Maya Universe Academy, Nepal
Virgin Unite Enterpreneurship | Student entrepreneurs run Nepal’s first free private schools
With huge school drop-out rates and half a million young workers leaving for low-skilled labour abroad, Nepal’s education system is in dire straits. Five youngsters who studied abroad came back to turn the tide.
You can be pretty sure you’re talking to a social entrepreneur when they start their story by saying:
“I used to be one of the kids that I was going to serve.” – Surya Karki
In Surya Karki’s case, that meant poor and without enough resources for a quality education.
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| Manjil and Surya |
Two years on, Karki, Rana and three friends have opened three private schools in rural Nepal, where 142 children aged 4 to 14 receive quality education. For free. Parents are required to contribute – not by paying fees but by giving knowledge and time instead, explains Karki. “Parents give us two days per month of voluntary work. As we operate in rural areas largely relying on agriculture, we run a school farm alongside each of our schools. “Most of our parents are farmers who have a wealth of knowledge about agriculture and nature. They work on the school farm and we sell the produce to generate an income.”
In addition, the farm offers both students and parents and opportunity to learn. “We use the farm as a classroom”, says Karki. The children learn valuable agricultural skills and when the farm work is done, parents are invited to sit at the back of the classroom to listen in. There are sessions on diversifying crops, microfinance and sustainability.
We don’t believe money is power, but we are convinced that knowledge is power. This way, we empower the whole community.
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| Surya (Agricultural Director) |
Karki is just 22 but speaks with the confidence of a seasoned social entrepreneur. He says the statistics were simply too important to ignore. A recent UNESCO report showed that only seven out of ten children enrolled in grade 1 in Nepal’s schools reach grade 5, and more than half of them quit school before reaching the lower secondary level. The issue is largely one of quality, says Karki. “There are government schools in rural areas, but teachers are often not qualified and only come in to get paid. They have no interest in really educating children and helping them develop. All we ever did when I was in primary school was fight and play around. There was very little teaching going on.” As the first completely free private education institution in Nepal, Maya Universe Academy is “challenging the government by showing that the quality of education provided to rural children is abysmal and that we can do better with little or no resources.” The school’s educational philosophy is based around ‘holistic learning’ and places an emphasis on increasing students’ imagination, social responsibility and creative passion. A youth-led movement for change, the ‘Mayans’ (as they call themselves) resort to using their own local and global networks for support. They invite volunteers from around the world to come and give guest lectures and run social enterprises which make bracelets and sell them overseas via the internet to generate additional income.
Karki is currently in the US to complete his college degree and drum up support for Maya. He is determined to return as soon as possible, to complete his vision to have one school and one Maya farm in each of the 75 districts in Nepal by 2020. Oh, and he would like to one day become Nepal’s Prime Minister, too. Surya Karki is one of seven finalists in the Unilever Sustainable Living Young Entrepreneurs Awards, who will be featured on Virgin.com in the coming weeks. Learn about the other finalists atchangemakers.com/sustliving, where you can also share your own project.
*Read more here about the author
Virgin Unite Entrepreneurship Grants Award to Maya
Virgin Unite Enterpreneurship | Student entrepreneurs run Nepal’s first free private schools
With huge school drop-out rates and half a million young workers leaving for low-skilled labour abroad, Nepal’s education system is in dire straits. Five youngsters who studied abroad came back to turn the tide.
You can be pretty sure you’re talking to a social entrepreneur when they start their story by saying:
“I used to be one of the kids that I was going to serve.” – Surya Karki
In Surya Karki’s case, that meant poor and without enough resources for a quality education.
|
| Manjil and Surya |
Two years on, Karki, Rana and three friends have opened three private schools in rural Nepal, where 142 children aged 4 to 14 receive quality education. For free. Parents are required to contribute – not by paying fees but by giving knowledge and time instead, explains Karki. “Parents give us two days per month of voluntary work. As we operate in rural areas largely relying on agriculture, we run a school farm alongside each of our schools. “Most of our parents are farmers who have a wealth of knowledge about agriculture and nature. They work on the school farm and we sell the produce to generate an income.”
In addition, the farm offers both students and parents and opportunity to learn. “We use the farm as a classroom”, says Karki. The children learn valuable agricultural skills and when the farm work is done, parents are invited to sit at the back of the classroom to listen in. There are sessions on diversifying crops, microfinance and sustainability.
