Partnership Overview

The ultimate goal of the Ray of Hope Society (ROHS) is to reach the people of Nepal with the gospel and they see eradicating poverty from their community as a key part of this. However, to date these two responsibilities have predominantly been done via separate activities. The Books Reading Cafe is a way they see to merge these two responsibilities.

The Books Reading Cafe is a fusion of books (both a library and books to buy), an internet facility, and a coffee and food cafe in a peaceful environment. It is a place where ROHS can meet people and share the gospel and where discipleship can happen naturally. They will employ six people from poverty affected families thereby assisting them to better provide for their families. 

There is a lack of good cafes in Kathmandu where students, foreigners and intellectuals can study and also enjoy healthy food so they see this cafe as filling a real need.  

History of Partnership

Bright Hope World first met Niranjan in 2003 while he was a student at South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies (SAIACS) in Bangalore, India. Subsequent to his return to Nepal, BHW has financially supported a project in Saptari and then the establishment of a medical centre, agriculture development and micro-enterprise loan support in Nawal Parasi in 2008 (NEP02b), followed by a poultry farm in the same area in 2012 (NEP02c). 

BHW team members have continued to visit Nepal over the intervening years and regularly catch up with Niranjan. In mid-2019 Niranjan presented the Books Reading Cafe proposal to BHW's new partnership facilitator and it is exciting to now be able to partner with ROHS in this new venture.  

Beneficiaries

The beneficiaries here are numerous: the people employed in the cafe and their families, the people who use both the cafe and the library, and the many people who will benefit from the other ministries of ROHS which will be funded by the profits of this cafe.  

What We Like About The Partnership

ROHS has a very strong leadership structure, has developed a clear strategy for reaching the people of Nepal with the gospel and seeks to do this in a holistic way.

Niranjan has a good track record with BHW in other projects he has developed successfully. There is no reason to doubt that this will be successful. 

It is a sustainable way to achieve a number of objectives, primarily to contribute to the development of other ministries and to train and employ people who need employment. 

Key People

Leadership Profile

The key people are Niranjan and Sonu Adhikary. They live in Kathmandu. After training at university Niranjan was employed by Campus Crusade for Christ. He developed into a leadership role there, especially in training people. After marrying, they decided to go to SAIACS for further training and while there decided that on returning to Nepal they would look for a totally different model of doing ministry. He was, and still is, very concerned about the dependence that a lot of Christian ministry in Nepal has on outside funding and resources. He wanted to develop a Nepali way of doing and funding ministry so he began training people in a different way. Many of these people have gone out into difficult areas to plant churches.  

Niranjan continues to provide leadership and oversight to the training programme, and gets involved in resolving issues when they arise. Niranjan and Sonu are also involved in leading a small church near their house.  

Other People Involved

The cafe will employ six people. 

Vision And Annual Strategy

Vision

The vision of ROHS is to reach the people of Nepal with the gospel and eradicate poverty from their community. 

Strategy

Eventually they would like to establish three cafes (in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan) however they do not want to risk investing in three cafes at the same time so will commence with the one in Kathmandu first. This will give them a good place to equip themselves for this new type of business and iron out any teething problems. 

Their anticipated outcomes from this first cafe are: connecting with approximately 1,000 people, evangelism opportunities, a good discipleship platform, and that a church will be planted within two years. In addition, six people will gain employment and people will have a peaceful environment to study or to spend their time. Healthy food will also be served. 

Annual Budget

The full budget required to establish the first cafe is US$7,260. ROHS has US$2,460 available for this project so BHW is looking to provide a one-off loan of US$4,800. ROHS intend having the loan repaid within five years.