LAST CHANCE!

VISIT NEPAL WITH ANSWER 2013, May 1-15

Earle Canfield, ANSWER Volunteer Executive Director

I am now in Nepal and can clearly see that the political machinations are beginning to gel in Nepal so that elections won't happen before the fall. Our visit to Nepal is now firmly set....3 people are signed up and one couple is already here. So, there is room in the inn and the minivan for more.

Everything You Wanted to Know about College,  

but Were Afraid to Ask

1.  Although college is more expensive for ANSWER student's, the cost for a full year of tuition is less than what most American students pay just for books in a year.  And, it is critical. With a college education our students can land a permanent, secure career position rather than working temp jobs. It is The Final Step that puts our kids into positions of power. (See article What "College" Means for Students and Sponsors from our last newsletter.)

2.  As of this coming fall, approximately 100 ANSWER students will be entering college each year!!!  This is up from 13 just 5 years ago!  From here on out we will be graduating 100 students from college every year and building the core of our future organization (The subject of a future article)-you won't believe where we are heading!

3. Once students enter college we set them up with gmail accounts so they can begin communicating by email as well as by snail mail with their sponsors. Thanks to sponsor Jim Reay of Phoenix our Nepal office has 8 netbooks for the college students to use. We caution them to keep sponsor e-mail addresses private and not to approach sponsors for additional financial support for themselves or their family. If you sponsor a college student and don't want us to release your email address or suspect foul play, please let us know.

4.  ANSWER is the only organization in Nepal to provide objective career counseling for young people.  We have a full-time counselor who talks with each of the students and their families, records their academic scores, listens to their vocational goals, asks about their ability to contribute financially for college expenses, and advises students on college and programs that can best meet their needs. 

5.  Sanoj, who has worked for ANSWER for 5 years, is transitioning from accountant to our college counselor position.  He is a natural to assume the all consuming task of following 200 college students, 100 tenth graders preparing to enter college each year, and the hundreds who will graduate and need to pay back their loans. He knows the students, their families, the schools, the financial backgrounds and all educational costs from uniforms to tuitions. 

6.  Changes ahead! Up to now we have had each sponsor cover the cost of their college student directly.  Although the College Fund is a great equalizer, students going into nursing and other medical fields cost considerably more. The ANSWER board decided in order to make college support fair for all sponsors and all students, as well as standardize the accounting and simplify explanations about individual costs, that an average cost will be calculated each year for incoming college students, just as we do for the younger students.   When a sponsor asks, "What does college cost?" we will be able to give a precise figure without ranges, footnotes, or qualifiers!  Look for this to happen for students entering college in the fall of 2013.

The Yeti or Abominable Snowman is said to be an ape-like cryptid taller than an average human, similar to Bigfoot, that inhabits the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet.[2][3] The names Yetiand Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region,[4] and are part of their history and mythology. Stories of the Yeti first emerged as a facet of Western popular culture in the 19th century.

The scientific community generally regards the Yeti as a legend, given the lack of conclusive evidence,[5] but it remains one of the most famous creatures of cryptozoology. The Yeti may be considered a sort of parallel myth to the Bigfoot of North America.