We don’t believe money is power, but we are convinced that knowledge is power. This way, we empower the whole community.
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| Surya (Agricultural Director) |
Karki is just 22 but speaks with the confidence of a seasoned social entrepreneur. He says the statistics were simply too important to ignore. A recent UNESCO report showed that only seven out of ten children enrolled in grade 1 in Nepal’s schools reach grade 5, and more than half of them quit school before reaching the lower secondary level. The issue is largely one of quality, says Karki. “There are government schools in rural areas, but teachers are often not qualified and only come in to get paid. They have no interest in really educating children and helping them develop. All we ever did when I was in primary school was fight and play around. There was very little teaching going on.” As the first completely free private education institution in Nepal, Maya Universe Academy is “challenging the government by showing that the quality of education provided to rural children is abysmal and that we can do better with little or no resources.” The school’s educational philosophy is based around ‘holistic learning’ and places an emphasis on increasing students’ imagination, social responsibility and creative passion. A youth-led movement for change, the ‘Mayans’ (as they call themselves) resort to using their own local and global networks for support. They invite volunteers from around the world to come and give guest lectures and run social enterprises which make bracelets and sell them overseas via the internet to generate additional income.
Karki is currently in the US to complete his college degree and drum up support for Maya. He is determined to return as soon as possible, to complete his vision to have one school and one Maya farm in each of the 75 districts in Nepal by 2020. Oh, and he would like to one day become Nepal’s Prime Minister, too. Surya Karki is one of seven finalists in the Unilever Sustainable Living Young Entrepreneurs Awards, who will be featured on Virgin.com in the coming weeks. Learn about the other finalists atchangemakers.com/sustliving, where you can also share your own project.
*Read more here about the author
Virgin Unite Entrepreneurship Grants Award to Maya
Signing the ABCs
Susmita and Korina sign the ABCs at Maya Universe Academy, Nepal (Tanahu). We taught it to them in one day, and by the third day they were able to understand sentences--these kids are brilliant and will be cheating their way through the rest of their school days with this skill!
Signing the ABCs
Susmita and Korina sign the ABCs at Maya Universe Academy, Nepal (Tanahu). We taught it to them in one day, and by the third day they were able to understand sentences--these kids are brilliant and will be cheating their way through the rest of their school days with this skill!
Mayan Recognized as 1st Changemaker of the Week by AshokaU!
Changemaker of the Week: Surya Karki
Surya Karki, a student at College of the Atlantic, describes his work founding Maya Universe Academy, the first completely free private education institution in Nepal.Surya Karki is being featured as part of Ashoka U’s new series, “Changemaker of the Week” which highlights extraordinary student changemakers in college and graduate programs around the country. Check the Ashoka U blog each week for a story of a new Changemaker of the Week!
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| Manjil, Surya, Subash, and local teachers, volunteers, and students gather after school. |
Interview with MUA's Agricultural Director Surya Nepali Karki:
What is Maya Universe Academy?
Maya Universe Academy (MUA) is the first completely free private education institution in Nepal. It’s currently operating in three districts of Nepal: Syangja District to the west, Tanahun in the center and Udaypur District in the east. We provide completely free quality education to the rural poor of Nepal in return for two days of volunteering at the school in operations or in the school farm.
How did you decide to start Maya Universe Academy?
I used to be one of the kids that I was going to serve, (poor, without enough resources for a quality education without placing burden). The desire to help children living my childhood motivated me in the founding of Maya Universe Academy. After completing my agriculture studies in Venezuela in 2011, I returned home to Nepal and teamed committed students and visionaries; Manjil Rana, Shil Chu Yoon, Ian Blanchard, Asish Adhikary, Urs Riggenbach, Joseph Layden, and Subhash Rana, to start Maya Universe Academy.
How has being a student changed the way you act as a changemaker?
College has provided me with the freedom and support to be a changemaker with a holistic view. My first step to changemaking started at Budhanilkantha School where in 1998 my mom, who has never received any formal education, said “You are the only person that can be the change you wish to be.” After establishing Maya Universe Academy, and keeping in mind what my mom had once said, I reached College of the Atlantic (COA) where the freedom to act has given me greater horizon to act as a changemaker in education, policy making at the United Nations, sustainable business planning in Germany and even committing to economic change in Nepal through coffee and fruit farming.
