History of TOIT
TOIT was officially founded in 2000, but it really began years earlier when Indra Prasad Khaitu read a short, two-page biography of Albert Schweitzer. Inspired by the story of Dr. Schweitzer's work with victims of leprosy in Africa, he dreamt of one day becoming a doctor and building a hospital for the poor people of his nation.
Over the years, his interest turned from medicine to education. Indra's father died when he was 8 years old. At 15 years old he was lucky enough to have a sponsor from France who paid for his education. He realized that there were very few opportunities for poor people to build themselves up due to their lack of access to a good education. You can read more about the education system in Nepal here.
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Fate Steps In
In 1999 Indra met Eva Dieterman, a tourist in Nepal. He mentioned his idea of helping poor children by starting up a school in Bhaktapur. Eva recognized his enthusiasm but realized that at 16 he was too young to realize his goal. She suggested that Indra find foreign sponsors to fund scholarships. This idea sparked new hope into the mind of this compassionate young man. With Eva's help, a girl named Sabita Khaitu became his first sponsored child. You can see an interview with Sabita here.
In 2003 Indra met Francis Longavesne from La Maison Des Himalayas' (LMDH). LMDH has become a very important supporter of TOIT and Francis has become a mentor for Indra. Francis and his relationship with Indra transformed the organization and allowed it to flourish. Also in 2003, a series of fortunate encounters brought Indra together via the internet with Earle Canfields of ANSWER, the American Nepali Student and Women's Educational Relief, who immediately offered to sponsor 12 children.
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The School moves from an idea to reality
As time went by, the dream of having a school did not die. So he began raising funds in 2004 and construction began in 2005. It began to operate in 2007 on a limited basis. We are currently trying to raise the funds to complete the school.
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Eva Dieterman with Indra
