Nepal; Sherpa children of the Khumbu, 1986

Nepal; children of the Khumbu, 1986. Two girls carrying satchels and rhodondendrons, walk home from school, near Lukla (altitude 2827 metres). Both have very serious expressions, probably because the journey from home to school is an hour and a half walk. In 1984, total school enrollment in Nepal (primary and secondary) was about 52% (70% boys and 30% girls), and by 1990, only about a third of the population was estimated to be literate.