Buddi Kumar Shrestha has been working at Planète Enfants & Développement in Nepal for 8 years. He tells you about his career, his daily life and his challenges.
Buddi, tell us a little about yourself:
I was born and raised in a small isolated village near Pokharaa beautiful city in the center of Nepal. But today I live with my wife and son in Kathmandu. I had moved closer to the capital to continue my studies: I obtained a master's degree in education.
I started my professional career as ateacher in a public school. Most of my students were from low-income families and lived in slums. Their parents were laborers or farmers. After 4 years of teaching, I became aware of the importance of working for these children in an even more comprehensive way. So I changed my job. I worked with some local and international NGOs in the education, human rights and women's empowerment for about 9 years before joining Planète Enfants & Développement in 2014 as a project manager then country representative.
What are your missions in the association?
Currently, I am the Director of Operations in Nepal. I co-define the action plan of the projects, their regular update, I ensure their monitoring and evaluation, but also the coordination with the concerned stakeholders and local authorities.
I am responsible and accountable for making sure projects run smoothly. I make regular visits to the field and provide coaching and mentoring to the teams on site.
What drives you on a daily basis?
I like go to the fieldI like meet the people and I am happy to share my knowledge and skills! In the context of field visits, I have the chance to to hear from children and parents that we support, to observe the changes they experience. It is a moment of pure satisfaction when I see a smile flicker on a child's lips. I have seen great changes in their lives.
Just observing the joy and gratitude, sometimes expressed in words, sometimes just a look on their face, gives meaning to my work. The supportive and caring team I work with adds fuel to this motivation and has become part of my life, it is like a family.
What are the biggest challenges?
Distance management to reach very isolated villages is not easy every day. The political instability of the country is also a situation that we are facing and that we have to work around.
But our biggest challenge is to bring about lasting change. Our work focuses on outreach, education, and empowerment of disadvantaged populations to build their power and capacity to find sustainable solutions to the problems they face.
> Read more more about the projects in Nepal
