The devastating earthquake of 25 April 2015 and its many aftershocks have caused untold damage to schools in Nepal. ETC will draw upon our many years of successful school improvement projects and upon our extensive relationships with school personnel and local residents to help rebuild schools, enabling children to resume their educations in schools that will be better than before.
The 7.8-magnitude earthquake of April 25, 2015 and the so-called "aftershock" of May 12, 2015 effectively destroyed every school in Dolakha District. Children's educations were interrupted for several weeks until ETC and other organizations could effect the rapid construction of Temporary Learning Centers (TLCs). These facilities allowed children to return to school as soon as was reasonably possible, but many will not be suitable for longer-term use and need to be improved.
ETC has more than two decades of experience in working closely with school personnel and parents to make physical improvements to schools in Nepal. In the aftermath of the earthquakes, we acted quickly to provide temporary classrooms. Many of these will need to be rendered more weather-resistant (some have no walls, others have tarp walls) and better equipped/supplied for ongoing use, because they will likely be in service for quite some time while the permanent schools are being rebuilt.
Children need a safe environment in which to learn. Any long-term disruption to their educations, such as may result from insufficient school facilities, is likely to lead to higher dropout rates. They will have greater difficulty in obtaining good jobs as adults, and will be more likely to continue living in the conditions of extreme poverty in which so many of them are growing up. This project to improve temporary classrooms will help ensure the futures of thousands of children!
