Nepal: The B Project

Construction Progresses at Balsudhar Primary School Site: Q1 2018

April 16, 2018

Sandesh Dhakal and Deanna Boulard

Summary of Activities
  • Balsudhar Primary School currently serves 45 students in the remote village of Kafle, in Bhotenamlang VDC. Classes are held in a temporary classroom previously built by RMF/Seven Summits Women. Construction of the new, permanent building began during this reporting period, and progress is now well underway.
  • Throughout the reporting period, the Build Up Nepal (BUN) engineer and local construction team concentrated their efforts on building Balsudhar Primary School. We hope to begin laying the foundation for the Bhotenamlang Community Center during the next quarter.
  • We had a brief meeting with teachers from the respective schools regarding attendance and any difficulties they face. The teachers have highlighted the need for extra hands (part-time teachers or volunteers), meals, and extracurricular activities for the students, which would help boost students’ enthusiasm for school. We are currently working on finding the means to look into their requests.
  • We have begun providing school uniforms for 432 students at 4 schools in the remote villages of The B Project’s target area, Sindhupalchok district. The schools were chosen based on the income level of the villages and students from minority castes.
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Results &

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Construction Progresses

Balsudhar Primary School, Kafle

Construction tools and materials were purchased and on-site by January 19, 2018. The CSEB machine was delivered to the construction site on February 9, 2018, through which local soil is mixed with sand and cement to produce durable brick. On-the-job training was provided to the local construction workers by BUN, and BUN’s engineer will lead the entire construction process. Additional construction materials including stone, cement, rods, sand, and gravel were purchased on March 18, 2018. Work on the foundation level is ongoing as of the end of March.

Planning for the Environment Center in Melamchi

New Land Acquired

Seven Summits Women has acquired 2,053.5 square meters of land for construction of the Environment Center in Melamchi, Sindhupalchok. We are also coordinating to lease 16,428 square meters or more of additional land. The local municipality is committed to helping us in this project, and the engineer traveled from Kathmandu to asses the land on February 11, 2018. We are now working on the budget and will soon have an estimate prepared.

Volunteer Teachers

Supporting Education

  • Volunteer Audrey Paugh, from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada, was placed at the Shree Ganesh Primary School, Bhotenamlang. She is teaching English to the students and teachers, along with leading extracurricular activities for the students.
  • Volunteer Neil Greenwood was placed at Panch Pokhari Basic School, Gobre. He is teaching the students English, hygiene, music, and games. Mr. Greenwood is also working to involve the local community in the activities of the school, creating awareness on the importance of sending children to school.

New Teacher Hired

Supporting Early Childhood Development

On February 14, 2018, we hired Buddhi Maya Gurung, (currently studying for her bachelor’s degree) to facilitate Early Childhood Development (ECD) classes and ensure cleanliness and hygiene among the students at Shree Ganesh Primary School, Bhotenamlang. She also works in coordination with the school administration for effective maintenance of the grounds, including the regular supply of water (a scarcity at the school) and management of the school garden and playground in coordination with the students.

Sewing Team Begins

Uniforms Distributed

A makeshift workshop has been built on space provided by Mrs. Rukmini Gurung, and the team started training and sewing the uniforms on January 8, 2018. The tailor assigns specific responsibilities to each seamstress and monitors their work. We began distributing the uniforms to the children on February 11, 2018, starting with the two smaller schools: Panch Pokhari Basic School and Balsudhar Primary School. On March 28, 2018, we distributed uniforms to the 119 students at Shree Bachalamai Basic School. The remaining 252 uniforms, for the children at Golmeshwari Basic School in Tar, should be ready for distribution by mid-April.

Empowering Female Guides

Self-Defense Class Organized

After a survivor of sex trafficking shared her experience of incidents and occasions when female guides are bullied and harassed during the trek by male colleagues, we decided to organize a self-defense class for the women guides with Mr. Bikrant Bikram Chand, founder of Real Self-Defense Academia of Fight Management. A total of 6 participants took part in the class. Laxmi, one of the participants, said this is “a technique that each girl/woman should be introduced to, as it is not the strength in one’s body that makes us strong but the knowledge to save ourselves from the surrounding dangers."

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Background

& Objectives

Background

Maya Gurung and Shailee Basnet are now respected leaders in their community. They have earned the reputation of being ‘doers’ among villagers who often only see ‘talkers.’ Maya and Shailee have signed an Memorandum of Understanding with the district government to rebuild five schools in Maya’s home village of Bhotenamlang in the district of Sindhupalchok. This district has the greatest death toll after the Nepal earthquake, and in Maya’s village, there is literally not a house standing. As a result, sex-trafficking is more rampant than ever. Keeping kids, especially girls, in school is the most effective way to ensure that they stay away from traffickers. Educating women in remote areas, as well as empowering them by creating choices, is the way to keep them safe and on track.

Objectives

  • Rebuild, equip and staff six schools
  • Create proper administration
  • Facilitate running water and sanitary toilets
  • Provide school supplies
  • Provide counseling and teacher training & support
  • Provide afternoon meals for children
  • Establish initiatives to build awareness of anti-trafficking for children and adults
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More

Photos

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Real Medicine Foundation - more photos.
Real Medicine Foundation - more photos.
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