Better lives for 1,000 families in Ramdhuni, Nepal

After such a long period of on-and-off COVID-related disruption, it is so exciting and gratifying that the schools in rural Ramdhuni Municipality, Nepal are operating consistently once again! 

ETC and local partner Save the Earth are working directly and intensively with a dozen primary and secondary schools as well as with eleven additional ECD (early childhood development) classrooms. The latter are affiliated with the local schools, but there is simply not enough space for them on the school campuses, so they are being housed in other community buildings. All in all, more than 2,500 students ages 3 to 18 attend these schools and ECD classrooms.

Each school has a "wish list" of physical resources and improvements - classroom furniture and educational materials, recreational equipment, and infrastructure upgrades such as drinking water access or toilet construction. Our staff works directly with the headmasters and teachers to prioritize our activities year by year, ensuring that the schools are getting what they need most, soonest. 

Teacher training is also among our key activities. Multi-day trainings are offered according to subjects taught (science, English, math...). ECD teachers also benefit from special training and networking opportunities throughout the year, and teachers at all levels can participate in our popular music therapy training, which encourages incorporation of movement and singing into the curriculum. Music therapy training was launched in the aftermath of the 2015 earthquakes, when we noticed that many students were affected by post-traumatic stress and anxiety and needed a healthy way to blow off steam. But really, all students can benefit from a break from desk work, and the teachers love these techniques too! 

Another of our educational programs, perhaps less well-known than those described above, is the establishment of child clubs. While we help establish these, they are then run by the students with support from their teachers. These clubs are a way for students to participate in a variety of enriching and fun extracurricular activities such as sports and cultural events, the creation of a school bulletin and other publications (with original poems, stories, and drawings by the students), and even a school vegetable garden where space permits. Extracurricular activities are very commonly available in the US and other countries, but have not typically been available in Nepal, so this is a great way for the students to have fun while gaining leadership and teamwork experience.

We all know that there are important social and academic benefits to kids when they have consistent access to education. Thanks to all of you, our friends and supporters, these benefits can accrue to the 2,500+ children and adolescents enrolled in our supported schools!

Links:

• ETC's website (Photos and Publications page)
• ETC's YouTube channel
• ETC's Facebook page

The name "Educate the Children" clearly indicates our roots as an organization that strives to improve both access to and quality of educational opportunities for kids. Although we quite early on expanded our work to support the children's mothers and families through our women's empowerment and sustainable agricultural development programming, our children's education work is still of critical importance to our mission and to the well-being of families in rural Nepal.

All three of our program areas are integrated and mutually supportive. For example, helping mothers gain the skills to earn more money ensures that children won't have to be taken out of school because they need to work or because their families cannot pay for the necessary supplies and fees.

In March, before the New Year break*, I visited nine of the schools with which ETC and local partner organization Save the Earth are currently working. The children and teachers alike seemed very glad to be steadily back to school after having been in and out more than once during course of the pandemic. The headmasters also expressed sincere gratitude for ETC's very practical and useful support in the relatively short time we've been working with these particular schools. As you can see from the photos, the buildings themselves appear to be for the most part in fairly good structural condition - meaning for example that the walls are solid - but there is still plenty of work to be done. Headmasters/teachers and ETC staff work together to establish the top priorities for each school, including such things construction of toilet facilities, provision of furniture, and provision of educational supplies/materials.

As for non-tangibles, the most important thing ETC does is to provide training for the teachers, who will otherwise have no opportunities for continuing professional development. The overarching goal is to help them move away from traditional rote-based instructional practices to more interactive techniques that encourage critical thinking and problem-solving among the students.

We are honored to have earned the trust and respect of so many educational professionals, parents, and students over the course of more than three decades of work in Nepal's schools. And, as always, we are grateful to friends and supporters like you who make it all possible. Thank you!

* Spring is transition time for Nepal's school year, which typically ends in early March and starts anew after the Nepali New Year in mid-April. In 2022, because of pandemic-related delays, the previous school year ended a bit later and the new school year will start a bit later.

Links:

• ETC's YouTube channel
• ETC's Facebook page