Kids at Mani Sangam School, Dumkibas
Welcome to the January 2012 edition of ‘Namaste’, the newsletter of UK registered charity Children of Nepal. We have just returned from a busy trip to Nepal - we had the opportunity to visit a number of projects where work has now been completed as well as visit new schools who are requesting help and support from Children of Nepal. To date we have worked with many schools in Nawal Parasi district that are reasonably accessible by transport. However we are now getting many more requests from schools that are further off the beaten track and we are delighted to say that we were able to visit some of these, though not all. In these more remote areas, teachers and school committees (similar to governing bodies) are working extremely hard to provide reasonable facilities for children in these areas so that they can get a good education within the area they live. More details of these are in this newsletter.
Recent visit to Nepal
During our visit, we had contact with 23 schools/projects – 14 of these were schools new to us and 9 were schools we have worked with already or have had previous contact with. Of these 9, six are requesting further support from Children of Nepal, giving a total of 20 funding applications. We have agreed to fund 14 of these, with the possibility of funding others at a later date.
Once again we were welcomed with great enthusiasm at all the schools we were able to visit and it was wonderful to be able to see the progress made with our previous projects and the difference it was making to the education of the children. Next time we hope to be able to visit some of those we couldn't get to this time.
Projects in a new area - Deurali
The day after we arrived at our village we were asked to visit the hill area of Deurali, where a number of schools had asked for help from Children of Nepal. We visited Janta Lower Secondary School, in the village of Guheri, approx. 1 hours jeep drive from the main road. At Janta, we also met teachers from three other schools which are further up the hill from Guheri, in different directions. The schools need help with either classroom building or water and sanitary facilities. So far we have agreed to provide support for two of these schools, Durga School and Janta School.
Durga School, Namjakhot, Deurali 8
This school is in the village of Namjakhot, which is a further 2-3 hours walk uphill from Janta School. The headteacher, Gopal Gurung, is quietly spoken, dedicated and determined to improve the classroom facilities at his school. The school teaches up to Class 6 (including a pre-school class, as there is now a government requirement for schools to offer education to pre-school age groups) and currently has 203 pupils in 7 classes. Four of the classrooms were built 4 years ago, but the other three were built when the school was established 33 years ago. This was a very basic building in the first place, and over the years it has deteriorated badly - the walls are damaged and the roof leaks water (see photo).
Damaged classroom building at Durga School, Deurali
This school community are very committed to improving the school for the kids, and though they are in a very poor area where families live by subsistence farming, they provide 40% of the funding for the 7 teachers (as the government currently only provides 60%). The school has asked us to help by buying materials for a new three classroom block. We will provide materials for two classrooms and the school will raise funds for the third. The community will also contribute by gathering local materials eg stone, and they will also make their own concrete blocks (reducing the cost further).
We are very pleased to be able to support this school and hope to be able to visit the completed project soon.
Durga School children
New build at Jana Shakti School, Beldiya
New classroom block at Jana Shakti
It was very encouraging to visit Jana Shakti School in Beldiya and see the recently completed five-classroom block that Children of Nepal have part funded. The building work had been started when we visited last time - the new building has enabled them to take on both pre-school and Class 6 (in addition to just Classes 1- 5) as well as restrict their use of the very old classroom block.
Kids in new classrooms at Jana Shakti, Dec 2011
Partnership approach
In addition to the projects mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter, we have also approved projects at the following schools:
Jana Jagriti School, Ratanpur 3 - we were able to visit this lower secondary school in the hill area of Ratanpur. They currently run classes up to Class 7 and hope to offer up to Class 8 in the near future. They have 350 pupils in total, with class sizes up to 75 per class! We will provide £2000 for materials for a two classroom block - the school will contribute by providing materials and meeting some of the labour costs.
Sakala Devi School - we returned to this school to check progress with the building of a classroom block and a toilet block. We agreed to part fund the materials to enable them to build two further classrooms on the first floor (£1800). The school has raised funds from the local community and a grant has also been sought and awarded from the government.
Kumarwati School, Mukundapur - we also agreed to provide fencing material to make the compound secure at this school that we visited on our last trip.
