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Long-Term Child Sponsorship • Education as a Gift for Life

Family by Heart is the core child sponsorship program of Karunika Foundation.
It connects guardian-donors from abroad with children from the most underprivileged families in Nepal, providing long-term support that transforms not only one child’s life, but the future of an entire family.

This is not short-term aid.
It is commitment, relationship, and responsibility — from the heart.

Why Family by Heart Exists

In many remote regions of Nepal:

  • families have little or no formal education

  • poverty passes from generation to generation

  • children are expected to work from an early age

  • girls are still the first to drop out of school

For these families, education is not taken for granted — it is often out of reach.

Family by Heart was created to break this cycle by ensuring that a child can:

  • stay in school

  • eat regularly

  • grow up safe and supported

  • dream beyond survival

Education is the most powerful gift we can offer — a gift of a better life.

What Guardian Support Means

By becoming a Family by Heart Guardian, you directly support a child through:

  • 📚 Education (school fees, tuition support, learning materials)

  • 🍲 Nutrition (school meals and basic food security)

  • 👕 Essential needs (school uniform, seasonal clothing, stationery)

  • 🤝 Care & follow-up through Karunika’s local team

Guardians are not anonymous donors — they are part of the child’s journey.

Girls’ Education: A Key Priority

While boys traditionally had greater access to schooling, girls in rural Nepal still face major barriers:

  • household labor expectations

  • early responsibilities

  • limited resources within families

Supporting a girl’s education means:

  • delaying early marriage

  • improving family health and income in the future

  • educating the next generation

When you educate a girl, you change generations.

Family by Heart actively prioritizes girls from highly vulnerable backgrounds.

Where We Work (2025–2026)

Family by Heart currently supports children across five districts of Nepal:

  • Kathmandu Valley (including Dakshinkali & Pharping)

  • Lama Gaun (hill villages)

  • Kulekhani (multiple school locations)

  • Gorkha

  • Shaktikhor, Chitwan

📊 Current reach (2025):

  • 200+ children supported through Family by Heart across 5 districts

  • 20+ children receiving closer, daily care in stationary facilities

  • 100+ children on the waiting list due to extreme poverty

Several additional locations — including remote government schools in Kulekhani — are ready to join the program as soon as new guardians come forward.

Inspired by What Is Possible

Organizations such as Maitri – Association for Helping People Experiencing Poverty from Third World Countries have shown that long-term guardian sponsorship can reach tens of thousands of children globally.

Karunika Foundation is following the same proven path —
with deep local presence, direct relationships, and transparent care.

Our vision is clear:

to grow Family by Heart into a large-scale, internationally trusted sponsorship program — without losing the human connection.

Ways to Support Beyond One Child

Guardians, families, companies, and CSR partners may also choose to:

  • support a class or group of children together

  • sponsor girls’ education programs

  • take responsibility for children from one entire school

  • link Family by Heart with corporate CSR or foundation support

Every new guardian allows us to open the door for another child.

Join Family by Heart

By becoming a guardian, you are not just helping a child survive —
you are helping them learn, grow, and choose a different future.

You become Family by Heart.

📩 Contact us to sponsor a child or group: office@karunika.org

Together, we can turn education into the bridge out of poverty — one child, one family, one future at a time.