Who We Are

Seto Gurans National Child Development Services (SGNCDS) is a pioneer organization in the field of Early Childhood Development at national, district and community level. It is registered as an Educational Non-governmental organization, working since 1979 in advocacy, introducing various modules for children, parents, community and other stakeholders.

It aims to reach the hearts and minds of children from most disadvantaged groups with special emphasis on ECD age group children, their families and communities. Seto Gurans has shown sincere commitment to the ideals of child centered development approaches and a belief in the rights of all children to grow their full potential – physically, emotionally, socially and intellectually. 

At the time of its origin, there was hardly a non-governmental organization, which worked for such group of children’s right. The organization has produced independent District Seto Gurans Child Development Service through the local team of trained human resource and active works in 59 out of the 77 districts of Nepal with support of national and international organizations including UN Agencies.
Etymological meaning of Seto Gurans is "White Rhododendron", a flower which blooms in the high altitude with environmental bottleneck. Symbolically Seto Gurans reflects those children who survive under difficult situation, and context with respect to gender, caste, creed, ethnicity and geographical barriers. At the initial stage, it was unfamiliar to those who were concerned to the rights of excluded group of children. 

                Story Behind the History

Early Childhood Development (ECD) does not have long history in Nepal. There were ECD programs running in the name of Montessori Schools, however, those schools could not support the larger population. The deprived and underserved children were out of the school, left alone without proper care and development in the early ages. The disparity can be felt extensively during the time when Seto Gurans’ seeds were about to be sown.

In early seventies, Nepal recognized Ms Agatha Thapa's excellence as a teacher and sent her to further training in Haifa, Israel. She came back from that eight months sabbatical knowing that she would do something to help the children of the poor. She never went back to her old position. Instead, she devised an approach, and then began visiting the homes of untouchables to persuade the parents to send their children to the new preschool she had decided to start —the steppingstone.

Ms Thapa envisioned a society with the development of children from their early age. Thus, a center serving early childhood development (ECD) was established in a name of Seto Gurans School in 1979. Seto Gurans School provided learning and development facilities for the children without any cost.

However, the challenges poured in the classroom when Seto Gurans School operation began. A classroom would mean nothing without student, and these children were irregular in the center. Later on, parents’ education sessions were launched — to make children regular in class — and appointed one family a day, in turns, to bring children to school. With the efforts, disadvantaged and marginalized children started attending the classroom regularly. 

Seto Gurans started to grab the attention of the likeminded people, organizations, United Nations (UN) agencies, international development organizations and government of Nepal. Thus, after years of working in the field of early childhood development, Seto Gurans was finally able to make its national movement and officially registered in the year 2000 as an Non-government organization (NGO) — a pioneer organization of Early Childhood Development.