18 Feb 2019, Dhangadhi
Emeritus Professor Dr. Tulasi Joshi of Fairmont State University, Fairmont, WV, USA recently donated about US $80,000 (8,000,000 Nepali rupees) to his native country school – the National Secondary School (Rastriya Ma Vi) of Dhangadhi.
In response, the school will add his name to its name and has arranged a grand welcome ceremony on February 21, 2019. The ceremony will start with a procession that will consist of over a thousand students, city officials, public spectators and horses-drawn carriage which will be ridden by Dr. and Mrs. Joshi.
With the band music, the procession will go around the city of Dhangadhi with a population of about 150,000 and end at the school campus. The formal program will be attended by dignitaries including the Chief Minister of the Far West Province, who is the head of the Province government.
Dr. Joshi and his entourage consisting of four persons that have accompanied him all the way from West Virginia, USA, will be available all afternoon to meet and greet the public.
The horses-drawn carriage for the ceremony will be brought from Lucknow, India to Dhangadhi, a distance of about 160 miles.
Dr. Joshi was born in the remote district of Bajhang. He received his Master’s degrees from Tribhuvan University and the University of Hawaii and a Ph. D. from the University of Pittsburgh. He has worked for over 42 years as a professor of geography at Fairmont State University and is a life member, former Information Director and former treasurer of the Association of Nepalis in the Americas (ANA).
He has been championing the education cause to empower deserving Nepali students thereby meeting the educational mission of ANA. For over 30 years by establishing scholarship programs, Dr Joshi has helped over 15 needy students of Bajhang for their college education in Nepal, and over 40 Nepali students for their undergraduate studies at Fairmont State University.
Recently he has established by donating over US $36,000, three scholarship programs at three schools in Bajhang for college education. Now from the earning from his donation to National Secondary School (Rastriya Ma Vi), an estimated 20-25 impoverished, orphan students will be supported for their education providing with all expenses.
Dr Joshi has received the prestigious Cyrus R. Vance Award for International Education in West Virginia in 2003 from West Virginia Department of Education and Arts, U.S. President’s Volunteer Service Award – Gold, a gold medal from the king of Nepal and several other awards and recognitions.