What’s the best part of working on your venture?
The best part of working on my venture is waking up and seeing the kids coming to school, playing, talking and screaming. The appreciation the kids show for what I do at MUA has kept my adrenaline and my motivation high, to continue to strive for a better future for the kids and for the country. Every day I am reminded that the investment that my team and I have made, and are making, on the future of these kids is worth more than the days that I have gone broke.
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| Surya feeding some chickens! |
What’s one piece of advice you’d give to any college student thinking of becoming a student changemaker?
One piece of advice, simple as it is: “Believe in yourself, believe that you can do it, and believe that the first step is what you need to take. The second step will follow upon the first one. If you are thinking you are going to be alone in your journey, then you may be wrong because the place you are intending to serve will support you throughout.”
Or, take it this way, “College is a place to learn – to learn to pursue your dreams, but the most important thing to remember is that college is a place to be free to seek your dream, to put your changemaker adrenaline into action. Your move will be one of the most important steps to becoming the kind of person you wish to be.” How has being at College of the Atlantic helped you as a changemaker? There are hundreds of opportunities around, but without the immense help of my school I would not have had the opportunity to adjust within my course work. The school and my teachers have so far supported me by giving me a go-ahead for anything that interests me. They have given me the opportunity to attend the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGIU) 2013 in St. Louis, Jacobus Business Challenge in Germany, 51st CSocD at the UN Headquarters in New York and a landscape economic study of Yucatan Peninsula. Trusting my abilities to act, the school also selected me as a grantee for one of the “100 Projects for Peace” to establish an organic coffee and fruit farm in Nepal to sustain my venture. This can only happen at College of the Atlantic.
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| Our newest location in Syngja District! |
For more about Surya’s work, check out MUA's website at http://www.mayauniverseacademy.org/. More information about Surya Karki will be featured on social media this week, so make sure to like Maya Universe Academy on Twitter and Facebook or Ashoka U on Twitter and Facebook! Check out Maya Universe Academy website and blog for updates and opportunities to get involved. Subsribe to Ashoka U’s blog for weekly updates about new stories of phenomenal student changemakers making a difference in the world.
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| Surya Nepali Karki |
Beeta is Ashoka U’s Exchange Director, the world’s largest global convening for social entrepreneurship education.
Maya Universe Academy Recognized by UNESCO Exchange for Peace
UNESCO Exchange for Peace Sponsors Maya Universe Academy
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| United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization |
Maya Universe Academy continues to grow, expanding our message of community engagement, education, and love. We now boast locations in 3 distinct, rural districts of Nepal (Tanahu, Sagarmatha, & Jaipate), and we ambitiously plan to continue to expand our operations to more communities in need.
Read more about the recent happenings at Maya Universe Academy and the dedicated folks sponsoring, teaching, and volunteering their time to emanate love and education in our continuing movement to spread "Maya."
Projects for Peace Grant
Organic Coffee and Fruit Production for Peace, Education and Economic Stability in Rural Nepal
Introduction
Prior to his work at the College of the Atlantic, Maya Universe Academy's (MUA) Agricultural Director and Co-Founder Surya Karki studied agriculture at the Simon Bolivar United World College in Venezuela. Upon his return to Nepal after graduating from UWC, Surya sought out ways to improve the lives of people in his native country. In rural areas of Nepal poverty, a lack of educational options, and illiteracy act in a self-perpetuating cycle. According to the World Bank, only seven out of ten Nepali children enrolled in first grade will reach the fifth grade, and more than half quit school before reaching the lower secondary level. Maya Universe Academy works to solve this issue through an active youth network that promulgates education and love, or "Maya" in Nepali. Communally, MUA brings a passion for solving the economic, social, and cultural problems facing the community with education and love. MUA is an elementary school that is changing the status quo and is proud to be the first community-run, private school in Nepal to provide free primary-school education.
MUA's model is unique amongst Nepali schools: parents volunteer two days per month on the school’s farm in exchange for their children’s education. The school is supported by local village communities, domestic and international donors, and volunteers. With growing support, MUA continues to expand, building more classrooms, tending more hectares of farmland, and, most importantly, teaching more children. The students engage and seize myriad educational opportunities, including field trips and practical classes, as well as experiential education in traditional classes such as mathematics, science, history, Nepali and English language, and farming - an integral part of the community and organization.
