Quick Facts

Scientist, educator, social entrepreneur, and activist Mahabir Pun is best known for founding and overseeing the Nepal Wireless Networking Project (NWNP). International acclaim for this effort was given, including the Magsaysay Award for his contributions to the sector. In 2014, the Internet Society honored him with the Jonathan B. Postel Service Award and inducted him into the Internet Hall of Fame. Pun is also active on social media, where he has about 192k followers on Twitter (@MahabirPun) and about 2.1k followers on Instagram (@MahabirPun).

How much is the Net worth of Mahabir Pun?

Mahabir Pun has made a respectable living as a scientist, educator, social entrepreneur, and activist. Pun began his career as a teacher, but he has come a long way to become Nepal’s national hero for his contributions to the country’s educational system and economic growth. Pun’s total earnings put together give him a net worth of almost $2 million as of 2022. He invests the majority of his wealth, though, in new ideas and technologies.

Early Years: Who are his parents?

On January 22, 1955, Mahabir Pun was born in Nangi Village, Myagdi, Nepal. Mahabir Pun Phagami is his real name. He is of Nepalese descent. His zodiac sign is Aquarius, and he is Asian in heritage. Pun was the oldest kid born to Purbi Pun (mother) and Krishna Pun (father) (mother). His father served in the British army before. He was raised in his hometown of Nangi, a small village located in western Nepal’s mountainous Myagdi District. His early years were spent grazing sheep and cattle.

He went to a village school that lacked supplies like paper, pencils, textbooks, and skilled instructors. Pun’s family relocated to the southern plains of Nepal for Pun’s better education and quality of life after his father resigned from the British army. Then he enrolled at Chitwan’s Khairahani Higher Secondary School. After high school, he attempted to continue his education, but financial issues prevented him from doing so.

He supported his siblings’ education by working as a teacher for almost 12 years in four different schools. He also enrolled in Amrit Science Campus (ASCOL) to further his education. Also, He spent years applying to numerous universities in the US and the UK. Also, He finally enrolled in the University of Nebraska at Kearney on a partial scholarship, where he eventually earned a bachelor’s degree in science education in 1992.

Pun later traveled back to his home town. He established the Himanchal High School, which places a special emphasis on computer instruction and other programs with the potential to generate cash, after seeing how important it was for native children to have a sustainable education. He later went back to the University of Nebraska, where in 2001 he received a master’s degree in educational administration.

What is the Professional Career of Mahabir Pun?

Humanitarian Mahabir Pun has made significant contributions to Nepal’s scientific and educational advancements. He successfully lobbied for the donation of secondhand computers from Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, and the US after his return from the US in 2001. Also, He used two tiny hydro generators that were installed in a nearby stream to power the computers. He then began instructing pupils and other professors in computer classes. He turned to the BBC for help after running into communication and network issues. After the BBC made his predicament public, a few volunteers from Europe and the USA found him.

Last but not least, Pun became the first Nepali to introduce wireless internet technologies to develop remote areas of the Himalayas in 2002 under the name “Nepal Wireless Networking Project” with the help of donations and support from volunteers and foreign organizations like the Donald Strauss Foundation, the International Center for Applied Studies in Information Technology at George Mason University, the World Bank, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Doodle Labs, and Pacific Wire. The E-Networking Research and Development, Gandaki College of Engineering and Sciences, and Prime College were some of the local institutions that made significant contributions to this initiative.

The initiative was able to provide services to more than 140 isolated mountain settlements by 2013. In addition to his achievement in developing a self-sufficient educational system, he has been a key contributor to the new social and economic ventures that serve distant villages in Nepal. Pun spearheaded the effort to create a nonprofit organization called “Rashtriya Abiskar Kendra” or “National Innovation Center” in 2012. The group’s goal was to construct the Innovation and invention center to promote research and development. Since its founding in 2012, this institution has contributed to Nepal’s economic growth. Pun debuted his television program “Aviskar” in 2021 on Galaxy 4K, Nepal’s first 4K channel.

Awards and Achievement

• Mahabir Pun was elected Ashoka Fellow by the Ashoka Foundation in 2002.
• He was awarded the Overall Social Innovations Award from the Global Ideas Bank, aka the Institute for Social Inventions in 2004.
• He became one of the five Nepalis to receive the “Magsaysay Award” in 2007. The award is also considered to be the Nobel Prize of Asia.
• In 2007, he received an honorary degree as a Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Nebraska.
• In 2014, he got inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame.
• In the same year, he won the Jonathan B. Postel Service Award by the Internet Society.
• Pun also received the ICT pioneer Award in 2019.

Who is the wife of Mahabir Pun?

Mahabir Pun is a husband and father. Om Maya Pun, his one and only wife, is his present spouse. His first love was Om Maya. In June 1988, the couple exchanged vows. June Pun, the couple’s lucky daughter, was born on September 20, 1998, in Pokhara. He did not take his wife with him to live with his parents in Chitwan. In Kathmandu, Nepal, Pun and his family are content to coexist as a unit.

Body Stats: What is Mahabir Pun’s height?

Mahabir Pun, who is in his mid-60s, is a charming man with a well-kept physique. He has black hair, brown eyes, and a fair complexion. Also, He is tall, standing at 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 meters), and he weighs 73 kg (160 lbs). He wears size 7 shoes (US).

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