Kopila Valley School in Nepal

She's the First Scholars Deepa B., Durga S., Sarita A., Jharana B., and Sunita S. pose for the camera in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

She's the First Scholars Kamala S. and Shanti S. whisper to one another at school in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

The courtyard of Kopila Valley School, She's the First's partner in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

She's the First Scholar and first grader Pushpa R., right, copies from the board in class in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

She's the First Scholar and second grader Anisha B. works on odd and even numbers in Math class in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

She's the First Scholar and second grader Anisha B., right, concentrates on her studies in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

Feet of She's the First Scholar Tika G., right, in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

She's the First Scholar Robina C., far left, sings along in her second grade class in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

She's the First Scholars line up for a game of Red Rover in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

She's the First Scholar Asmita S. holds hands during a game of Red Rover in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

She's the First Scholar Jharana B. runs during a game of Red Rover in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

She's the First Scholars in Nepal play a team building game, March 2015. Back row: Sunita S., Durga S., Apeksha K., Roshni S. Front row: Purnima P., Aliza T.M., Chandani B. (photo by Kate Lord)

She's the First Scholar and tenth grader Roshni S. raises her hand in school in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

She's the First Scholar and sixth grader Supeksha G. poses in her school's science classroom in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

She's the First Scholars Sarita A. and Apeksha K. chat in their school's science classroom in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

She's the First Scholar Apeksha K. presents to her eighth grade class in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

She's the First Scholar Sirjana S., center, listens during her eighth grade class in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

She's the First Scholar Kamala S. presents to her eighth grade class in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

She's the First Scholar Sarita S. concentrates on her lesson in her third grade class in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

Students' shoes in Nepal 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

She's the First Scholar Aliza T.M. poses in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

Second graders line up outside their classroom in Nepal, March 2015, including She's the First Scholars (starting third from right), Anisha B, Ganga S., and Tika G. (photo by Kate Lord)

She's the First Scholar Jenisha S. waves from the Kopila Valley school bus in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

She's the First Scholar and poet Deepa N. poses in a field near her school in Nepal, March 2015. (photo by Kate Lord)

A view of Surkhet, Nepal, home of She's the First's partner school. (photo by Kate Lord)

Kopila Valley School in Surkhet, Nepal, opened its doors in 2010 to underserved children; in a country with a 66% literacy rate, in a region with 80% unemployment, these children need quality education more than anything. 

I was sent to Nepal by Kopila's partner She's the First, a nonprofit that provides scholarships for more than 90 girls at the school! 11% of Nepal's population is married by the age of 14, so girl's education is more important than ever as it's proven to delay marriage, which decreases HIV rates, improves maternal health, and decreases suicide rates in young women. 

Two She's the First Scholars at Kopila Valley organized a 5K, The Race for Equality, to raise awareness of women's issues in their town. Watch a short video about their experience here!

The Race for Equality

Their goals were simple: to raise awareness about the status of women in Nepal and to help empower women in their community, all while having fun. She's the First Scholars Jharana and Sirjana gathered their classmates to organize the first-ever 5K race in their district, in hopes of attracting eyes and ears to the cause of women's equality. If you are inspired by their work, please consider mobilizing or participating in a race yourself to fundraise for a girl's scholarship! Visit sweatforstf.shesthefirst.org to join. To see this video with captions, click here: vimeo.com/shesthefirst/raceforequality-captioned

Their goals were simple: to raise awareness about the status of women in Nepal and to help empower women in their community, all while having fun. She's the First Scholars Jharana and Sirjana gathered their classmates to organize the first-ever 5K race in their district, in hopes of attracting eyes and ears to the cause of women's equality.

To see this video with captions, click here: vimeo.com/shesthefirst/raceforequality-captioned

I created this film in collaboration with Christen Brandt, co-founder and director of international operations for STF, to celebrate the hard work of Jharana and Sirjana, and to support the organization's Sweat for STFcampaign. The annual fitness campaign encourages supporters to mobilize or participate in a race or other fitness activity to fundraise for girls' scholarships.