On October 19, 2015, a delegation of education-minded businessmen from Nepal met with Lee Havis, IMS executive director, in Silver Spring, Maryland. The purpose was to discuss the possibility of initiating the IMS “Character Teaching” (CT) project in Nepal. Uzzawal Baruwal, a leading member of the delegation, sought this meeting to learn more about the CT project which has been under consideration in Nepal for several years. He sees this project as a “New hope to do something for Montessori teaching in Nepal”.
The Nepal delegation included two associates with Uzzawal, who came to the United States for research and environmental study related to their business and educational interests in Nepal. The IMS meeting was to explore ways for Montessori teaching to improve education in this country. At the meeting, Lee explained how the CT project has been developing in Nepal up to that point. He pointed out the support and interest shown by the national government and a number NGO’s involved in the eradication of poverty through education. Lee said, “In the past, we were very close to scheduling several IMS training workshops as an initial step of project operation.”
After the meeting, Uzzawal and Lee co-signed a “Letter of Agreement”, designating Uzzawal as a member of the CT consultation board to provide local guidance and support for the project in Nepal. With this designation, Uzzawal aims to approach various government and private agencies, to build interest and support for an initial consultation visit.
The CT project will train and equip teachers to use the IMS technology with children to overcome multi-generational poverty which is deeply embedded into the culture of many countries. Lee said that Nepal is well-suited for success of this project in view of its government support and their educational system which is self-managed by each local community