Retired Colorado teacher who spent years supporting students in Nepal will return to assist in rebuilding

A small child singing to Lorrie Tyner years ago in Nepal remains one of the moments the Coloradan has carried with her.

"He is an orphan and has been moved around to different schools. His name is Suben," Tyner said.

For Tyner, a retired Jefferson County teacher, those memories are part of a much longer connection to Nepal.

"He was 4. I came back and found him and brought all the Braille supplies to the school where he was. He calls me Grandma," she said.

Tyner has spent years serving children and families in Nepal through the Rebuild Nepal Education Foundation.

After meeting Suben, her focus shifted to blind and deaf students, delivering technology to help them learn to read and communicate through sign language while building relationships that extend far beyond a single trip.

"I didn't know anything about blind children. I didn't know anything about reaching or meeting the needs of blind students, but something inside stirred," Tyner said.

Tyner has made several trips to Nepal. When she returns in October, she will be joined by Lisa Hann, a retired teacher from the Rocky Mountain Deaf School.

"The original goals are going to change a bit," Hann said.

In August, devastating flooding hit communities along the Trisuli River, an area the group regularly travels through.

"By the time we get over there in October, we will probably be the second wave. A lot of the initial humanitarian aid organizations that are there now will be gone," Hann said.

Over time they hope to help bring stability back to the students they've met over the years. 

"We can help them rebuild some of their facilities, rebuild some of their homes and make sure people have the basic necessities for life," she said.

The group plans to focus its response on more than a dozen schools in the affected area, raising money to provide basic supplies and support rebuilding efforts in communities they have come to love.

"Right now, it seems really critical, and it's on everybody's mind. But we want to provide lasting support for these people," Hann said.

The Rebuild Nepal Education Foundation says it has worked with more than 500 schools and reached more than 300,000 students since 2015.

The group is accepting donations to help provide aid to families affected by the flooding. Donations can be made at rebuildnepaleducation.org.