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Kathmandu 15th of May 2009 - ABD
Over the last couple of weeks we have been to the Squatters School a few times. Andy has taken to teaching some English classes there and I have been trying to figure out a way to keep the teachers with the project.
Their main concern and rightfully so, is that they are unable to survive on the salary provided to them by the NGO that funds the school.
They are paid a minimal salary that makes for less than half of any governmental teachers salary. True, they are not qualified teachers as such but the job they do at the school is remarkable.
First of all, try and get any other person to come and teach in the slum and you will be presented with your first challenge. It is not the most pleasant place on earth and although the students make up for the area’s lack of charm with their smiley faces and eagerness to learn, I often find it difficult to convince people to come even for a visit.
Secondly, they have put their love into teaching and have found ways to engage their students. The progress
I have witnessed these children make is remarkable and I credit the teacher’s love in their work for it.
Third, the fact that the teaches are slum dwellers themselves, provides the children and their parents with a point of reference. Of identification. Often the teachers spend their after school hours, talking to the parents of the slums children and convincing them that an education is the way to go. Many slum dwellers do not send their children to school as they believe it is a waste of time and they can find “better” uses for their kids. That is why the sight of children as young as 5, lifting sand out of the river bed into plastic bags for sale is not uncommon. Other children sometimes only 3 or 4 years old need to stay at home and babysit the latest addition to the family brood.
Most of the children at the Manohara slum are lucky enough to be attending school. Mainly due to their teachers canvassing. Other slum children are not so lucky.
These are the main reasons that make these teachers so valuable. They have created a safe haven for these children, a familiar environment
in which they learn and grow and in which a bright future for them stands now as an opportunity they did not have three years ago. Now this is threatened as the teachers are trying to find better paying jobs. They don’t want to leave the school but it is almost impossible for them to stay on that salary.
The NGO that is responsible for the school is financially stretched. Andrew and myself visited them last week and had a long meeting with them discussing all the school’s issues. They where very welcoming as I had initiated the construction of an additional classroom as well as doors and windows to be put in last year with the support of iRINIAID. They told us that they are unable to raise the teachers salaries because of lack of funds.
iRINIAID is the name for a group of people who have supported financially various projects around Nepal over the last 18 months, responding to my pledges. It is my deepest wish that this becomes a registered INGO so that we can canvass for more donations and use them to expand the school and further support the teachers.
At the moment
Andrew and I have promised the teachers that we will find donors to support an increase in their salary income of 15 Euros per month. We asked them to hold on for a few more weeks, to give us a chance to help them stay with the school. They are currently on 35 Euros per month.
We have been lucky enough to receive the support of RAN (Rural Assistance Nepal) a British registered NGO, which is run by my friend Marianne Heredge. She has added a page to her website about the ‘Squatters School’ and has made her NGO’s account available for our donors.
http://pa-nepal.org/ran/saraswati.html
We have had a positive response from four people who are willing to support a teacher for a year. By donating 15 Euros per month for one year, Anita and Steve, Maria and Liam are not only sponsoring one teacher but they are sponsoring 130 children. They are creating and sustaining real hope.
We are still looking for one more donor as there are five teachers at the school.
We have set up pages on facebook giving information on the school and the teachers.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1675608789#/pages/Kathmandu/Squatters-School-Koteshwor-Saraswati-Primary-Kathmandu/10405620199
You can donate
online via RAN's facebook causes page
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/261169?m=81fdef5b
or just conatct me or Andy to give you alternative bank accounts if this is something you would like to do.
Hopefully soon, we will have one more donor.
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narayan shrestha
non-member comment
good
hi i am narayan from manohara.i feel glad to see this because there is my house and life.thank you very much for this.i hope you will visit on future ............................