Roots in Nepal and Project Nepal
Karma has always carried a strong connection to his home country of Nepal. In 2015, after the earthquake that killed more than 8,000 people and destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure, he decided to take action.
While still a student at UWC ISAK Japan, he co-founded Project Nepal to provide disaster relief. What began as an emergency response during Project Week soon grew into an ongoing project, built in partnership with local experts and organizations, that almost ten years later continues to support communities in need.
Passing the Baton and Further Studies
After graduating in 2017, Karma passed Project Nepal on to younger ISAK students but stayed involved as an advisor. He then went to Toronto to study life sciences, a move that gave him new knowledge and perspective while keeping his focus on one day returning home to contribute directly.
“Living and studying in Toronto gave me a broader outlook on what it means for communities to thrive,” he explains. “I could see firsthand how infrastructures, systems, and facilities, things many people in first-world countries take for granted, create environments where people can flourish.”
A Seed Planted: Learning from a Founder
One experience from his ISAK days stayed with him throughout his years in Toronto and beyond. As a student, Karma had the chance to visit Mr. Muneaki Masuda, Founder and Chairman of Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd., and one of the Founders of UWC ISAK, at his residence in Karuizawa. There, he heard Mr. Masuda’s life story and learned about his vision for libraries as community spaces, a conversation that led to Karma’s very first visit to a true public library at Tsutaya.
“It left a very deep impression on me,” Karma recalls. It was a moment where a founder’s vision connected directly with a student’s lived experience, planting an idea about what was possible.
That seed continued to grow during his university years in Toronto. When he got to experience a full public library service through the university library, everything clicked. Having access to such a resource, and seeing how it supported every aspect of learning, made him think about how transformative it would be if something similar existed back home in Nepal. The idea stayed with him and it has directly inspired their own library project today, which started with one floor but is now expanding into a full building, one of the first of its kind in Nepal.
Leading Sowers Action Nepal
Today, Karma works alongside his brother Pasang, a monk, to run Sowers Action Nepal, an NGO established in 2022 in Kathmandu and dedicated to expanding educational opportunities for vulnerable communities. But as Karma is quick to point out, “Pasang is the true founder of Sowers Action Nepal. He was already deeply involved in charity work after the earthquake, and he’s always been my greatest inspiration and guide.”
Karma initially played more of a supporting role. “But when he got sick, I had to step in actively, and since then, I’ve continued working alongside him,” he explains. After two years of volunteering, he officially joined as the lead project coordinator in 2024.
The work they’re doing covers a lot of ground. The NGO manages that free public library in Kathmandu, providing a space where children can read and learn. Alongside the library, the organization offers a high school scholarship program that currently supports 94 students (44 girls and 50 boys) selected from across Nepal, across ethnicities, religions, and backgrounds. The program covers full tuition, room, and board. Beyond academics, they have also introduced a leadership program so that these young people can grow into active, responsible citizens.
“For each of these children, Sowers Action Nepal is more than a support service,” Karma reflects. “It’s a bridge to opportunity, and a reminder that their ambitions matter.“
Leadership, Community, and ISAK Values
In addition to his NGO work, since returning to Nepal, Karma has also been elected President of the Sherpa Student Association in Bagmati Province. The Sherpa people are an indigenous ethnic minority of Nepal, native to the Himalayan region with a unique language, culture, and Buddhist heritage. Despite global recognition for their role in mountaineering, Sherpa communities have faced social and political marginalization, with limited representation in national policies and institutions.
The Sherpa Student Association represents the younger generation within this community. It serves as a platform for students and youth to connect, support one another in education and leadership, and actively contribute to the preservation of their culture and the advancement of their people. “In this role,” Karma shares, “I am working to create more opportunities for Sherpa students and Sherpa people, ensure their representation, and amplify their voices. It’s also a space for young Sherpas to practice leadership, engage in politics, and build networks.“
The values he learned at ISAK continue to shape everything he does. “At ISAK, the values of diversity and leadership were not only taught but lived. Over time, their meaning became clearer and clearer to me, and if you look at the work we are doing in Nepal, you will see clear resemblances to ISAK’s philosophy” he says. The scholarship program’s deliberate inclusivity, supporting students from across Nepal regardless of background, and its focus on developing future leaders both echo what ISAK instilled in him.
His ISAK friendships remain a steady source of encouragement. “I am still very close to my ISAK alumni peers,” he says. “Many of them have visited me in Nepal, and their support continues to mean a lot as I work here.“
Looking back, Karma sees how all the pieces fit together: his first encounters with libraries in Japan and Canada showed him what communities can achieve when resources are accessible. ISAK instilled in him the values of leadership and diversity, which he now sees reflected in their scholarship and leadership programs. And above all, his brother’s vision and dedication provided him with both a guide and a purpose. Together, these influences continue to shape the work they do today.
For Karma, the journey from launching Project Nepal as a teenager at ISAK to leading Sowers Action Nepal with his brother today is a continuation of the same story, one that started at ISAK and continues to unfold in Nepal, rooted in the belief that with the right support, young people can rise above circumstances, realize their potential, and give back to their communities.
