December 3, 2007

NEW YORK – Sunday evening, December 2, the Nepal-USA Forum (NUF), a branch of the International Youth for Human Rights movement, presented a program on "The Right to Education," to a packed hall in Ridgewood, New York.

The group started from the celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees rights to people throughout the world, and continued with experts to help the Nepalese immigrants in the eager audience find out how education would empower them in their lives in the United States.

"Only if each one of us know our rights," said Deepak Kafle, Director of NUF, "and know that these rights cannot be taken away from us, can we protect those rights, and enjoy the full life we are entitled to."

After Kafle's introduction, Rev. John Carmichael, an advisor to the group, showed a series of 30 Public Service Announcements which depict the 30 articles of the Universal Declaration. The videos were created by Youth for Human Rights International, and are being shown on TV, in public areas, and in classrooms around the world.

Experts then talked to the group how they can use education to improve their situation. Mrs. Laura Barrera-Vera, of Upwardly Global, for instance, offered advice on how Nepali professionals who come to America can get certification and jobs here. Dr. Tara Niraula compared the Nepali educational system and the US system. And other speakers, professionals in their fields, explained how education in fields like health care is the key to achieve prosperity and security for the individual and his family in the US.

The question and answer session continued late into the night. Nepal-USA Forum is working to make this information broadly available, and is planning other conferences in the near future.

The group's motto, quoting American humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard is to, "make human rights a reality, not an idealistic dream." The Youth for Human Rights website is http://www.youthforhumanrights.org; NUF can be contacted at nepalusaforum@yahoo.com.

Church of Scientology, New York