The Nepal Trust empowers people by education, raising awareness, sharing knowledge & on-the-job trainings. At local community level, we mobilise local communities to enhance the people’s skill level though responsible and accountable (technical) trainings, communication and computer education. Working with our international partners our focus is on the improvement of education standards by improved school and education facilities. Together we have undertaken a significant number of new build and school refurbishment projects across many communities in many different districts in Nepal.
Girls 100% to School
Age-old taboos and myths – the ‘Chhapaudi’ – are the reason that many girls stay at home for at least one week per month missing out on education. This mindset is most prevalent in the poorer rural areas but even in provinces such Baglung on average 45% of teenage girls stay at home – or in a cabin – during their menstrual periods.
The 100% Girls to School project is focused on addressing this prejudice and inequality in the education for girls in a practical manner across all 120 secondary schools in the Baglung district. It has 3 components:
- Education and awareness classes for boys and girls
- Construction of school sanitation facilities
- Production or provision of sanitary products
Local health workers, the headmasters, teachers and village committees are working with us to deliver phase 1 of the programme, which commenced in 2018 and, despite the interrupts of Covid19 lockdowns, is expected to complete in 2023. Phase 2 of the programme will re-enforce the education and awareness classes: our ambition is to reach out to a whole generation of students.
Kaylash Humla Children’s Hostel (KHCH)
Muchu village, high up the Karnali valley close to the Tibetan boarder, supports a secondary school used not only by students from Muchu village but also students from the even more remote surrounding villages. For example Chala village, nestling beneath Mt Saipal, is over half a day’s walk from Muchu and students from Chala can only attend school in Muchu if provision is made to accommodate them at Muchu during term time.
In 2014 the Nepal Trust adopted the KHCH project in partnership with a number of Rotary clubs in the UK and engaged in raising the funds to build and support a hostel in partnership with the community, where students from the outlying villages would be looked after and also benefit from out of school classes.
Today the school is thriving and very popular with the local community. It offers education and accommodation for over 60 students, two thirds being girls as boys are also able to get an education in the nearby Buddhist monasteries. The project is ongoing and provides basic food (rice and flour) for the children and has also funded the building of a greenhouse for summer growing of vegetables for consumption by the children and also for sale to the local community, generating funds for the purchase of further supplies, which cannot be grown locally.
Humla Education Project
The overall pattern of poor education standards in Nepal is dominated by the lack of infrastructure, skilled and motivated teachers and education material and equipment.
Although the government has built schools in many of the villages in Humla with the view to ensuring a basic education for all children, many schools nevertheless lack basic infrastructure such as class-rooms in a proper state of repair, sanitation facilities and basic furniture, such as cabinets, desks and chairs.
We have been working in Humla for nearly 30 years implementing education, sport and literacy programs, school and library construction projects, hostel establishment projects, child health education programs (Little Doctors) and volunteer placement programs.
The objective of the Humla Education project is to repair various government schools that are in a poor condition and in a dilapidated state and to provide them with basic furniture which will allow the schools the opportunity to provide classes on a regular basis in a safe environment.
For this project 16 government schools have been identified that are in urgent need of repair. These schools have 2,613 students in total (1,216 girls and 1,397 boys) and 112 teachers that will benefit directly from the project.
Baratpur Deaf School Project
Based in Chitwan province close to the border with India, the Baratpur deaf school was operating out of a crowded building rendered unsafe by the devastating earthquake of 2015, when the project was brought to our attention by the Rotary Club of Holbeach.
Together and supported by a number of other Rotary Clubs, Stichting Nepal and Wide Ganzen we raised the funds to undertake a major new school build project, providing additional classrooms and sanitation facilities, constructed to the new building standards introduced by the government of Nepal post the 2015 earthquake.
Thehe School
Only half a day’s walk lower down the Karnali valley from Simikot, the regional centre of Humla, Thehe is one of the largest but poorest villages in Humla. With a growing predominantly Hindu population, the village had a desperate need for additional classrooms and teaching facilities.
With the support of both Stichting Nepal and Wilde Ganzen, the Nepal Trust undertook to construct and furnish a new secondary school on the outskirts of the village.
Completed in 2015 the school now supports a student population of over 100 students. The old village school is now dedicated to providing primary education.
More recently we re-engaged with the community to support the engagement of one additional teacher and a school caretaker and also undertook to provide school uniforms, bags and additional education materials.
