Some organizations begin with a business plan.
PAEFA began with a promise—to carry forward the values of a young man whose life was defined by resilience, education, and service.
The Pritam Adhikari Education Foundation America, known as PAEFA, was created in memory of Pritamber “Pritam” Adhikari. His story began in Bhutan, continued through a refugee camp in Nepal, and later reached the classrooms of Atlanta, Georgia.
Although Pritam’s life ended far too soon, the purpose he lived by continues through every student supported, every family connected to health resources, and every volunteer who chooses to serve.
From Bhutan to a Refugee Camp in Nepal
Pritam was born in Bhutan in 1990.
At the age of two, he was forced into exile with his family, along with thousands of other ethnic Nepalis from Bhutan. He spent much of his childhood growing up in a United Nations refugee camp in Nepal.
Life in a refugee camp came with uncertainty, limited resources, and barriers that many children should never have to face.
But Pritam carried a deep belief in education.
He understood that learning could create opportunities, build confidence, and open doors that hardship tried to keep closed.
His surroundings were difficult, but his ambitions were not small.
A New Beginning in Atlanta
In 2008, Pritam resettled in Atlanta, Georgia.
Starting over in a new country meant adapting to a different school system, a different culture, and a new way of life. For many refugee students, resettlement brings both opportunity and pressure.
Pritam responded with determination.
He graduated in the top 10% of his high school class and earned both merit-based and need-based scholarships.
He later began studying aerospace engineering through an academic program involving Oglethorpe University and Georgia Tech.
For a young man who had grown up in a refugee camp, this was an extraordinary journey.
But what made Pritam special was not only what he achieved.
It was what he hoped to do with those opportunities.
A Scholar With a Heart for Service
Pritam was known as a gifted student, but he was also remembered as kind, gentle, and deeply committed to helping others.
He volunteered, encouraged people around him, and believed that education should be used for something larger than personal success.
He wanted to serve those who had been overlooked.
He understood what it meant to face limited opportunities because he had lived that experience himself.
That connection shaped the way he saw the world.
Pritam’s dream was not simply to build a successful future for himself. He wanted to help create opportunities for others.
A Life Cut Short, but a Mission That Continued
Pritam passed away from colon cancer in 2013 at the age of 22.
His death left a deep loss for his family, friends, and community.
He had already overcome so much and had only begun building the future he had worked toward.
But the people who loved him did not want his values to disappear with him.
In 2021, his sister, Indira Adhikari Subedi, and his lifelong friend, Dev Bhandari, co-founded the Pritam Adhikari Education Foundation America.
PAEFA was created to honor Pritam’s memory through action.
Rather than allowing his story to remain only a memory, they turned it into a mission focused on education, health, and service.
The Mission Behind the PAEFA Nonprofit
The PAEFA nonprofit works to empower Bhutanese refugees and low-income families through educational and community health programs.
Its work reaches communities in the United States, Bhutan, Nepal, and refugee camps.
The organization focuses on two areas that were closely connected to Pritam’s own life: access to education and access to health information.
These programs are practical, community-based, and centered on real needs.
Supporting Bhutanese Refugee Education
Education changed the direction of Pritam’s life.
Today, PAEFA helps create similar opportunities for students who are facing financial hardship, displacement, and limited access to educational resources.
Through its Sponsor a Refugee and scholarship programs, PAEFA supports students with:
- Educational scholarships
- School supplies
- Tutoring
- Mentorship
- Career guidance
- Life-skills support
- Vocational and higher education opportunities
The program serves students in Bhutan, Nepal, and refugee communities, including young people living in the Beldagi and Pathari refugee camps.
These students often carry responsibilities far beyond the classroom.
Some are helping support younger siblings. Others are being raised by a single parent or living in families with little or no income.
Their challenges are real, but so are their goals.
Students Carrying Their Families’ Dreams
Students supported by PAEFA are not simply recipients of aid.
They are young people working hard to build a different future.
Kushum Subba, an 18-year-old student from Beldagi Refugee Camp, continued pursuing her education after losing her father.
She has taken on leadership roles at school and hopes to use her education to support her single mother and serve her community.
Roshnee Gurung, a 22-year-old student from Beldagi Refugee Camp, is determined to continue her studies, help her younger siblings, and become self-reliant.
Their stories reflect the strength found across refugee communities.
They are not waiting for someone else to build their future. They are already working toward it.
PAEFA helps make sure financial hardship does not stop that progress.
Building Healthier Communities Through Education
Pritam’s experience with colon cancer also gives PAEFA’s health mission a deeply personal meaning.
The organization works to improve health awareness among Bhutanese and refugee families in the United States.
Its community health programs have addressed topics including:
- Breast cancer awareness
- Mental health
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Asthma
- Women’s health
- Substance abuse prevention
- Vaccinations
- Emergency life-saving skills
PAEFA also develops and shares health education materials in Nepali and English.
This helps make important information more accessible to families who may face language or cultural barriers when navigating the healthcare system.
Turning Awareness Into Access
PAEFA’s health work goes beyond sharing information.
At the Harvest Community Health Fair in Clarkston, Georgia, the organization provided breast cancer awareness education and helped register more than 40 uninsured women for free mobile mammograms.
This effort connected women with an actual health service they may not have been able to access on their own.
PAEFA worked alongside organizations including Mosaic Health Center, Refugee Women’s Network, Emory Health, and other community partners.
The organization also participated in the Bloom into Better Health Community Health Fair in Clarkston in March 2026.
These events show how community partnerships can make health resources easier to understand and easier to reach.
Why Pritam’s Story Still Matters
Pritam’s journey continues to speak to families who understand displacement, hardship, and the struggle to begin again.
He moved from a refugee camp to a college classroom.
He turned educational opportunity into a desire to serve.
He showed that a person’s starting point does not have to determine where they can go.
His story also reminds us that talent exists everywhere, but opportunity does not.
A student may have the ability to become a doctor, teacher, engineer, or community leader but still lack money for books or tuition.
A mother may want preventive healthcare but have no insurance or reliable information about available services.
A family may want help but not know where to begin.
PAEFA works in those spaces—between potential and opportunity, between information and access, and between hardship and hope.
How Small Acts Keep the Legacy Moving
The impact of PAEFA’s work often begins with a simple act.
A donation may help purchase school supplies for a student.
A volunteer may help organize a health workshop.
A mentor may encourage a young person who is uncertain about their future.
A partnership may connect an uninsured family with medical care.
PAEFA’s giving examples show how direct support can create practical results.
A $50 contribution can help provide health workshop materials for approximately 20 people.
A $100 contribution can help support a student’s school supplies for one year.
A $500 contribution can help cover vocational scholarship support for a refugee student.
Each gift becomes part of someone’s next step.
Carry Pritam’s Legacy Forward
Pritam’s story is not only about what he overcame.
It is about what he believed people could become when they were given a fair chance.
PAEFA continues that belief by supporting education, strengthening community health, and creating pathways for refugee and low-income families.
You can become part of this mission by donating, sponsoring a student, volunteering, mentoring, supporting a health event, or partnering with PAEFA through a school, nonprofit, healthcare organization, or community group.
The Pritam Adhikari Education Foundation America is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Pritam’s life may have been brief, but the work inspired by his values continues to grow.
Every student who stays in school, every family that receives trusted health information, and every person who chooses to help carries his legacy forward.