The Nepalese Society for Children’s Literature this month named “Search for a New Clean Home” by Jackie Powell ‘09 and Sneha Shrestha ‘10 its 2011 Best Book for children under eight. [break]
‘Search for a New Clean Home’ is “about environmental issues and solutions,” said Powell. “It’s a book about the state of your personal environment and your responsibility to take care of it.” Kathalaya Publication in Kathmandu is the publisher.
In the summer of 2009, Powell and Shrestha came to Nepal on a Davis Project for Peace grant. Gettysburg College students Shrestha and Powell had received $10,000 Davis Projects of Peace grant to establish a library at the Pancha Kanya School in Chauni, Kathmandu, Nepal. Their goals were to develop a library for a school and work on literacy projects for children.
“The children are currently in the middle of chaos and confusion after 10 years of civil war in the country,” wrote Powell and Shrestha in their proposal. “Numerous schools have been shutdown and many students are forced to work to support their family financially. In a country where more than 45 percent of the population is illiterate, Nepal cannot afford to lose its educated youth,” the duo had stated in their proposal.
The “Reading and Reflection Project” was based in Kathmandu in conjunction with a Nepal-based non-governmental organization, Socio-Perspective Alliance.
The goal was to create a sustainable library, facilitate a six-week book workshop, and publish two culturally relevant bilingual children’s books.
As per the plan, the two established a sustainable library for Pancha Kanya Secondary School in Kathmandu and facilitated a children’s book writing workshop.
“Davis Projects for Peace” was an invitation to all undergraduates enrolled at any of the American colleges and universities in the Davis United World College Scholars Program to design grassroots projects aimed at building peace in the 21st century.
The grant money was made possible by Kathryn Wasserman Davis, an internationalist and philanthropist.
For Sneha Shrestha,10, her passion for public service and the arts have been a key component to her liberal arts experience.
But it has been her experiences inside and outside of the classroom that have had a big impact on her.
“Gettysburg has given me the chance to explore my diverse interests,” said Shrestha.
Authors from 27 countries sent entries to the competition Invenciones 2010, an award devoted to literature for children and young adults.
More than 600 books competed for the two categories of the award: illustrated book and narrative.
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