Trip to Nepal

More than eight years ago, three teachers from Senior School Voorschoten visited Nepal to run teacher training sessions and investigate suitable locations for possible student activities. The conditions the team set up in 2015 continued for three years, and marked the beginning of the Teach Nepal Project (TNP).

In October 2022, the trip finally came to fruition with a group of 20 students and four teachers from SSV accompanied by a member of the TNP team.

The Teach Nepal Project had made improvements in all nine of the schools. At each school, the students received a warm welcome where they organised activities including painting, drawing, music, reading and team sports, with a lot of excited children interested in where they came from and how old they were!

While on a three day trek to the homestay at Koleli in a neighbouring valley, the group came across Janta Basic School. A beautiful area located at an altitude of about 1,600 metres, Koleli is in a remote and relatively inaccessible location. The children who attend the school come from poor rural families who depend on farming for their income.

Janta Basic School, established in 1973, provides education to 15 junior school children aged 3–10 years and has five classrooms in total. There is a nursery group with four children and a further four classrooms. Its current Headteacher, Mr Bel Prasad Adhikari, leads a team of four staff: two teachers for classes 1 to 5, one Early Childhood Development teacher and one helper who cooks and supports student learning.

The school was damaged in an earthquake in April 2015, but due to a lack of funds it has not yet been repaired. Urgent support is needed to address repairs, carry out improvements and modernisation, and provide educational resources. The Project quickly established a link with the school with help from the local community and regularly raises funds towards these projects.

Since their visit, the Project reports some progress at Koleli. A brand new toilet block has been constructed (a massive improvement on the poor and unhygienic facilities that were in use in October); however building progress has slowed due to a shortage of materials and there is still much work to be done. Keep an eye on the Teach Nepal Project website for progress updates! ■

Continued fundraising efforts

Student Tom’s visit to Nepal made a big impression on him, and in March 2023 he ran the City-PierCity half marathon in The Hague to raise funds for the restoration of the Janta Basic School’s buildings in Koleli. As some sponsors based their contributions on Tom’s finishing time, he had some extra motivation and completed the distance in a respectable 1 hour 50 minutes, accompanied by his friend Nick.

Tom raised the funds for the trip itself, as well as funding a complete chest of musical instruments to be used by the nine schools on a rota basis.

Teacher Mark Bennett completed a Triathlon in April 2023 to encourage more supporters to donate to the costs of the rebuilding or repair of the school buildings.

The Teach Nepal Project thanks Tom and Mark for their continued efforts to raise funds for the children at Koleli school. The team hopes they will get the chance to visit again to see the impact on the project.