New year new project

Usthi Foundation is launching a new educational project in Nepal.

Last December, Executive Director, Tanja Lirgg, travelled to Nepal to finalise the planning for the project with the local team and to start the project in 2020. Usthi is now supporting a school in the Dhading district in order to provide education for children who are socially or economically marginalised.

In a first step, the completion of the infrastructure will be realized, which has not yet been rebuilt due to lack of financing after devastating earthquakes in 2015. With the reconstruction of the laboratory in the next two months, the infrastructure will be back to its original state.

Children from the nearby informal settlements of the quarry day labourers and children from Chepang, one of the most marginalised ethnic groups in Nepal, are supported. For 150 children per year, school sponsorships will provide access to education and a safe environment for learning, playing and growing up for three years. The parents and the entire community also receive assistance in generating income with the goal of being able to finance school education by themselves in the future. In addition, the school organizes medical check-ups and regular deworming to keep the school children healthy and to promote learning success.

With this new project, Usthi gives more young people the chance of a dignified and self-determined life.

Besuch der Botschaftsdelegation in der Penthakata-Schule

Swiss Ambassador Tissafi Visits Usthi

Three and a half days full of encounters, impressions and truly heartfelt moments in the Indian state of Odisha are now behind us. We are honoured and grateful for the visit of Maya Tissafi, Ambassador of Switzerland to India and Bhutan, and Simon Schäfer, First Secretary of the Swiss Embassy in New Delhi. Together with […]

Project Handover: Thaddeus School in Bhastara, India

The Thaddeus School began operating in 2006 with 45 small children. Since then, the school has grown significantly, received its own school building, and now teaches around 200 children from kindergarten to 10th grade. At the end of 2025, Usthi will hand over the project entirely to the Indian partner organization. A meaningful moment and […]

“I now feel I can dream again”

Despite economic growth, securing a livelihood remains a major challenge for many families in India. The majority of Indians work in the informal labor market, usually without social security or employment contracts and often under precarious working conditions. Access to the labor market and to fairly paid jobs is marked by glaring inequalities: women in […]