ABOUT DIGITAL BRIDGES 4 NEPAL
Digital Bridges 4 Nepal is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in the United States. It was founded by Edmond Antoine, an entrepreneur, executive team coach with more than thirty years of experience with multiple corporations and associations, and a successful creator of his own companies Team Global Network and Creative Collaborative Coaching. Since its founding, Ed guided DB4N as its president until the end of 2023 when he transferred the role of president to Craig Frischling, an angel investor and member of the New York Angels and former treasurer of DB4N. The other board members include Claude Roussel (Treasurer), Jeevan Gurung (Interim Secretary), Prava Adhikari, and Somnath Ghimire. Ed continues to serve as an advisor to the board.
Digital Bridges 4 Nepal has a Memorandum of Understanding with our local organization, incorporated as a local NGO in Nepal. We work with them and our dedicated Nepal Team that manages our liaison office in Nepal. They help us choose and carry out all our projects, ensuring that the projects are both sustainable and scalable. The Nepal team provides local knowledge, relationships, and expertise, and is vital for projects to be completed both on time and within our budget.
HISTORY
Digital Bridges 4 Nepal (DB4N) began its journey as Altruistic Odyssey (AO), a 501(c)3 organization created in the United States, right after a devastating earthquake struck Nepal in April 2015. Initially, AO focused on assisting with relief efforts. In 2017, we created a library room for a school where we provided computers to the students there. Based on feedback from community leaders about what they needed most to survive and thrive, we began to focus on digital literacy. However, realizing that students needed more than just digital literacy to excel, we innovated the Collaborative Learning Environment Center (CLEC) where we combine internet-based computer learning with peer-to-peer and group collaborative learning. This is our total focus now. In 2022, we changed our name to Digital Bridges 4 Nepal.
THE PROBLEM
In Nepal, rural areas lack the technological and educational resources found in urban areas like Kathmandu or nearby countries such as the UAE. This limits children and young adults access to modern education and technology needed for success in a competitive market, prompting many to leave their communities for better opportunities. Our projects offer these students the option to stay in their communities while accessing the modern education they desire.
OUR VISION
DB4N’s mission is to close the technological and educational gap that exists in rural and underserved areas of Nepal. We do this by providing specially designed furniture, IT equipment, and pedagogical coaching that is based on student-centered approaches and integration of technology into the learning process to create opportunities for underserved Nepali students so that they remain in their communities and not leave their homes to seek education in urban regions or other countries. Our vision is to expand into every remote and underserved community of Nepal, providing this support on a national level.
OUR CONCEPT: THE CLEC
We accomplish our mission through the creation of an innovative classroom to address this growing issue. The Collaborative Learning Environment Center, or CLEC, is a classroom concept that combines technology with a reimagined classroom setting. The layout of this classroom is built on the foundation of collaboration and student participation. The CLEC approach to learning can be applied to many different subjects and grades but is specifically created for students in Grade 11 and above.
OUR FIRST AND PILOT PROJECT: SOTANG PUBLIC CAMPUS, SOLUKHUMBU
We installed our pilot CLEC project at Sotang College Campus in 2019. To earn a Bachelor of Education degree, some students needed to take Information and Communication Technology (ICT) electives. To support this, DB4N partnered with the college to install a CLEC, enabling students to complete their degrees. We successfully tailored the classroom to meet students' needs and helped hire two teachers, including an English teacher funded by DB4N to facilitate classes in Nepali and English. Data and testimonials confirmed that this format effectively provided access to technology in remote areas.
CURRENT AND FORMER PROJECTS
Based on feedback from community members, DB4N has since then innovated to broaden CLEC’s focus from digital literacy to include peer-to-peer and collaborative pedagogy. To date, we have installed seven CLECs in :
In the coming days, we have plans to install CLECs in the following places:
OUR GOAL
Our goal is to install 100 CLECs throughout rural regions of Nepal by the year 2030. With this, we will have the ability to impact 100 communities, reaching 100,000 students and providing 3,000 teachers with this powerful new pedagogy and technology.
CLEC INSTALLATION PROCESS
CLECs are installed in government-run schools mostly in rural and remote areas at the invitation of the community (mayor, school administrator, etc.). Our local team conducts need assessments through scouting trips. Once the assessment concludes satisfactorily, we sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the various stakeholders (see “Community Endeavor”).
WHAT DO WE PROVIDE?
To create a CLEC, we provide the school with IT equipment (a mesh router, a remotely controlled camera, a Smart Board, and sixteen All-in-One PCs), specially designed furniture that encourages collaborative work, and coaching for teachers and administrators on collaborative pedagogy and ways to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) education into their curriculum. The tables are constructed by a local contracted carpenter who is a partner with the DB4N team. All of the equipment and other furniture are sourced and bought locally to support vendors in the communities. After the installation of the CLEC, the Nepal team provides 3 to 4 days of training sessions according to the need. These sessions include pedagogical and technological sessions for both teachers and students.
