A number of readers wrote in, asking what they could do to help Sarita and her children. Rupa Joshi responds: "We've opened a bank account to collect money for Sarita's family. I promised her I would help collect enough funds so she can send all her kids to school (after she's paid off a Rs 25,000 loan her husband took before he died). I've already raised almost the entire loan amount and hope to get more."

"The cost of sponsoring a child for a year-including all opportunity costs-varies widely from government schools in different places to private ones. The best option for the girls would probably be to attend school in Gaighat so they would not be far away from the family-and not have to make too big a jump from the village."

Details of Sarita's Family Fund are available on request. Anyone who'd like to contribute or has suggestions can contact Nepali Times.