Review of the decade!

We have wanted to thank to all our donors and write statistics of what was achieved so far. Beyond graphs and numbers I want to simplify it and recently I received this photo which made me super proud. Here you see the Elders who worked with me and Choice Nepal to create so needed safe drinking water pipeline in 2011, only this time the Elders become the teachers and theirs son’s their students. They were able to request local funding for the needed material themselves.

The primary school where most of our efforts was focused have also a teacher from their community. Kisor Bhujel was our student when we first came to the village. The teachers also received a positive feedback and are being recognised for their continues improvements. The school has more women teachers and they work as one team, still making lunch for all the children which is being sponsored. Thanks to you!

We realised very early that important part in education is a nutrition and hungry kids just can’t learn. By providing free lunch we attracted more students to become regular students, by providing materials, training and workshops we made class a fun place to be.

The school has brand new creative class 1 from Children of the Mountain and our teachers are receiving weekly support from our project manager. He has been invaluable in making connections, bringing people to hospitals in emergencies and bringing villagers to any free health camps provided by the Government hospitals and private organisations. He has earned trust of the locals who are very shy.

The village soon will also have health assistant as Urmila Bhujel is the first to achieve such qualification. Back in 2015 she came to school crying that she will have to stop the school and that all she wanted to do is to continue her studies, with her dad’s failing health she was being pushed to work at home, making nanglos. Without the direct support and help over the years which means everything from pencils to school fees and exam fees, this would not be possible. Choosing the profession in health – she will be able to support and give back to the community.

Lastly this project would not be possible without people who have no qualification in rural development yet, what they all have is a deep empathy, love, stubbornness to not give up because no man is an island and Education is the way.

It was not an easy ride but I am so grateful that we all made it possible and although it takes a long time to see real impact. I feel they have the tools to make the change themselves now. Thank you for supporting us and please still do!

Happy New year to all !

Teacher training from Ella Piya on how to read stories.
New creative class provided by Childern of the mountain charity.

Nursery building preparations have begun

The end of school year exams are over and the school is planning to publish the results on 10th April.

Project teachers Pampha and Kamala took part in one day training at Seto Gurans nursery in Bandipur on 24th March. That training was focused on preparing materials. Sister Miriam was the trainer.

Kamala at Training Pampha at training

One of our long term supporters and donaters is in Bandipur, Christina from Germany. She gave Bikram US$200 to spend for our school. Thank you Christina!

Bikram will buy things for the school after consultation with project staff members and SMC.

On 26th March four Rotarians including Dr. Madan Kumar Piya (senior chest and cancer physician ) originally from Bandipur visited the school. School family and villagers welcomed them. They promised to help our school in the future like making a new school building.

Group Photho with rotarians Rotarian at School

As of 28th March, they have started to build the new nursery building. Bikram has bought construction materials like cement, steel bars, bricks, sand, stone, metal frame for windows and doors.

brick cement metal fram of door ramkrishna at work sand steel bar stone for foundations

Bikram and the teachers also repaired their educational materials in preparation for the new school year. Bikram was also involved in checking the answers, marking the students end of year exams.

bikram checking answer paper

It was also noted that the climate is becoming warmer day by day 🙂

Teacher training and immunisations

On 26 and 27 February project teachers, Pampha and Kamala Gurung went to Seto Gurans Nursery in Bandipur to take part in a two day workshop.

Pampha and Kamala at work shop in seto Gurans in Bandipur

In school teachers and students themselves have been dubbing the classrooms. This is a traditional method of repairing the clay floors and walls of houses and buildings, with the use of water to soften the surfaces.

teachers dubbing classroom

On 28 February two project teachers, Pampha and Sarita and some mothers, took their kids for immunisations of rubella, polio and measles. Bikram and the teachers took 14 children from school and some other mothers took their children themselves. After the immunisations Bikram treated the children with some biscuits.

kids going to immunization certre

kid taking measles  vaccine

kid taking polio

On 3rd March the school will be having its anniversary day, with lots of celebrations. We are really looking forward to seeing the pictures!

Teacher Training Camp in Bandipur

Last week, from 17 January to 23 January, there was winter holiday in the school. All the five female teachers took part in a 2 day teacher training camp held on 17 and 18 January in Bandipur. This time the training was focus on teaching Nepali. Some of the villagers came to free health camp.

Teacher Training 1

Teacher Training 2 (2) Teachers  with Material

 

School’s reopened after summer break

The school opened on 3 August after summer vacation. From the 3 August there was a two day teacher training course in Bandipur, jointly organised by the Rotary Club of Aberdeen, Scotland and the Rotary Club of Patan West Nepal.

The training was focused on the following topics:

a) developmental stages (0-12 years)
b) three stages of questions
c) writing patterns
d) phonetic skills (a-z)
e) physical education
f) thematic approach
g) making big book
h) book based activities
i) spelling routine
j) beat the time (chart)
k) geometrical shapes and patterns
l) thermometer reading
m) human bingo
n) estimation menu
o) multiplication chart
p) finding direction
q) making rain gauge
r) read aloud
s) poem

In this training project teachers Pampha, Sarita and Kamala took part. On Wednesday 6 August our project manager Bikram Piya from Bandipur went to the Aandhimul school and asked them to show what they had learned from the training. All of them demonstrated what they had learned well.

You can see photos of the training and buying educational material for the school in Dumre below.

On this current visit Bikram noted that they there were 34 children currently attending in school and that the head teacher was in school due to his sickness.

Teacher Pampha on the teacher training Teacher Sarita with materials she made from the teacher training Teachers Kamala and Sarita in the teacher training Teacher Pampha with school children Teacher Kamala in the nursery with the children Teacher Kamala in the nursery with the children 2 Bikram writing up report visit 2 members of the Aandhimul School committee Bharat and Resham