As coordinator of Caritas programs in Nepal, he is on the ground in the poverty-stricken country helping administer programs to help locals carve a more positive future for themselves.

And he was in Ballarat this week to explain to students raising funds for the annual Project Compassion appeal for Caritas, the Catholic agency for international aid and development, what the money is used for.

“In Nepal we have four projects we are supporting: there’s a children and youth empowerment program, integrated best management program, cooperative development and enterprise program, and the Bhutanese refugee education program,” he said.

Some funds are also used for the national earthquake recovery program to help rebuild after the 2015 quake which killed more than 9000 people and destroyed thousands of buildings.

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A common thread through the programs is empowerment, and giving youth and women in particular the skills to earn income and support themselves and their families.

One of those is Janaki, a young entrepreneur from Nepal who has turned her life around after growing up in a world of poverty and disadvantage, a forced marriage at age 12 and becoming a widow at 14 and ostracised from her community.

At a youth club run by Caritas as part of their Children and Youth Empowerment Program, she learned how to sew, took a loan from the youth club to buy her first sewing machine and now, two years on, has 11 sewing machines, is running her own business, teaching others, is considered a community role model and earning an income that allows her to support her extended family.

“When I share the story of Janaki, children are excited to hear about the changes in her life and I think they identify because she is young like them,” he said.

The Caritas Australia Project Compassion appeal last year raised more than $11 million.