracy rate was over 70%. This laid the foundation for an incredible success story, which has now supported over 1,200 students, helped over 450 children complete their schooling, and invested over €1.3 million in the education and equipping of schools.
Many initiatives followed, always with the goal of improving education for Nepalese children. In 2018, we founded the "Nepal Kinder Overlack Foundation," which continues our work for children in Nepal. Since 1993, €1.3 million has been invested in school fees and direct investments in ten supported schools, and the education of over 1,200 students has been funded.
Our philosophy
"There is nothing good - unless you do it!" (Erich Kästner)
Over the years, we have developed a clear philosophy for our activities and investments in Nepal, according to which we select investments and further develop the foundation:
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100% of all donations go to the schools or the respective students. Additional costs such as expenses and transfer fees are covered by the Overlack family.
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Investments for renovations, new buildings and equipment are checked by pictures and at least every two years on site in Nepal by a family member to ensure that the donations are being used. In addition, the academic performance of the schools is checked and a positive development is expected.
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We only support children in rural mountain areas. The children are selected by expert committees from the schools and communities. These are always children with above-average intelligence and talent, whose development could benefit from support from a private school instead of a public school, but whose families are too poor for a private school.
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Equal opportunities between the sexes are rare, especially in the poorer regions of Nepal. To counteract this, we support at least 55% girls as part of our partnerships.
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For every € 2,000 of direct investment in a school, the school must guarantee a scholarship (10 years) for a new child. In addition, we never cover 100% of the total costs of measures, but instead oblige the schools and municipalities to cover 15-30% of the costs themselves. In this way, we not only help the pupils to help themselves, but also the schools.
Our Team in Germany and Nepal
We have built up a team of helpers in Germany and Nepal, without whom the maintenance and further development of the foundation's work would not be possible.
In Nepal, our key figure is Dr. Krishna Bhandari who coordinates the selection of sponsored children and schools as well as communication with the school principals and carries out inspections. He was a teacher at the first school we sponsored in 1995, then earned his doctorate and is now a professor at the University of Pokhara.
Also indispensable for the successful development of the project were our travel guides Vijay Vaida and Arun Regmi, who have been accompanying our trips for 30 years and initially coordinated the communication with the head of the first school. From the beginning, our friendship with Arun and Vijay was characterized by deep trust.
In Germany, most of the work is done by the Overlack family, spread over three generations (Jörg and Dagmar Overlack, their sons Bert and Marc Overlack and the four grandchildren). We are supported by a small team of close friends as well as our co-worker Andrea Walter, who is responsible for the coordination and communication with the Nepalese contacts and keeps the administrative overview.
Our vision
We are driven by the vision to support the Nepalese people to further build their country, educate their children and thus create a better future for the country and its people. Unfortunately, the government is not doing enough in this area, and privileged countries, such as Germany, need to realize they have the means to change lives.
Jörg Overlack († 2023):
"The deeply felt gratitude and warmth that we receive from parents, children and teachers during our visits to Nepal's schools drives us to continue working steadily on the foundation. Thus, we continue the Nepal Children's Project as a family. We believe, by funding and improving the education of gifted and underprivileged children in rural areas of Nepal, our support has the most effect."
The Nepal Kinder Overlack Stiftung has grown organically over the past 30 years: a private sponsorship became a project supported by friends and acquaintances, and in 2018 we established the foundation. This is how we would like to continue to develop in the future. The successes of the past 30 years have only been possible because we have overcome setbacks and continued to work despite obstacles and uncertainties. Success lies in constancy and consistency.
In 2018, we built a framework for our project and founded the Nepal Kinder Overlack Stiftung. Thus, we can issue donation receipts and prove to our sponsors the foundation-related use of the funds. The project now requires the commitment of the whole family. Hence, the sons and grandchildren of the project founders are already actively involved and will continue further developing the foundation.
In 2022, Jörg Overlack handed over the management of the foundation to his sons Bert and Marc. This was a far-sighted decision, as both founders and grandparents Dagmar and Jörg Overlack sadly passed away in 2023. The next milestones are to further develop the organization involving the younger generation of the Overlack family. There is already a pipeline of potential new schools. Other projects include digitalization measures, environmental measures at the schools, an alumni program for sponsored students of the Nepal Children Overlack Foundation and scholarships for outstanding high school graduates to attend university.
Last but not least, all this is of course only possible with sufficient investment capital.
We would be delighted about your contribution or getting in touch.