CONNECTING COMMUNITIES
A crucial part of success is having the right support and involvement from the community where CLEC is installed. We, thus, make certain that each CLEC is co-created through the involvement of various stakeholders. We ensure that funding for each CLEC is equally shared by DB4N, the local municipality, and Nepali communities abroad. DB4N collects and manages these contributions.By connecting Nepali associations and communities that live abroad, we allow them to give back to their homeland in an innovative way. DB4N collects and manages the contributions.
We work with the rural municipalities, and we help coordinate with the school management committee as well as the school administration to engage the community to use the CLEC outside of the school’s needs. The CLEC is thus also built to be open for community access to provide resources for them.
SUSTAINABILITY AND SCALABILITY
One of our main priorities is ensuring that installed CLECs are functional on a long-term basis. This is done by keeping contact with the school administration post-installation, and providing ongoing pedagogical and technical support as needed. Furthermore, through our partnership programs with Kathmandu University School of Education (KUSOED), we offer additional coaching to teachers on CLEC approaches and to school principles on educational and community leadership. This is a scalable project, as teachers will be able to utilize skills learned and teach their students across the country. In the future, we plan for the CLEC training component to be a paid service so that the training service will pay for itself and allow exponentially more teachers to be trained in the CLEC approach to teaching.
Equally important, we have already discussed applying this concept to different sectors, such as the medical field, to bring about more collaboration. We also hope to scale the CLEC by branching out into other countries once we accomplish our goals in Nepal in the coming years.
BUDGET AND FINANCIALS
To achieve our goal of establishing 100 CLECs by 2030, we need $2.5 million USD for project funding. The financial breakdown for installing a CLEC is as follows: 60% for computer equipment and proprietary design, 10% for transportation, 10% for initial support, and 20% for organizational costs. The total cost per CLEC is $20,000 USD (2024 conversion rates). Our current income comes from individual donors and small grants, but we are expanding to larger donors.
CLEC IMPACT DATA
We have partnered with the Kathmandu University School of Education to assess the impact of CLECs. KUSOED conducted the first impact study using a survey and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with the teachers and students and Key Informants Interview (KII) with principals and CLEC teachers. The study's major findings revealed the following:
OUR COMMITMENT
We are committed to our belief that we can expand opportunities for rural and remote communities in Nepal through our innovative educational approach. The targeted project of installing CLEC allows us to closely track the funds ensuring all proceeds impact those in need. Our values backed by our track record make us UNIQUELY qualified to deliver projects on time and within budget.
Digital Bridges 4 Nepal has a Memorandum of Understanding with our local organization, incorporated as a local NGO in Nepal. We work with them and our dedicated Nepal Team that manages our liaison office in Nepal. They help us choose and carry out all our projects, ensuring that the projects are both sustainable and scalable. The Nepal team provides local knowledge, relationships, and expertise, and is vital for projects to be completed both on time and within our budget.
HISTORY
Digital Bridges 4 Nepal (DB4N) began its journey as Altruistic Odyssey (AO), a 501(c)3 organization created in the United States, right after a devastating earthquake struck Nepal in April 2015. Initially, AO focused on assisting with relief efforts. In 2017, we created a library room for a school where we provided computers to the students there. Based on feedback from community leaders about what they needed most to survive and thrive, we began to focus on digital literacy. However, realizing that students needed more than just digital literacy to excel, we innovated the Collaborative Learning Environment Center (CLEC) where we combine internet-based computer learning with peer-to-peer and group collaborative learning. This is our total focus now. In 2022, we changed our name to Digital Bridges 4 Nepal.
THE PROBLEM
In Nepal, rural areas lack the technological and educational resources found in urban areas like Kathmandu or nearby countries such as the UAE. This limits children and young adults access to modern education and technology needed for success in a competitive market, prompting many to leave their communities for better opportunities. Our projects offer these students the option to stay in their communities while accessing the modern education they desire.
OUR VISION
DB4N’s mission is to close the technological and educational gap that exists in rural and underserved areas of Nepal. We do this by providing specially designed furniture, IT equipment, and pedagogical coaching that is based on student-centered approaches and integration of technology into the learning process to create opportunities for underserved Nepali students so that they remain in their communities and not leave their homes to seek education in urban regions or other countries. Our vision is to expand into every remote and underserved community of Nepal, providing this support on a national level.
OUR CONCEPT: THE CLEC
We accomplish our mission through the creation of an innovative classroom to address this growing issue. The Collaborative Learning Environment Center, or CLEC, is a classroom concept that combines technology with a reimagined classroom setting. The layout of this classroom is built on the foundation of collaboration and student participation. The CLEC approach to learning can be applied to many different subjects and grades but is specifically created for students in Grade 11 and above.
OUR FIRST AND PILOT PROJECT: SOTANG PUBLIC CAMPUS, SOLUKHUMBU
We installed our pilot CLEC project at Sotang College Campus in 2019. To earn a Bachelor of Education degree, some students needed to take Information and Communication Technology (ICT) electives. To support this, DB4N partnered with the college to install a CLEC, enabling students to complete their degrees. We successfully tailored the classroom to meet students' needs and helped hire two teachers, including an English teacher funded by DB4N to facilitate classes in Nepali and English. Data and testimonials confirmed that this format effectively provided access to technology in remote areas.