The success of the original MUA model has led to the construction of additional schools in communities of similar need. In 2012, Maya Universe Academy opened its third location in Jaipate village of Syangja district. The village has about 400 people, sixteen of whom attended MUA in its first year. The community has helped MUA find a school building, construct classrooms, and register children. Prior to MUA, there was only one other school an hour’s walk from the village and it did not operate on a regular basis. It is important for the Jaipate MUA to continue providing its services to the village, but this cannot be ensured without financial independence and stability. Most notably, unlike the original school that it is modeled after, the Jaipate MUA does not have access to a farm that it can use for educational and financial sustainability purposes.
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| Our Very First Sprout of Spring 2012! |
Maya Farm Jaipate – Project Overview
The Projects for Peace grant received by Maya Universe Academy will establish an educational farm at the Jaipate MUA and allow for the initial steps to develop this farm into a long term asset for both the school and the local community. The founding MUA school in Tanahun currently utilizes a community farm that is used for practical classes, food production, and income generation. Having had the experience of helping to establish this farm at Tanahun, and having seen its impacts on the school and the community, Surya is confident that a working educational farm will have an enormously positive impact on the day-to-day operations of the Jaipate school. MUA will begin with a small but self-sustaining pilot farm, which will produce coffee and fruit to sustain the school financially. With financial security, MUA Jaipate will continue to grow: more students will be able to attend Maya's school, better resources for education can be obtained, and it can facilitate the training of additional teachers. In addition, an educational farm will immediately add to the array of educational offerings that the school can provide to students. By training students in the advanced elements of agriculture, our hope is that the Jaipate farm will improve the long-term health, viability, and resiliency of the local community.
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| School Children Helping to Planting the Banana Plantation |
Project Logistics
Moti Prasad Ale, a villager in Jaipate, has agreed to sell 6400m2 (69000 ft2) of land to the school for $2400 to launch the MUA Jaipate farm. Coffee and fruits will be cultivated on this land as Syangja district has favorable climatic conditions for coffee cultivation because of the 9 months of rainfall the district receives. We will purchase the coffee plants from Lalitpur Organic Coffee Association, and the orange and avocado trees will be bought at the district headquarters of Syangja. MUA teachers and volunteers will start the production of tomato seedlings in May, which will be ready for transplant in mid-June when the grant commences. The production of tomatoes will help generate income for the school in the short-term while the coffee and fruit plantations mature.
The Jaipate community is elated about the nascent school farm, and has agreed to provide labor and assistance for the project. In addition, they will host Sushila KC, an aquaculturist and agriculture specialist; and Amar Thapa, a coffee specialist, both of whom will provide expertise and guidance. As Project Director, Surya will live nearby with in-laws of Mr. Goverdhan Rana, the head administrator of the Jaipate school. The community has also agreed to allow the school access to use the local irrigation canal during the night. The irrigation canal is at a walking distance of 600m (0.4 miles) from the land where the school farm will be established. To store water for irrigation purposes, we will purchase water tanks that can be used to provide gravitational pressure for sprinklers.
Many roads connect to Jaipate village, and an MUA vehicle will transport produce from the farm to market after harvest. In the initial phase of the grant, the fuel cost will be paid by the project fund, but in the future this cost will be covered with income from the farm. The fruits and tomatoes will be delivered to the nearest tourist town for sale, Pokhara, and the coffee will be transported to Coffee Cooperative Union Limited Nepal who offer premium-prices for organic produce.
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| Our Milk Lady and Her Hiefer |
The grant period will start in the third week of June and run for eight weeks. Prior to Surya's arrival, Mr. Goverdhan Rana will purchase the coffee and fruit plants as well as farming tools and water construction supplies. All of these items will be transported to the school. He will also explain the project details to the community and encourage optimum participation during the community meeting that MUA conducts every month. Locally produced organic manure will be arranged for use during the project.
Upon Surya's arrival, he will meet with Mrs. Sushila KC, Mr. Amar Thapa, and Mr. Goverdhan Rana in the capital, Kathmandu, to finalize the logistics and preparations for the project. In the second week, the project team will meet the Federation of Nepal Coffee Entrepreneurs (FNCE) based in the capital, to obtain organic certification of our coffee. After the finalization of the certification process, Mr. Rana and Surya will travel to Jaipate, where they will finalize the total number of student participants in the initial program. During the third and fourth weeks, they will complete the legal work for securing the land for the establishment of the farm site. In addition, MUA will also purchase teaching supplies, furniture for the classrooms, and provisions for meals from various local vendors. The training specialists for the project will arrive by the end of week four.
