Empowering Accessible Education in Nepal

Bridging the educational gap for hearing-impaired children in Nepal.

Not science but a project I have been a part of alongside some members of Himalayan Pariwar e.V. Munich (Prakash Subedi, Samundra Dhakal, Saurav Dahal, Sristi Gahire, and Robin Karki).

Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions regarding this project. I will be updating with more details here towards the end of the project.

In Nepal, an estimated 5.73% of school-aged children live with hearing impairment, and their career opportunities are often painfully limited. We believe that impairment should never be a barrier to ambition.

That’s why Himalayan Pariwar Munich e.V., a Munich-based diaspora organization, initiated this project to bridge the educational gap. In partnership with OLE Nepal (Online Learning Exchange), we are creating a free, inclusive online learning platform to deliver high-quality educational materials in sign language.

Our Mission & Support

Himalayan Pariwar Munich e.V. has been granted €50,000 from the GIZ Diaspora 2030 program for this project.

Our goal is simple: Turn dreams into reality for hearing-impaired children across Nepal by empowering them with the education they deserve.

Key Objectives

This project commenced on May 2025, and is projected to conclude on April 2026.

  1. Develop Accessible Learning Materials

    We will produce at least 90 curriculum-aligned digital learning modules and 10 interactive children’s stories enriched with Sign Language Interpretation and visual aids.

  2. Build Infrastructure

    We will provide essential devices—such as computers and servers—to Siddha Bahira Balak ko School in Surkhet.

  3. Distribute Content to Schools

    We will collaborate with the National Deaf Federation Nepal to ensure the learning materials are widely distributed, targeting at least four schools.

  4. Teacher Training

    We will conduct training sessions to equip teachers with inclusive teaching strategies that better support hearing-impaired students.

  5. Promote Best Practices

    All materials will be designed to meet the specific needs of hearing-impaired learners, aligned with local educational standards and accessibility guidelines.

A banner I designed for Himalayan Pariwar München e.V..
A picture of a classroom from our project school Siddha Bahira Balak ko School, Surkhet.

Supported Schools

Siddha Bahira Balak ko School, Surkhet

Serving 104 students, this school lacks digital infrastructure. We will provide essential digital tools and learning equipment to create an accessible learning environment.

Kavre Deaf School, Kavre

Serving 120 students, this school already has computer labs. We will deploy our digital learning materials to enhance their educational experience.

Srijana Deaf School, Kaski

Educating 150 students, we will introduce our digital materials to be integrated into the school’s existing infrastructure, ensuring students have access to inclusive, high-quality content.

Adarsha Saula Secondary School, Lalitpur

Serving 28 students in an inclusive environment, this school lacks digital resources. We will introduce our digital materials to enrich their education and empower all students.

Recent Progress & Key Milestones

Since kicking off the project, our implementing partner Open Learning Exchange (OLE) Nepal has made incredible progress in bringing these accessible resources to life.

  1. Partnership with NDFN: We have established a formal collaboration with the National Federation of the Deaf Nepal (NDFN). They have been actively reviewing and authenticating all digital learning modules to ensure they meet the highest standards for Nepali Sign Language (NSL).

  2. Content Development & Approval: Our dedicated team of NSL experts, signers, and developers has been hard at work. We have successfully recorded and integrated NSL into 23 interactive children’s stories (Hamro Ramailo Kathaharu), which have already been officially reviewed and approved by NDFN for school use!

  3. Curriculum-Aligned Learning: We have mapped the national curriculum for Grades 1–5 and have completed developing curriculum-aligned interactive “E-Paath” modules. Additionally, we have built Sanketik sikai, an interactive NSL dictionary tailored specifically for early-grade learners.

  4. Community Engagement: To ensure our tools are truly effective and intuitive, we have conducted on-site school surveys, usability testing directly with hearing-impaired learners, and teachers training.

Project Extension & Additional Funding

Thanks to the strong momentum and the high quality of the initial deliverables, GIZ has officially extended our project until August 2026 and provided an additional €15,000 in funding! To ensure further reach of the educational materials, we are planning to deploy the content to additional schools in Nepal.

This generous extension gives us the valuable time and resources needed to further refine our learning modules, successfully deploy the necessary educational content to our additional partner schools, and ensure these educational tools leave a lasting impact for hearing-impaired children across Nepal.