Mani Sangam School, Dumkibas - we visited this school where we provided part funding for two classrooms last time, and agreed some additional funding to complete the doors and windows and to provide furniture. / Dewachuli School, Bulingtar
On our previous visit the headteacher from this school, Madav Pathak, came to visit us to ask for financial support for building two classrooms. The school is well away from the main road in a very hilly area and travel to the school by rough track and jeep on steep hillsides is extremely slow and difficult. This year, we were invited to the school to check the progress of the project and to see the school for ourselves. We travelled for over 4 hours through forests, hills and remote settlements to reach the school and were given an extremely warm welcome by children, staff and the village community. The chair of the school committee used to teach at the school himself and he also chaired the village group that campaigned to get electricity for this area (finally achieved 2 years ago).
Kids at Dewachuli, with new classrooms behind
Old classrooms at Dewachuli
It was a privilege to visit this school and to meet the kids and staff. The commitment shown by the head teacher and the chair of the school committee to provide a primary education to young children in this area is inspiring. It means young children do not have to walk as far to receive an education. We look forward to hearing about their progress.
Janta School, Guheri, Deurali 1
Janta Lower Secondary School has 250 pupils across Classes 1-6. They have made a start to a new building to replace very old unsuitable classrooms. Foundations and concrete pillars are in place, but they have insufficient funds to progress this three classroom building. We have agreed to provide 300,000 rupees (approx. £2345) for the materials to complete this project.
Janak Primary School, Gaidakot 4
This school is situated in the main valley running west from the town of Narayanghat in the area of Gaidakot, where some of our earlier projects were located. The school caters for 300 pupils from pre-school to Class 5. There are a number of classrooms of varying ages - however one five-classroom block is extremely old and is in need of replacement. Until it is replaced, two classes are sharing one classroom and others leak water during rainy periods. Bricks and wood from the existing building will be recycled and used for the new building where possible.
Old classrooms in need replacing at Janak Primary School
This school has been seeking funding for new classrooms for some time and have previously asked Children of Nepal for support. We have agreed to provide funding for the new four classroom-block (£4688). We plan to build this project with the very generous donations made in recent years by Chris and Tanya Todd and this gives us a great opportunity to record our thanks to them for their support - this project will improve the education of all the children attending this school.
On 25th Dec 2011, we were delighted to attend a small ceremony to lay the first foundation stone for this building. The 'puja' (religious blessing) was led by a local priest and is to ensure good luck for both the building work and the future use of the classrooms. The event was filmed and we were very surprised to see ourselves on TV later that day when it was shown on the local news channel.
Support in Nepal and the UK
None of the above projects would be able to be completed without the fantastic help of the following people in Nepal: Ganga and Kamala Pandey, and Bishnu Pandey. Thank you very much to them. They carry out invaluable work on behalf of Children of Nepal, liaising with schools, acting as key contacts and managing administration and payments. In the UK, special thanks go to Alan Cowburn who maintains our web site for us. There are also many others who help in different ways behind the scenes - thank you very much to all of you.
Fundraising
Once again our annual Bike Ride, held on 16th July 2011, was a fantastic event which was enjoyed by all. We raised the grand total of £2900 which in the current financial climate is a real achievement, and we thank everyone who took part and sought out sponsors as well as all those who sponsored us. This is by far our most successful fund raising activity and has become an established feature in our calendar. As well as the bike ride, walk and Bar-B-Q, many of us made a great weekend of it by camping over.
This year's Bike Ride and Walk is planned for 14th July 2012, once again at Ferry Meadows, Peterborough. Please let us know if you would like to join us in raising more funds for schools just like the ones featured in this newsletter.
Donations
Many thanks to all those who have made any kind of donation to our charity. Donations vary from small to large, regular to one off - all are appreciated as without these we would not be able to help fund many of the projects we are currently supporting. Special thanks to Roem Ltd for their ongoing donations, to Church of the Ascension, Warrington, who donate proceeds from their annual harvest celebration and to all those who give money every month either for building projects or to sponsor the education of individual children.
A final note...
We would welcome any kind of involvement from you. You could organise a fund raising event, sponsor us or make a donation. The facilities at government schools in Nepal are a world away from those enjoyed by children in the UK and other countries - by supporting Children of Nepal, you can help develop these facilities which will improve the education of all the children at these schools.
January 2012 p 3 of 3 children-of-nepal.org.uk