“The majority of schools in rural Nepal are inadequately resourced,” says the NGO, First Steps Himalaya. “Children often have to sit on dirty floors without a teacher present.” This group is building early childhood centres in Nepal that use vibrant educational materials to give little ones a healthy start for their school career. When Morgan Stanley wanted staff to volunteer their time as part of their CSR programme, we partnered with Global Equity Brokers to link them with First Steps Himalaya.

The Morgan Stanley staff designed and created English flash cards that are now in use in Nepalese kindergarten classrooms. They also created more than 500 back-toschool kits to transform educational life for children who have never seen a pen before. Educational investment always pays dividends. Giving a child a fair start in life can be transformative in ways impossible to measure.