In weeks five and six, Mr. Amar and Mrs. Sushila will begin vocational training on the benefits and management of coffee cultivation and fruit farming. Mr. Goverdhan will also give classes on the importance of ecology and agriculture during these training sessions. At this time MUA will also begin preparing the farmland using two rented tractors.
In the seventh and eighth week of the project, the villagers and MUA students will be invited to help transplant the seedlings. 5000m2 (53000 ft2) of land will be used to produce tomatoes. As an incentive, the participants of the training will be given their own set of plants from the project, which they can later cultivate on their own land. A contingency fund will be created to address unexpected challenges that threaten the continuation of the farm until the tomatoes are harvested and the farm starts producing income. Goverdhan Rana will administer this fund. During this entire process, Surya will be in regular contact with president and founder Manjil Rana and Maya Universe Academy's board of directors in order to solicit their advice as well as to report back on any progress.
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| Our Pigs and Piglets are Well Fed from Compost and Grains! |
Expected Impacts and Results
Although not immediate, this project will have a significant impact on the school and community both educationally and economically. With the initial income generated from tomatoes, and eventually the proceeds from coffee, avocado and orange sales after three years, MUA Jaipate will be able to fund its annual budget, which is approximately $US4200. The farm will provide a platform for experiential learning for students, and create employment opportunities. Eventually, the agricultural production will create financial independence for MUA, and the school farm will generate a surplus of annual income to assist future developments at the school. Additionally, the success of this project will provide an example to the other MUA schools on how they too can achieve financial independence through similar endeavors.
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| MUA Founder and President gets his has dirty planting some banana root stock for the new Fruit Plantation! |
Surya Karki (Email Address: [email protected] / [email protected])
Manjil Rana (Email address: [email protected] / Phone number: 977-981848394)
Joseph Layden (Email address: [email protected])
Or visit us online at www.mayauniverseacademy.org
Christian Science Monitor recognizes Maya Universe Academy
Check out this article about Maya Universe Academy's Agricultural Director and Co-Founder Surya Karki. Surya will spend the next 6 months working to establish a Maya farm at our schools throughout Nepal. More to come on the success of Surya's agriculture project soon...
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2013/0628/US-college-student-Surya-Karki-builds-schools-back-home-in-Nepal
Today is the Last Day to Donate (4/16/2013): All Donations Matched $1 for $1 by DELL
Please donate to our cause. Every dollar counts, and every dollar gives a child a chance at a brighter future. To donate follow this link:
Initiating a sustainable model for rural Nepal with education at the core
PROBLEMS
In January 2011, Maya Universe Academy was formed to address the appalling education outcomes of students in rural Nepal. Our mission is to empower Nepalese children through social inclusion, while engaging all local members of the community. The current status of education in rural Nepal bellows for a new community-centered approach. Statistics from the Ministry of Education and Teach Nepal indicate that 222,070 students in Nepal failed their School Leaving Certificate (SLC) in 2012 alone. This certificate is achieved at Grade 10. Moreover, 64% of students educated in Nepal's public school system fail their SLC. However, the problem is far more deeply engrained. For example, of every 100 students that enroll in grade one, by the end of grade ten, only 15% will remain in school. The future prospects of these children are severely and unacceptably diminished. Delving deeper into the data provided from the Ministry of Education, it becomes apparent that of the students who fail their SLC, 90% fail in core subjects: Mathematics, English, and Science. Worse, only 25% of students in the fourth grade can count double digits. The alternative to public schooling is the private sector. However, the costs of such education present an insurmountable obstacle to the rural communities of Nepal. Our current dire educational situation requires an alternative model. The ‘Maya Model’ provides rural communities in Nepal with a viable, accessible, and holistic approach to education.
CHALLENGE
People across the world resist corrupt and oppressive regimes; some choose violence, picking up arms to rebel against the regime, others protest non-violently with slogans on placards, walking down the road peacefully. We at Maya Universe Academy have chosen an alternative; we have created a movement focusing on empowerment, community, and education. Each day we plant our feet on solid ground, ready to battle inequality with knowledge and love. This is the change we strive for: This is the revolution we work towards.