CURRENT AND FORMER PROJECTS
Based on feedback from community members, DB4N has since then innovated to broaden CLEC’s focus from digital literacy to include peer-to-peer and collaborative pedagogy. To date, we have installed seven CLECs in :
- Sotang Public Campus, Sotang, Solukhumbu.
- Kathmandu University School of Education, Hattiban, Kathmandu.
- Shree Prakash Jyoti Secondary School, Nason, Manang.
- Shree Janahit High School, Jomsom, Mustang.
- Shree Siddhakali Secondary School, Tandrang, Gorkha.
- Shree Sarvajanik Secondary School, Bhaijanathpur, Biratnagar.
- Bhimsen Thapa Rural Municipality, Bhimsenthapa, Gorkha
In the coming days, we have plans to install CLECs in the following places:
- Shree Mahadev Secondary School, Tilagupha, Kalikot
- Shree Prithvi Secondary School, Kepilasgadhi, Khotang
- Shree Janata Secondary School, Banchauri, Mahottari
- Okhaldhunga Campus, Siddhicharan, Okhaldhunga
OUR GOAL
Our goal is to install 100 CLECs throughout rural regions of Nepal by the year 2030. With this, we will have the ability to impact 100 communities, reaching 100,000 students and providing 3,000 teachers with this powerful new pedagogy and technology.
CLEC INSTALLATION PROCESS
CLECs are installed in government-run schools mostly in rural and remote areas at the invitation of the community (mayor, school administrator, etc.). Our local team conducts need assessments through scouting trips. Once the assessment concludes satisfactorily, we sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the various stakeholders (see “Community Endeavor”).
WHAT DO WE PROVIDE?
To create a CLEC, we provide the school with IT equipment (a mesh router, a remotely controlled camera, a Smart Board, and sixteen All-in-One PCs), specially designed furniture that encourages collaborative work, and coaching for teachers and administrators on collaborative pedagogy and ways to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) education into their curriculum. The tables are constructed by a local contracted carpenter who is a partner with the DB4N team. All of the equipment and other furniture are sourced and bought locally to support vendors in the communities. After the installation of the CLEC, the Nepal team provides 3 to 4 days of training sessions according to the need. These sessions include pedagogical and technological sessions for both teachers and students.
CONNECTING COMMUNITIES
A crucial part of success is having the right support and involvement from the community where CLEC is installed. We, thus, make certain that each CLEC is co-created through the involvement of various stakeholders. We ensure that funding for each CLEC is equally shared by DB4N, the local municipality, and Nepali communities abroad. DB4N collects and manages these contributions.By connecting Nepali associations and communities that live abroad, we allow them to give back to their homeland in an innovative way. DB4N collects and manages the contributions.
We work with the rural municipalities, and we help coordinate with the school management committee as well as the school administration to engage the community to use the CLEC outside of the school’s needs. The CLEC is thus also built to be open for community access to provide resources for them.
SUSTAINABILITY AND SCALABILITY
One of our main priorities is ensuring that installed CLECs are functional on a long-term basis. This is done by keeping contact with the school administration post-installation, and providing ongoing pedagogical and technical support as needed. Furthermore, through our partnership programs with Kathmandu University School of Education (KUSOED), we offer additional coaching to teachers on CLEC approaches and to school principles on educational and community leadership. This is a scalable project, as teachers will be able to utilize skills learned and teach their students across the country. In the future, we plan for the CLEC training component to be a paid service so that the training service will pay for itself and allow exponentially more teachers to be trained in the CLEC approach to teaching.
Equally important, we have already discussed applying this concept to different sectors, such as the medical field, to bring about more collaboration. We also hope to scale the CLEC by branching out into other countries once we accomplish our goals in Nepal in the coming years.
BUDGET AND FINANCIALS
To achieve our goal of establishing 100 CLECs by 2030, we need $2.5 million USD for project funding. The financial breakdown for installing a CLEC is as follows: 60% for computer equipment and proprietary design, 10% for transportation, 10% for initial support, and 20% for organizational costs. The total cost per CLEC is $20,000 USD (2024 conversion rates). Our current income comes from individual donors and small grants, but we are expanding to larger donors.
CLEC IMPACT DATA
We have partnered with the Kathmandu University School of Education to assess the impact of CLECs. KUSOED conducted the first impact study using a survey and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with the teachers and students and Key Informants Interview (KII) with principals and CLEC teachers. The study's major findings revealed the following:
- 84% of surveyed students agreed that CLEC is student-friendly.
- 93% of teachers affirmed it is teacher-friendly
- 92% of students reported improved learning performance with CLEC
- 97% of students agreed that CLEC enhances their understanding of the subject matter
- 78% found it easy to understand subject matters through CLEC
- 95% of students experienced increased interest in their studies due to CLEC
OUR COMMITMENT
We are committed to our belief that we can expand opportunities for rural and remote communities in Nepal through our innovative educational approach. The targeted project of installing CLEC allows us to closely track the funds ensuring all proceeds impact those in need. Our values backed by our track record make us UNIQUELY qualified to deliver projects on time and within budget.