The Concept
The concept is beautifully simple: Children attend the CLC before and after school each day where they receive the extra tuition they need. The tutor is a student (sixth form equivalent) who receives a small salary that covers their own education expenses.
Meet the inspirational Ambika
The tutors are both male and female and from the same caste groups. They therefore act also as role models, proof that there is a future in education. They receive bursaries from us, conditional upon their ’paying back’ by giving their time to CLC duties. We fundraise for bursaries through Big Give appeals in October and at Christmas.
Check out this video to find out how Ambika went from being a CLC student to becoming herself a CLC tutor!
How it all began
We built our first CLC in 2020 through funding support from The McGough Foundation in the UK. Such has been the demand that in 2025 we had to build a second one nearby!
A 21st century design
We are now building to a design appropriate to a rapidly changing environment:
- Raising land to mitigate against the risk of flooding – the CLC can double up as a flood relief centre
- A raised roof to allow circulation of air
- The use of eco-bricks for the building itself. These have a very low carbon footprint as they are cold compressed cement/sand
- A covered well area where classes can be held outdoors when it is too hot to teach inside
CLCs in Sarlahi District
In 2024, our Lily’s Leaves partner joined in the activity by complementing its training of young women in Sarlahi District with the building of a CLC. This was so well received that in 2025 we had to build a second CLC nearby!
This second building was supported primarily by grant funding from our German colleagues at the non-profit ‘Himalaya Friends’.
Future plans
These CLCs and the bursaries have been funded through public donations and grants, often made in combination through The Big Give. We hold a special summer Big Give for education, the one in August 2025 raising £50,238. This success has been rewarded with an additional £20,000 grant from the Allan and Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust and we can complete a final top-up in our Big Give Christmas Challenge 2025 campaign. These funds will allow us
to build three additional CLCs in Dhanusha District.
We need your help! Please let Philip know if you are able to make a pledge towards the Christmas appeal and we can send you a reminder when the campaign goes live. Your gift can automatically double in value.
