On a busy street in Kathmandu, Ang Pasi’s restaurant pops with color. With artwork painted on the walls, photographs tucked into the cabinets, and an orange Buddhist prayer scarf hanging above the table, it is a bright and inviting space. Ang Pasi is kind and welcoming as her youngest son scampers around the room, still wearing his bright blue school uniform.
In May of 2017, her husband, Ang Ngima Sherpa died in a fall while working on the world’s seventh tallest mountain, Dhaulagiri. He was an experienced mountain worker who had summited Everest previously and worked on multiple expeditions. Together, they had three young children.
Suddenly a widow at age 31 Ang Pasi found herself reeling after her husband’s death. Jobs were scarce in the small village in the Solu Khumbu region where she lived, especially for a widow trying to raise her children alone. That is when she connected with Tsering Dolkar, the Nepal Operations Director for The Juniper Fund.
Learning about the Juniper Fund’s support gave her new hope. She quickly realized that there were several paths to an improved future for her family and she wanted to take advantage of all of the support available.
Her first concerns were her children’s education—many families in Nepal desire to send their children to Kathmandu for school, but it can be expensive and difficult for families who live far from the city. With the Juniper Fund’s cost of living grant— $3,000 annually for five years—Ang Pasi was able to put her kids in school in Kathmandu, setting them on a path to a bright and successful future
Ang Pasi Sherpa’s son on his way to school.
Ang Pasi embraced the Juniper Fund’s other programs as well, ready to build an independent life for herself. With the support of a vocational training grant, she enrolled in two training courses—an English class and a cooking class. She attended the cooking class for three months, gathering the skills needed to run her own restaurant. The class also allowed her to connect and share ideas with other woman, some of them widows, who were starting their own businesses.
Ang Pasi’s restaurant is located on a busy road in Boudha. Filled with an abundance of friendly energy and the smells of frying vegetables and sweet tea, it is no surprise that her restaurant is busy with repeat customers who leave happy. With the money earned from her business, she can cover her daily expenses and begin saving for the future. Her youngest son just began his schooling, and she hopes to use revenue from her restaurant to fund the rest of his education.
With an eye for growth and confidence in her skills, Ang Pasi hopes to expand her business to another location in Kathmandu. She wants to rebuild her home in the village of Phakding, which was destroyed in the 2015 earthquake, and open a restaurant there that will cater to trekkers making their way to Everest Base Camp.