One Brick at a Time.... Nepal - by Callum

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"We met Tsering at the border when we crossed over from Tibet into Nepal. He chatted to us while we waited for our bus to Kathmandu. Tsering invited us to visit his school there later in the week. He was on holiday visiting his family. He said we could come to the school to find him and guess what? WE DID!

At the school Aiden and I went to the classrooms and had a look around. It has a good view at the top! There's lots of rooms to hide in! The children looked happy and they were studying hard. They made some good posters to put on the wall to share their learning. I asked what we could do to help and Tsering said he wanted to paint a new picture on the wall. First we had to clean off the old one from a long time ago.

Here is some information about the school. If you are in Nepal or you want to sent them some help, they will be very happy. It's a good school and there is a Monastery at the back where they have nice music and a garden!"


CONVENTRY CHILDREN's SCHOOL, JORPATI, KATHMANDU NEPAL


Introduction: The school was founded in 1996 by Santa KC, a Nepali woman sympathetic to the Tibetan cause. She ran the school until 2008 and brought it up to 17 children. In 2008 she left for the USA and promised to come back. But…she did not.

No one was there to handle the school, so the Tibetan Teacher of the school, Tsering Gyalpo, took over as a defacto Principal. Tsering, a Tibetan himself, changed the style and teaching method of the school. This increased the total number of students to 116, of which 24 are orphans living in the house with Tsering and his family. Since the main emphasis was now on teaching Tibetan language and culture, it attracted many more Tibetans and of course many children from Nepal. A regular sponsor from Europe has not been able to continue their financial support.

Of the 116 children, only 33 can afford to pay a minimal tuition fee, between 500 and 650 Nepali Rupee. 24 Students are supported by Kids Shangrila Home Project. This Belgian NGO is willing to continue their support, but not in a position to increase their support, since they also have experienced a decrease in donations.

Current Financial Situation: There are ten teachers on the pay roll as well as four paid non teaching staff. The school building has 21 rooms which help house and educate the children. Rent per month for this is currently 580 US dollars. The support of Sangrila and the tuition paid leaves the school with a monthly deficit of 45.000 Nepali Rupee. This has been paid in the last two years by Tsering making loans from various sources and gratefully receiving financial help from friends and family. An alternative solution has to be found urgently....

A proposed solution: if you are in any position to spread the word, please network for the school!! This is in support of maintaining an education opportunity for all children as well as preserving some of the Tibetan local language and traditions. TASHI DELECK!

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