Sunsar Maya

Established in 2011, Sunsar Maya is a small, non-profit organization based in San Francisco, California and Kathmandu, Nepal.  Its mission is to build pathways out of poverty by improving the livelihoods of disadvantaged children and women through holistic, community-based services.  The services they provide are centered on after-school education, teacher training, and physical and mental health care.  They directly serve 185 children and women in Mahalaxmi (Lalitpur) and Jorpati (Kathmandu).  Two AllPeopleBeHappy Project Grants of $8,766 and $9,617 were awarded to Sunsar Maya in 2018 and 2019 for its SuMa Women’s Literacy Program.  This program teaches 90+ women in conversation and written English, Nepali, and mathematics.  The English skills enable students to use communication devices, i.e., cell phones and computers which use English characters.  By building the women’s literacy and numeracy skills in their native language, they are able to more easily manage daily tasks, such as shopping and paying bills, and perform life skills such as navigating government offices, using a bank account, and participating more fully in their communities.  (www.sunsarmaya.org)