Our resolve to challenge the government and show the abysmal quality of education provided to children in rural areas of Nepal is unceasing. We will continue to build our grassroots movement, delivering hope, love, and change through the empowerment of education. From humble beginnings in a canvas tent, we have spread our movement, our mission, and our knowledge through our resolve to our core concept: Love.
OUR MODEL
Admittance at Maya Schools is monetarily free, which makes us the first free, private school recognized by the government of Nepal. In exchange for the children’s admittance, the parents work two days per month in operations at the academy. They contribute to the production process (i.e. organic farming), construction projects, and other needs such as sewing school uniforms. Villagers within the Maya Community make a living through sustenance agriculture, primarily producing crops such as rice, bananas, oranges, and bamboo. The majority of the farmers are also involved in animal husbandry, particularly permaculture models that include raising chickens in order to supplement their agricultural production. The introduction of Maya Universe Academy in the local communities has afforded farmers the opportunity to educate their children by becoming parent volunteers, bartering their skills and time for knowledge and their child's education. Assisting the local community is an ever-growing group of global volunteers (150+ foreign volunteers to date). Our foreign volunteers contribute diverse perspectives and cultures to the local community and to the school. Each volunteer brings an essential skill or passion to share with the community. Past volunteers have brought nutritional and medical care to the community, formed and catalogued a library, installed a solar powered steam mill, performed music and theatre, and engaged local farmers in best practice.
Maya Universe Academy emphasizes environmentally conscious and sustainable practices in all that we do. Our classrooms are constructed from an eco-friendly design using bamboo from our own farms. We collect rainwater for washing, and harness the sun to power weekend movie screenings for the children (imagine that: an outdoor theatre in rural Nepal!).
The agricultural production facility at Maya continues to mature, but does not yet cover all expenses (though it covers much of our non-monetary needs). Maya Academy asks all foreign volunteers visiting the schools to pay approximately $200 per month for food and shelter. This money directly supports our mission and initiatives. In the long run, our goal is to eliminate the need for this funding source and to operate solely on a self-sustaining model. As our farms and schools grow, our production increases. We expect to by self-sustaining by the end of 2015. The education provided to these communities will provide long-term solutions, the most important being an increase in skilled, educated workers. Our system engages the often under-utilized skills of the villagers - farmers, ranchers, and foremen - to ensure basic needs, a life-changing education, a future and a choice for the children who will eventually become key players in local development.
IMPACT
The introduction of Maya Universe Academy has provided village students an alternative to government schools and provided quality education to local communities. Today, the project operates in 3 different locations (Damauli, Sagarmatha, and Syanja). Word of mouth spreads very quickly, and numerous requests have been made for Maya to open new schools, as a result 17 new projects are in the pipeline.
Maya Universe Academy provides a higher level of education than the public schools. Older children coming from public schools must start in a lower-grade class in order to catch up with students who began their education in Maya. The government schools are losing students as some children commute for over an hour to attend Maya. This has meant that the local government schools have emphasized increasing the quality of education they provide, out of fear of losing students to Maya. Our students and their families have positively felt Maya Academy’s impact. Past volunteers and stakeholders agree that Maya students are better educated because they get acquainted with a well-rounded educational system and have native English speakers teaching them.
The farmers of the local communities have also expressed their gratitude to the Maya community for reviving and believing in the entrepreneurial spirit of the communities we operate in. In a recent poll and subsequent interview, farmers told Mayan volunteers about how the community had benefitted from the logistical and technical support the Maya Academy provided through their entrepreneurial ventures, educational workshops, and commitment to community development.
CONCLUSION
We at Maya think that the very nature of Maya Universe Academy attracts a particular kind of person. This person is either looking for a genuine, unique experience, and sees the infinite possibilities that education bestows upon our children. Maya’s model proves that social enterprise, ingenuity, and commitment produce tangible results. Not only do our 250+ students benefit from Maya, but also every person connected to our movement receives the love our movement radiates. Our volunteers arrive at one of our Maya schools keen to help and teach, but leave with more knowledge and love then they came with. Maya perpetuates an experience that positively impacts all people who come in contact with it. Already, from deep in rural Nepal, Maya Universe Academy has had an international impact; which will only grow in the future. Maya (love) offers a fresh, but often overlooked outlook on how our world could possibly function. By simply offering what you know and are able. Please give what you can, and share our movement of Maya.