Meet The Team
EYE NEPAL TRUSTEES
All the trustees associated with EYE Nepal work on an entirely voluntary basis in the UK and concentrate all the funds raised to directly supporting the various projects in Nepal. Over a number of years, the trustees have built a strong reputation in Nepal for their services to early years education and have established relationships with the municipalities in which EYE Nepal operates.
Mike Smith
CHAIRMAN
Mike has enjoyed a long successful career in the hospitality industry. Formerly Managing Director of BaxterStorey, the largest independent FoodService business in the UK, more recently Mike was Chairman of Oakman Inns & Restaurants from 2009 until 2020. Oakman Inns is an independent hotel, pub and restaurant business with 30 plus locations mainly across the South of England and enjoys huge critical and financial success. Mike first became involved with early years education in Nepal in 2014 following a charity trek he undertook with a number of other hospitality executives. He has since returned to Nepal every year and takes a keen operational interest in all the schools supported by EYE Nepal. As well as his strategic, commercial and entrepreneurial knowledge, Mike brings an infectious enthusiasm and passion to the organisation.
Debra Adams
TREASURER
Debra Adams is based in the South of England and qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA) in the 1990’s. Her early career was spent training and working in finance roles with an international hotel group followed by 11 years working as an academic in higher education. She now runs her own consultancy focusing on education and learning for middle to senior managers in the hospitality industry.
Debra first visited Nepal in 2014 when she took part in a charity trek and community project for the UK based charity Springboard. This was a life changing experience and ignited her love for the Nepalese culture and people. She has since made several further visits and is passionate about creating equal opportunity for young people to access education based on sustainable solutions.
Nick
Howe
FUNDRAISING
Nick co-founded the contract catering business Holroyd Howe Ltd in 1997. Holroyd Howe now has a turnover of £100m with 2,800 employees. Nick’s accolades include; Contract Caterer of the Year, Catey Award Winner & Sunday Times Top 100 Business to Work For two years running. Nick has dedicated his entire career to the sector helping to make Holroyd Howe the leading organisation in the independent schools market. Nick’s life and business principles focus on fairness, opportunity and a desire to create the best. His fierce determination and commitment have helped Holroyd Howe achieve an unrivalled reputation as an employer with style, one that leads with initiatives and that has a strong internal culture of inclusiveness and integrity. Nick has previously been a Board member and Trustee of People 1st and is now a Trustee of EYE Nepal. Travelling the world has always been a life ambition for Nick and his sponsored participation of a group trip to Nepal in October 2018 has encouraged Nick to committing himself to work further for this wonderful and hugely valuable cause.
Kaye Mathew
MARKETING
Based in the North-West of England, Kaye Mathew has been the Marketing Director of the renown Northcote Hotel & Restaurant for many years. In 2018 Kaye helped to raise over £50k for early years school projects with a group of hospitality colleagues on a trekking and volunteering trip in Nepal. She brings her vast experience of event management and marketing to the EYE Nepal team and is vital to our fund raising and promotional activities.
Raju Bishowkarma
COUNTRY DIRECTOR
Raju initially worked with World Education on the Bandipur Project teaching at public school Bhanu Secondary School. He developed approaches to ensure greater learning outcomes for disadvantaged Dalit students. He helped design the program and setup Learning Centres in the community using peer educators to help students do homework and extra-curricular activities to enrich their reading skill and learning outcomes. He started his teaching career from the missionary school Notre Dame in his hometown Bandipur from where he was graduated. During his eight years of teaching tenure, Raju witnessed many gaps in public schools which motivated him to continue his services to promote quality education in public schools gaining experiences of one and half decade.
Shiva Kumar Acharya
PART TIME LIAISON OFFICER
Shiva lives and works in Sankhu town. He is a full-time government teacher having recently completed his Masters in English studies. The UK EYE Nepal Trustees first met Shiva in 2014 at Shree Mahendra Primary School in Sankhu whilst they were engaged in some community projects. Since that first meeting, Shiva has remained in contact with the EYE Nepal Trustees and assists with various projects liaising with the municipality, school and the community team.
Dipak Bishowkarma
LEARNING MOTIVATOR IN BANDIPUR
Dipak is a resident of Bandipur-2, Tanahun. He is our new team member joining us to supervise and assist our supported schools in the Bandipur Rural Municipality. He works with teachers and students to ensure the children's learning is progressing. Dipak is keen to ensure that every child reaches their full potential through learning activities. His two-year teaching experience in a private school has been an asset to achieve his dream of working with EYE Nepal.
Srijana Tamang
LEARNING MOTIVATOR/FACILITATOR
KHAHARE LEARNING CENTER, BANDIPUR
​Srijana is a newly hired Learning Motivator for the Khahare Learning Center in Bandipur. Having completed her 10+2 level studies, she wished to contribute to the community by helping children at the learning center, which is located directly in front of her home.
She is very grateful to EYE Nepal for this employment opportunity, which allows her to dedicate her time to supporting children with their studies. She is already managing the center well and taking excellent care of the facility. Looking ahead, Srijana plans to pursue her bachelor's degree in Bandipur to become a teacher in the future.
Bishal K.C.
LEARNING MOTIVATOR/FACILITATOR
SANKHU REGION, KATHMANDU
Bishal, who was recently hired to support schools in the Sankhu region is a local resident. He visits schools daily to support teachers in the classroom and engage with children in their learning activities. He ensures that each child has the reading and writing materials provided by EYE Nepal and checks their work during his visits.
Bishal is currently pursuing his bachelor's degree in management. In addition to his studies, he supports his family's poultry farming business during his spare time. As a local resident, he has established strong connections, coordination, and cooperation with local schools and teachers.
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Kalpana Bishowkarma
Kalpana is our newest team member in Nepal. Based in Kathmandu, she visits schools to motivate and encourage the primary children with their reading and writing skills. During her visits to the schools in the Sankhu district, Kalpana focuses on the continued progress of each child by monitoring their completion of the EYE Nepal handwriting programme.
Rajiv Lal Shrestha
Rajiv is a local resident of Vyas Municipality, Damauli Bazaar in the Tanahun district. He is our newly recruited Liaison Officer and Motivator. He supervises, motivates, and monitors the activities in the learning centres and schools supported by EYE Nepal. He also liaises with the local municipality office to ensure that each school is fully supported. He has a keen interest in community development through educational activities.