Better Schools in Rural Nepal!

It's been about 28 months since the 7.8-magnitude earthquake devastated much of Nepal. Since that time, ETC's commitment to helping the people of three Village Development Committees (or VDCs, somewhat similar to American counties) make better lives for themselves has been unwavering. The village residents themselves - our valued and constant project partners - have also shown enormous resilience and determination. But the work itself has, of course, been more challenging than usual. Because literally every one of the 30 schools* with which we had been working suffered major physical damage, every one of them needed significant help to get up and running again.

And although it's now more than two years later, many of them STILL need significant help in order to provide the kind of learning environment that the children deserve.

The photo above, depicting the early childhood education classroom at Bhadrawati Primary School, illustrates this point. There are ETC-provided educational materials and items of furniture - but more of both are needed to ensure a welcoming and comfortable learning environment for these 4- to 6-year-old children. Unfortunately, given that many unimproved "temporary" classrooms like this one can't be locked when not in use, there is a risk of theft (we know, it's sad...but it happens) and therefore it's not a good idea to leave anything of any value inside. Moreover, the building itself is neither as weatherproof nor as sturdy as it should be.

Compare this to the photo below, showing the early education classroom at Deurali Primary School. This was one of the first new buildings we supported, in early 2016. It's sturdy, weatherproof, comfortable, attractive, and well-supplied/furnished. The children, teachers, and families are delighted with it. The building design (our own) has been praised by the District Education Office as a model for replication elsewhere.

These two photos were both taken earlier this summer, and these schools are within a relatively short distance of each other in the same VDC. Yet it's clear to all of us which classroom we'd prefer for our own children. 

We are very grateful for your support of children's education in rural Nepal. If you're able to make another gift now, we'd be even more grateful - and so would the children and their families!

Until next time, thank you once again.

* In an earlier report, we mentioned that one small school with which we had been working prior to the quakes had not yet reopened, and that the students had to walk farther to attend school elsewhere. We are very glad to report that that school has recently reopened, much to the benefit and happiness of the local families!

Photos by Rajanee Kunwar, ETC Documentation Officer 

Links:

• ETC's website
• ETC's Facebook page

When it comes to financial and logistical support, primary schools in rural Nepal are often overlooked in favor of larger secondary schools. Primary schools may have as few as three or four classrooms, and serve only a few grade levels. Since the earthquakes, government entities and large charitable organizations have therefore often chosen to focus their (limited) rebuilding efforts on the bigger schools, many of which serve children up through grades 10 through 12.

Yet we know that children's positive experiences in early education are so important to their success in secondary and post-secondary educational levels, and to eventual success in the careers of their choice. A child who drops out during the primary school years is very unlikely to resume his or her interrupted education, and will probably be mired in lifelong poverty. Moreover, these smaller schools were at least as badly damaged by the 2015 earthquakes as larger schools were, and they are in many ways the backbones of their village communities.

With these facts in mind, Educate the Children has already enabled the construction of many new classrooms at six primary schools in Dolakha District. ETC provided the original design, managed the approval process, purchased some of the building materials, and oversaw the construction progress. Local residents (some of whom are parents of children in the schools) did the physical building work and provided/transported some of the building materials (e.g., stone for foundations).

Funds permitting, it is our goal to support the remaining thirteen primary schools in our project area with these new multi-room PLCs (Permanent Learning Centers). One of these is Laliguras Primary School, which had been closed for two years after the earthquakes but is now reopened, much to the benefit and happiness of the village children who now don't have to walk so far to attend a different school! Every one of these thirteen schools is of great importance to its community. Collectively, they nurture many hundreds of children every year - children who will be the future teachers, farmers, health care providers, and parents in their villages.

On behalf of everyone at ETC, thank you for caring about these children and for helping to ensure their brighter futures!

Links:

• ETC's Facebook page
• ETC's Twitter feed (@ETC_Nepal)