About BlinkNow & Maggie Doyne

About Maggie Doyne:

Maggie Doyne has dedicated her life to educating children and empowering women in Nepal. She believes that everyone has the power to change the world, in the blink of an eye, including you! While this journey has been filled with adversity and heartache, Maggie shares the inspirational story of how anyone can make a difference. Her message is one of hope and inspiration. 

At age 19, Maggie used her life savings to build a home for orphaned children in war-ravaged Nepal. Since then, she has helped provide a loving home to over 50 children. In 2010, BlinkNow opened a school for the region’s most impoverished children. The school now serves 400 students and is rated top in the region. Maggie created the BlinkNow Foundation to sustain, grow, and support Kopila Valley Children’s Home and School in Nepal.

Maggie's work has been recognized by the Dalai Lama, Elizabeth Gilbert, Katie Couric, Forbes, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan of Sussex, and The New York Times Magazine. In 2015, CNN named Maggie their Hero of the Year for her work in Nepal.

About BlinkNow:

BlinkNow's mission is to change the world by empowering Nepal's youth, and we work towards a day where every child is safe, educated, and loved. We do this by providing quality education and a loving, caring home for orphaned and at-risk children in Surkhet, Nepal. We also support our local community to reduce poverty, empower women, and improve health, while encouraging sustainability and social justice.

We are based in Nepal’s most resource-limited province, where 58% of children under the age of five face malnutrition. The poverty rate in the region is staggering, with 35% living on just 50 cents per day. Among the least developed countries in the world, Nepal’s adult literacy rate is under 68%. Nationwide only 56% of students are enrolled in secondary education while only 26% of adults have completed 10th grade. The lack of government-run social service programs creates the need for organizations like BlinkNow and our Kopila Valley Children’s Home to provide for the children of Nepal, while our Kopila Valley Children’s School addresses the education crisis.

Since 2007, BlinkNow’s unique model ensures that no child’s needs fall through the cracks—and the results are amazing! All our work is infused with our core organizational values of gender equality, economic empowerment, and environmental sustainability.
 

OUR WORK

Kopila Valley School:

We know that education gives kids the power to shape their own futures. That’s why BlinkNow’s Kopila Valley School provides a free, high quality education to over 400 students. With classes in both English and Nepali, our teachers and support staff are making sure that the kids at Kopila Valley have access to the knowledge and resources they need to succeed. And they’re doing it all in Nepal’s greenest school!

Access to high-quality education can be transformative. Not only does it equip children with the academic tools they need to participate in Nepal’s increasingly globalized economy, education also delivers an array of other benefits, especially for young women. Girls with more education tend to get married later, which promotes gender equality and helps delay the age of marriage, which reduces the rates of HIV, maternal death, and suicide. 

At Kopila Valley School, we are dedicated to creating an environment that fosters mutual respect, teamwork, deep learning, and boundless creativity. And we’re always focused on our core values of gender equality, economic empowerment, and environmental sustainability!

The Greenest school in Nepal

Meet Sarita, a student at Kopila Valley School. 

The Kopila Valley Children's Home

The Kopila Valley Children’s Home opened in 2007, built brick-by-brick by the people of Surkhet and with the help of friends around the world. And while Kopila Valley has grown a lot over the years, this home will always be where the heart is.

Kopila is currently home to over 40 beautiful, happy and thriving children. Our children range in age and are under the care and guardianship of Maggie, Kopila Valley and a loving team of aunties and uncles. We live communally. We love and respect each other. Our kids happily do chores, go to school, and help with meals. The family always sits together for homemade, nutritious meals. You can also find the children reading under the gazebo, flying kites on the roof, jumping rope, or playing cricket, marbles, or badminton. Every evening, just before tooth brushing and lights out, we gather for a “satsang” to sing songs, talk about our day, and have quiet time as a family.

The Kopila Valley Women's Center

The Kopila Valley Women’s Center serves the most at-risk and vulnerable women in our community with life-changing vocational and empowerment training. We believe that investing in women and girls creates healthier families, more prosperous communities, and more peaceful nations.

Many women in Surkhet still struggle with unsafe living environments, lack of access to education, and little economic opportunity. When we talk to Women’s Center trainees, we hear stories of abuse, deprivation, and loss: 94% have experienced domestic or gender-based violence; 97% report little to no knowledge of their legal rights prior to joining our program; 32% have had no access to schooling; 51% were married before the age of 18*.