“Nepalese grandfather Durga Kami brushes his bushy white beard, puts on his school uniform and, with the aid of his walking stick, trudges for over an hour to class for another day of learning. Poverty prevented Kami finishing his studies as a child and achieving his goal of becoming a teacher. Now 68, the father of six and grandfather of eight goes to school six days a week to complete his studies and escape a lonely home life following the death of his wife. Walking into the Shree Kala Bhairab higher secondary school and the buzz created by 200 children is a welcome contrast to the hush of the isolated one-room home, with its leaking roof and frequent power cuts, where Kami lives in Syangja district, some 250 km (155 miles) west of Nepal's capital Kathmandu. The school scholarship does not stretch to cover food, though, meaning Kami's breakfast of rice with a fermented green vegetable known as “Gundruk” must sustain him until dinner. The 20 children in his grade 10 class have dubbed Kami “Baa”, which means 'father' in Nepali, but despite his age their elderly class mate joins in all activities, including volleyball in the schoolyard. “I used to think 'why is this old man coming to school to study with us?' but as time passed I enjoyed his company”, Kami's 14-year-old class mate Sagar Thapa said. “He is a little bit weak in studies compared to us but we help him out with that”. Kami said he wanted to study until his death, adding he hoped it would encourage others to ignore age obstacles. “If they see an old person with white beard like me studying in school they might get motivated as well”, he said”. – Navesh Chitrakar and Patrick Johnston via Reuters



Durga Kami, 68, who is currently studying in the tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, puts on a torn sock and t-shirt, as he gets ready for school in Syangja, Nepal, June 5, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





A school uniform belonging to Durga Kami, 68, hangs on the wall of his one-room house, where he has been living alone since his wife passed away 15 years ago in Syangja, Nepal, June 5, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is currently studying tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, combs his beard, as he gets ready for school in Syangja, Nepal, June 5, 2016. Kami has promised his classmate Sagar Thapa that he will cut his beard off if he passes tenth grade. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is currently studying tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, looks into a mirror as he combs his beard while getting ready for school in Syangja, Nepal, June 5, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is currently studying tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, brushes his teeth as he gets ready for school in Syangja, Nepal, June 5, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is studying tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, adjusts his school uniform tie as he gets ready for school in Syangja, Nepal, June 5, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Villagers smile as they see Durga Kami, 68, who is studying tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, while he walks toward school in Syangja, Nepal, June 5, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is studying tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, walks with his classmate Sagar Thapa, 14, as they head to school in Syangja, Nepal, June 5, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is studying in the tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, puts his hand on a book as he attends a class in Syangja, Nepal, June 5, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is studying in the tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, poses with classmates outside their classroom in Syangja, Nepal, June 6, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is studying in the tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, plays volleyball with friends during a break in Syangja, Nepal, June 5, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is currently studying tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, leaves his one-room house, where he has lived alone since his wife died, in Syangja, Nepal, June 5, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is studying tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, poses for a picture wearing his school uniform at the door of his one-room house in Syangja, Nepal, June 5, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is currently studying tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, poses for a picture without his school uniform at the door of his one-room house in Syangja, Nepal, June 5, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





A teacher helps Durga Kami, 68, who is studying in the tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, to fill his registration form to apply for the upcoming School Leavers Certificate Exams in Syangja, Nepal, June 6, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is in the tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, attends a class in Syangja, Nepal, June 5, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





An English notebook belonging to Durga Kami, 68, who is studying in the tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, is seen on his desk in Syangja, Nepal, June 6, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is studying in the tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, collects his school uniform, which has been drying in the sun outside his one-room house in Syangja, Nepal, June 4, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is studying in the tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, walks outside the school in Syangja, Nepal, June 5, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is studying in the tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, is seen through the window as he prepares dinner for himself at his one room house in Syangja, Nepal, June 4, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is studying in the tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, uses a torch to read a book during a power cut, at his one-room house in Syangja, Nepal, June 4, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami (C), 68, and his classmates pose for a group picture in their classroom at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School in Syangja, Nepal, June 5, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is studying tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, puts on his school uniform, which was provided by the school for free, as he gets ready for school in Syangja, Nepal, June 5, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is studying in tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, answers a question from his teacher as he attends a class in Syangja, Nepal, June 5, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is studying in the tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, takes a rest as he walks to school in Syangja, Nepal, June 5, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is studying in the tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School, drinks tea as he prepares dinner at his one-room house in Syangja, Nepal, June 4, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)





Durga Kami, 68, who is studying in the tenth grade at Shree Kala Bhairab Higher Secondary School plays volleyball during a break in Syangja, Nepal, June 5, 2016. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)