The Thami Education Project (TEP) was established by Nepal's indigenous Thami community in April 2003 with the help of Mark Turin and Sara Shneiderman, two anthropologists from Cambridge and Cornell Universities. The Thami are one of Nepal's least known and most impoverished ethnic groups, with a population of approximately 30,000 concentrated in the Dolakha and Sindhupalcok districts of central- eastern Nepal. They speak their own Tibeto-Burman language and maintain a unique religious system based on shamanism.

Access to quality education remains very limited in Thami homeland areas. Although the Nepali government operates primary schools up to grade five in most villages, these are poorly staffed and lack even the most basic infrastructure. Most Thami children sit on a dirt floor with no furniture, and cannot study in inclement weather because school buildings do not have secure roofs. In addition, Thami children suffer from the discriminatory attitudes of many non-Thami teachers, and there are few positive Thami role models who have completed their secondary or higher education.

TEP is working to improve this situation by sponsoring Thami children in village schools at the primary level, and enabling higher education for a select number of high-achieving students at boarding schools in Kathmandu. TEP scholarships include school uniforms, supplies, textbooks, and exam fees for each child. TEP currently supports over 20 children ranging in age from six to nineteen years old, from class one to college level. Approximately half of the students are girls. Scholarship students and their parents attend regular meetings to monitor the students' progress and coach parents on creating a conducive educational environment at home. TEP has also started programs to educate villagers about hygiene, provide loans for emergency healthcare, and improve the facilities at the local primary school.

In 2006-2007, TEP will begin an integrated School Improvement Project in three primary schools in the Thami homeland area. This project will include infrastructural renovation to school buildings, teacher training, establishment of new kindergarten classes, and development of literacy materials in the Thami language. The Onaway Trust has provided funding for this initiative.

Information on the Thami Culture and Language

Pictures of the Thami Community