The Kathmandu valley, surrounded by green mountains and some mighty snow-capped peaks in the north, situated at 1336m above sea level, covers an area of 600 square kilometres and has a population of 1.5million. Roughly 61 per cent of the valley’s population is urban.

The first of the HVP Schools, HVP Central, forms the headquarters of the HVP movement and is located in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu. The school was founded on a tiny budget in 1985 using a rented house. Initially the school had only fifteen students and for many years struggled in a poor condition. With the help of HVP UK and other international donors, enough money was raised to buy a piece of land and to build a proper, comfortable building.

As many children come from far away to study in Kathmandu, HVP Central offers hostel facilities for around 50 boarding students. This also allows sponsorship in the form of free accommodation and meals to be offered to children from poor backgrounds. HVP Central provides education for around 450 to 500 students.