“I used to cut some of my expenses to support the children,” Robertson said. [break]
“But with the cost of education gradually increasing, I have to be more careful about my personal needs,” he said. So much so that Robertson has even postponed his marriage plan so that he could educate the children at least till the school level. “If I marry and have children now, I will not be in a position to support them till they pass 12th standard.”
Robertson came to Nepal in 2003 for the first time. During his stay here, he went through a story in a newspaper about the conflict-affected children who were deprived of education. “The story changed my heart and I started spending for their education.”
After reading the story, Robertson directly went to Nepalgung to meet the children and he began by taking responsibility of four children who had no parents. “Later, I was asked to help other children as well, and I could not deny,” he shared. “Children´s problems were so compelling that I just forgot about my capacity to support them.”
As the number of children he has been supporting has reached 14, it is necessary for him to seriously compromise with his living standards.
“He bears the school fees and cost of stationeries and hostel charges of 11 students in our school,” said Vidhya Man Rajbhandari, principal of Jai Bageshwori Higher Secondary School in Nepalgunj.
Bhandari added that Robertson also provides the cost if some children want to visit their home during a big festival like Dashain. Other three children he is looking after are studying in the capital. The students from Banke, Bardia, Dailekh, Jumla, Humla and Jajarkot districts are studying in class 1 to 12.
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