First Steps Himalaya was founded in 2008 by Durga Aran & Fionna Heiton to give Himalayan children access to quality early years education.

Why we founded First Steps Himalaya

Durga grew up in a small village north east of Kathmandu, the youngest of eight children. He dreamt of going to school but his parents didn't understand the value of education.  Instead, Durga was sent to look after his sister's child when he was just six years old.  When he finally attended school, there were no resources and the teachers were frequently absent. At age 15, his father arranged his marriage, and he then spent years working in restaurants in Kathmandu. He met his future partner Fionna there in 1998.

In 2001, when expecting their twin babies, Fionna and Durga decided to start an organisation to give Nepali children access to better educational opportunities. Inspired by Durga’s childhood, and now their own children’s future, they became passionate advocates for improving education in rural communities and helping others see the immense difference it can make.

They founded First Steps Himalaya, which works in partnership with disadvantaged communities in rural Nepal to promote early childhood development and quality education in schools. 

Fionna and Durga have a strong vision to take their methods to communities across Nepal. They want as many Himalayan children as possible receive a quality education, ultimately empowering rural communities to create a better quality of life for themselves. 

First Steps Himalaya so far..

After starting with just three children in one early childhood class in Sindhupalchok, First Steps Himalaya has expanded into more districts across Nepal. It’s simple method of refurbishing classrooms, training teachers and providing ongoing support has becomes so successful that schools throughout Nepal request the help of First Steps Himalaya.

First Steps Himalaya has impacted the lives of thousands of children and given them the first steps to a better quality of life. As these children grow and develop, we continue to train teachers, provide resources and closely monitor and support schools.

In 2015, we constructed a purpose-built training centre to provide space for training more teachers. This building was built using an inexpensive, eco-friendly and earthquake resilient building method. The training centre was just nearing completion, when the 2015 Nepal earthquake struck, devastating the entire area. The earthbag training centre was one of the few buildings left standing, and undamaged. We have since rebuilt 13 classrooms of different shapes and sizes, as well as an accommodation centre sleeping 24 trainee teachers.

First Steps Himalaya is now expanding its programme in the wake of COVID-19 to build resilience and support communities through awareness, improved hygiene and quality early years education.