Maggie Doyne is a Shining Example of Selfless Devotion #AtoZChallenge

After completing high school, Maggie Doyne took a year off before joining college to backpack around the world. Her trip led her to north India and eventually Nepal where she came across a six year old girl surviving on a few rupees a day, earned by breaking and selling stones.

Maggie phoned her parents, asking them to send her all the money she had earned while babysitting - $5000. She spent it helping the young girl and others like her go to school, paying for their fees, uniforms and books.

Then she aimed higher.

To help the orphans and refugees of Nepal's civil war, Maggie started her own non-profit organization, BlinkNow and through those funds, the teenager actually purchased land and built the Kopila Valley Children's Home in Surkhet in 2007 from scratch. Today, she is the guardian and mother to over 50 happy children, living there with them. Her team includes caregivers, cooks and plenty of helpers.

Then she aimed higher.

Dissatisfied with the standard of education the children were getting, in 2010, she started a school - Kopila Valley School - for the children. Besides education, the students here are provided a nutritious daily meal as well. The school is today ranked first in its region for academic achievement with 50% of its students scoring in the top 1 % nationwide.

Then she aimed higher.

In 2011, the Kopila Valley Health Clinic opened up, focusing on prevention of diseases, primary health care, dental care and mental health services.

Then she aimed higher.

In 2013, the Kopila Valley Woman's Center started, providing literacy and vocational skills to the women of Surkhet.

And then she won.

In 2015, Maggie Doyne - still in her twenties - received the Hero of the Year Award from CNNHeroes. That trophy sits well beside the 2014 Unsung Hero of Compassion Award bestowed by the Dalai Lama and the 2013 Forbes Excellence in Education Award.

Why I want you to remember Maggie Doyne

We all say that we want to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate than us. That statement often comes with a rider - 'if only we had time for it after everything else in life.' But what if we inverted that - what if helping others was the goal and life could wait?

Maggie Doyne, at such a young age, away from the comfort of her home and not knowing the language of the country she stood in, earned the respect of people from a nation-at-war by not just displaying compassion but also combining it with the determination to keep aiming higher.


I won't lie. There is a 'moment of heartbreak' in this video. But there is also 'the solution'... a solution the world needs to hear and understand.

You can find BlinkNow on Facebook here

This is part of my #AtoZChallenge where I will be focusing on Real Life Heroes: Shining Examples of Kindness and Compassion. You can find other real-life heroes here.

Also, if you are participating in the #AtoZChallenge, do leave the link for your post of the day along with your comments.