Last month, I had the pleasure of meeting 16-year-old Jyoti in her village in south Nepal. She is one of 14 bright young women from the ‘untouchable’ community who have been awarded two-year bursaries from Pipal Tree.

Each of these girls has successfully passed the Secondary Education Examination (SEE – the UK equivalent of GCSEs), a demanding test under any circumstances, but especially so when faced with the hardships of extreme poverty at home.

Thanks to these bursaries, the girls can now continue their studies at college, opening the door to further education or secure employment. Without our support, the alternative would have been child marriage and, through that, remaining in the cycle of poverty. Jyoti herself hopes to build a career in banking.

You can support Jyoti and a total of 38 girls and women through our ‘Colleges and courses for vulnerable girls in Nepal‘ appeal that launched at noon today. You can read all about it – and see some fabulous pictures – by clicking on the image below:

Our campaign is part of The Big Give’s Women and Girls Match Fund, where we’ll be joining 207 other charities in this excellent opportunity. The wonderful news is that every donation made online right now will be automatically doubled, thanks to the matching pledges we’ve been collecting over recent months.

Out of all 208 charities taking part, Pipal Tree has raised the largest pledge pot – an incredible £25,000. This means your gift can be matched pound for pound, potentially unlocking a total of £50,000 to transform girls’ lives in Nepal.

Please use the secure donate button below to take part. But you will need to act quickly as your gift can only double in value while matching funds remain available.

Thanks, as ever, for your support. Let’s see how quickly we can reach that target!