Our story

Where it started.
Why it matters.

In 2014, after witnessing how poverty held children, especially girls, back from education, our founder made a choice: to act. One school was built in a remote part of eastern Nepal. It wasn’t just about bricks and classrooms, it was about trust, about doing the work side by side with local communities. What began as a hands-on effort quickly turned into a movement. More schools were built. Teachers were trained. Families were supported. New doors opened in Kenya, Denmark, and beyond.

But while our reach has grown, our approach hasn’t changed. We still listen first. We still build together. And we still believe that education is not just access. It’s opportunity. This is our story. And this is why we keep going.

School children and teachers gathered outside a two-story school building decorated with colorful flags and streamers, with students standing on the ground and on the upper balcony, in a mountainous area.

2014: One school in Nepal becomes the start of something bigger

Human Practice Foundation is founded by Pernille Kruse Madsen with the backing of seven visionary Founding Partners. What begins as one woman’s decision to act soon becomes a shared mission of creating better futures for marginalized children through education.

People gathered outdoors for a celebration, decorated with marigold garlands and balloons, with some wearing traditional clothing and some seated in chairs, smiling and engaging in festivities.

2015-2016: From first school to local roots

The first school in Nepal is completed, and HPF launches its first social enterprise: a tea farming project with A.C. Perchs Thehandel. In 2016, HPF hires its first full-time employee in Nepal, ensuring closer ties to the communities we serve.

A woman smiling and walking outside a building with children running around her on a dirt ground. The building has a green sign that reads 'GREENSTAR COMMUNITY' and brick walls with blue windows, located in a rural area under a blue sky.

2017: Formal partnerships and new beginnings

HPF signs its first Project Agreement with the Nepali government — a three-year commitment to improve education in the Taplejung district. The year also sees the start of a new coffee farming initiative in the mountains of Nepal to help parents with income-generation.

Group of fifteen professionally dressed people in a mix of formal and business casual attire, posing for a photo indoors against a wooden wall.

2018: Expansion across continents, with children at the center

In Kenya, the first school construction is completed. In Denmark, the Inner Strength program is launched to support children’s mental well-being. HPF’s work now spans three countries. Each context is different, but the vision the same.

2019–2020: From access to quality, with deeper roots

In rural Nepal, improved school buildings, teacher training and local engagement are opening doors that were once closed. For students like Sudeep, access to education means more than attending class — it creates stability, confidence, and a real chance to shape the future.

A woman wearing a yellow flower garland smiling among children in outdoor setting, with children in blue uniforms and a brick building in the background.

2021: A growing movement takes shape

Fundraising chapters open in Sweden, the UK, and Switzerland. HPF now has 50 employees and has helped over 25,000 children. What started with one school has grown into an international movement of people working together to improve the futures of marginalized children.

A smiling woman with blonde hair leaning over two children at a desk in a classroom. The children are writing in notebooks, and colorful charts with numbers and information are on the yellow wall in the background.

2022-2023: A model shaped by real world experience

After eight years of hands-on implementation, HPF develops the Child Empowerment Model — a holistic, scalable approach grounded in what works. Built with expert input and field insight, the model becomes the heart of all future projects. The same period marks the milestone of 100 schools built across Nepal and Kenya, alongside the launch of the IT Academy in Nepal.

A woman walks past a tall banner with the Human Practice Foundation's vision and mission statements, in an outdoor school setting with children playing and a building with solar panels on the roof in the background.

2024: 10 years of purpose, partnership, and progress

HPF celebrates its 10-year anniversary with the global HPF family. In Nepal, a third Project Agreement is signed, marking the expansion into three new districts. After a decade of progress, HPF moves forward with deeper commitment, broader reach, and unwavering purpose.

A group of children in red uniforms waving and smiling in a school courtyard, with a woman in the center.

Still grounded. Still growing.

Human Practice Foundation began with a single, clear idea — that quality education should be within reach for every child. That hasn’t changed.

Today, the organisation continues to grow, not through grand plans, but through steady partnerships, local insight, and shared belief. The journey is ongoing, but the values remain the same: trust, transparency, and a deep commitment to transformation — one school, one teacher, one student at a time.

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