In july 2008, five friends from The Netherlands decided that they wanted to do their bit to change the lives of underprivileged children in Nepal. They started an organization to give underprivileged children in Nepal a fair chance on a bright future. A future that started with a proper education.

That's how Fair Chance Nepal was born. Not long after the start of Fair Chance Nepal, I went to Nepal to start our project there. In the first six months a total of 8 children were admitted to several schools in the Kathmandu valley, just in time for the first exams. Just in time to start learning, instead of working.

The eight children are preforming above all expectations. Take Uttam for example. I met Uttam in the summer of 2007 on the streets of Kathmandu. He was a skinny kid walking around in Thamel, trying to make a little money with selling his home-made pictures to tourists. We got to talk, and it didn't take him long to tell me about the lifetime of hardship. Uttams father left his family when Uttam was just two years old. Just went out to buy a pack of cigarettes and never returned. His older brother ran away when Uttam was 9 years old. About a month before we first met, Uttam came home after spending an afternoon at the zoo with his friends. When he opened the door the whole apartment where he'd been living with his mother for the past three years was cleared out. The neighbor told him that earlier that afternoon his mother took everything from the apartment and left with her new boyfriend to start her life over. She thought Uttam not allowed to come with her, and she thought that he'd be old enough to take care of himself. Uttam was just 13 years old. Now he was drawing pictures at night, and tried to sell them during the day to tourists. Sometimes he made enough money to buy food for himself. Other times he was less lucky, and had to go to bed hungry.

Uttam told me his whole story, that first day. He even invited me to his apartment where I took this picture. A picture of a skinny 13 year old, trying to survive all alone in the big city. I decided then and there that I would help this kid, and that I was not going to be the next person to abandon him.

Not long after our first meeting I helped Uttam moving out of the apartment where he'd lived with his mother for so long. He moved to a small apartment in the same building where his best friend Umesh lived. Umesh' father offered to keep an eye on Uttam from that day on. I also put Uttam back in school, and miraculously he even managed to pass from class 7 to class 8.

Uttam is still in school until this day. In March 2009 he'll take his last exams for class 8, and probably head on to class 9. From there it's just 2 years until graduation. Not bad for a kid that was selling pictures on the street, not bad at all.

However Uttam's story is a beautiful story of hope and success, he's not the only one. The more time I spend in Nepal, the more stories I hear about children who are trampled in the adult world, but manage to hold on, get back on their feet and even succeed in ways that seem next to impossible. We started our organization to reach out to those who could use a hand getting back on their feet and help and guide them on their way to success.

In April 2009 the new school year will start, and we'd like to help as many children as possible. If you also want to help, please click here.

In the mean time we've also started with a new project called the 'Fair Photo Project'. Most children who are affiliated with our NGO have stories similar to that of Uttam. All come from poor families, most have lived on the street, and some have been abused. By teaching them the basics of photography we want to give them a constructive way to spend their free time, and give them a new way to express themselves. In the mean time it gives us an excellent opportunity to see their lives through their own eyes. The photos taken by or students can be found here.