By Lisa Lyons | US Director
After such a long period of on-and-off COVID-related disruption, it is so exciting and gratifying that the schools in rural Ramdhuni Municipality, Nepal are operating consistently once again!
ETC and local partner Save the Earth are working directly and intensively with a dozen primary and secondary schools as well as with eleven additional ECD (early childhood development) classrooms. The latter are affiliated with the local schools, but there is simply not enough space for them on the school campuses, so they are being housed in other community buildings. All in all, more than 2,500 students ages 3 to 18 attend these schools and ECD classrooms.
Each school has a "wish list" of physical resources and improvements - classroom furniture and educational materials, recreational equipment, and infrastructure upgrades such as drinking water access or toilet construction. Our staff works directly with the headmasters and teachers to prioritize our activities year by year, ensuring that the schools are getting what they need most, soonest.
Teacher training is also among our key activities. Multi-day trainings are offered according to subjects taught (science, English, math...). ECD teachers also benefit from special training and networking opportunities throughout the year, and teachers at all levels can participate in our popular music therapy training, which encourages incorporation of movement and singing into the curriculum. Music therapy training was launched in the aftermath of the 2015 earthquakes, when we noticed that many students were affected by post-traumatic stress and anxiety and needed a healthy way to blow off steam. But really, all students can benefit from a break from desk work, and the teachers love these techniques too!
Another of our educational programs, perhaps less well-known than those described above, is the establishment of child clubs. While we help establish these, they are then run by the students with support from their teachers. These clubs are a way for students to participate in a variety of enriching and fun extracurricular activities such as sports and cultural events, the creation of a school bulletin and other publications (with original poems, stories, and drawings by the students), and even a school vegetable garden where space permits. Extracurricular activities are very commonly available in the US and other countries, but have not typically been available in Nepal, so this is a great way for the students to have fun while gaining leadership and teamwork experience.
We all know that there are important social and academic benefits to kids when they have consistent access to education. Thanks to all of you, our friends and supporters, these benefits can accrue to the 2,500+ children and adolescents enrolled in our supported schools!
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
