Nepal Update; May 2018
We had another very successful trip to Nepal this year and everyone returned safely and well.
53 of us travelled this year and we again taught in the Peace Garden School, the Noble School and the Tri-Ratna school. There was some quality teaching going on in all three schools and in addition we had a very effective medical team. The latter saw every child in all three schools and worked extremely hard to collate all the medical information so that we have already been able to follow up on getting children treated.
Dr K Howard checking one of the children
Every year when we return from Nepal we leave a great deal of work for my friend Mike to do over there. He has been very busy ‘following up’ on the things we identified- see below.
Mike has organised for another teacher from the Peace Garden School to attend a one year course run jointly by the Rato-Bangla College in Kathmandu and UNICEF. The teacher selected is Miss Maheshwari Marahjan. The main objective of the twelve-month course is to develop professional teachers for primary grades. The claim of the course is that the participants ‘will be well-versed in the various theories of child development and well-practiced in the classroom. After one year of training, they have had sufficient time to learn, observe, and implement high quality teaching and learning and are ready to set out on a successful teaching career’. Maheshwari will then go back into the Peace Garden School and pass on what she has learnt to other teachers. We not only have to pay for her to go on this course but also pay for a replacement teacher in the Peace Garden School.
The follow-up of the medical work has involved Mike organising buses to visit the schools to collect the children identified as needing some form of treatment. The buses took them largely to the dentist but there were some from each school that needed testing for glasses. In addition, the ‘temporary’ classrooms we had built at the Peace Garden School after the earthquake are needing some work and we want to give the children some better drinking water because the well that we had built several years ago is not adequate any more.
To give you some idea of how hard Mike has worked for us since our return here is part of an e mail he sent soon after our return to the UK.
‘Hi guys
I have now been to PGS with the “waterman” and the builder.
In regard to the clean water filtration system: what we think would be good is a filtration system similar to the one in our factory. We think a 500 litre stainless steel holding tank and pipe leads from the holding tank with 3 taps so that the kids are not queuing. I will have a proper estimate of cost on Sunday.. we think about £900 but may well be less. It will include the machines tank and the plumber and plumbing.
I have had a good look at the classrooms in the “temporary” part. The builder thinks it would be better to fill the “dips” in with some concrete. He says that to cement the classrooms completely would be a waste of money as they are fine and just need filling in. He is right as I have had a good look and they are fine especially in a Nepali context.
One of the walls to one of the Temp classrooms does need to be replaced and we will get onto that asap. We will replace and strengthen it, probably with breeze block.. I will know more later.
The cost for all of that will be about £400 I think.
So, overall it won’t be excessively expensive in the great scheme of things.
I am still trying to get the dental thing sorted but the numbers seem to be overwhelming for the local dentists… but I am on the case…
Have good weekend.
Bye for now
Mike’
We therefore need to pay for all this ‘follow-up’ so we are always looking for ways of raising money. Our next fund raiser is a cycle event on the 12th May on the Monsal Trail near Bakewell. I attach details of this event. Please feel free to join us; I am sorry for the late notice. The whole event will be well marshalled and we would require a donation for the Nepal Projects if you do wish to join us. Please let me know.
Many thanks for your support
Keith
Some of our students with the children of the Peace Garden School outside one of the ‘temporary’ classrooms
