Improving Access and Quality of Education in Nepal

Hello supporters! 

We are so grateful for your help and support in the months since our last report, and what a few months it has been! 

We have begun a pilot project called Pedagogy of Hope and Action, using our tried and tested Act on Education model. We are now working in a neighbouring Rural Municipality, working in 3 schools that are more remote, and therefore the need in the schools is great. We are relishing addressing helping the students teachers an senior leadership curate a more thriving school community.

The vast majority of the children joining thr project have not experienced any creative education work before, so this will enable them to learn to use the resources they have to problem solve, communicate better and participate in more engaged learning.

 As well as the usual work we do which includes applied drama, confidence coaching, advocacy work and training, we are theming much of the work around the environment and how to sustain livelihoods successfully whilst living at the forefront of climate change. This includes a small grant we have secured for each of the schools to create a school garden.

 Workshops started in earnest 2 weeks ago, and we will no doubt keep you posted in the next report! But enjoy the photos of the activities so far.  

 As a result of the fantastic research of our team member Sarina and her colleagues, we were able to work closely with Kathmandu University to design relevant training for 27 teachers across Panauti Municipality who cover as many classes in 34 schools. Om Prakash, head teacher at Kuyshadevi School told us: 

 “This was very beneficial and reflective. It has transformed our understanding of the lesson plans that keep learners at the centre of learning activities and the confidence of the children. We believe from this we can make our classrooms so much more beneficial. Thank you so much.” 

This training partnership continues with the university, and more training days are planned in the coming months working eventually with over 160 teachers in the municipalities.  

Over the Summer we continued with our stalls here in the UKselling exciting goods handmade in Nepal. Almost every single item we sell has a connection with the families of our community of schools, through cottage industry and small family run workshops where welfare is high. Trading has been so successful we are planning to launch an online shop in the coming months, and in time for Christmas – so watch this space!

We are also excited that Freedom to Learn Nepal has now registered as a not-for-profit company which opens the opportunity to generate income. As you will know from the wider media, and our own newsletters, funding has been extremely tight for small charities over the last 2 years, and securing the resources we need for the vital impact we want to achieve, has become almost impossible. We are very stretched indeed, with our committed staff doing plentiful volunteer time to ensure continuation of this important work. 

 So, as one income generating option over the coming months our team are drawing up plans for a reading café, and we won’t yet tell you much more just yet, but, it is a very exciting social enterprise that will not only serve children from local schools but also generate income to sustain our vital education projects. We will keep you posted!

 And lastly, please, if you do have any ideas for fundraising, or anyone in your network who might be able to support the work we do, get in touch, we'd love to meet you! Or you can easily contribute using the button above. The funds we receive go a long way, every pound really does count to a small charity like us as we work to ensure education for all.

Warm wishes and enjoy the last days of Summer…..

Joey, Aimee and all the FtL team xx 

Links:

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Dear Friends,

We hope you are all well and enjoying the warmer weather and longer days.

Here at Freedom to Learn, we are deep in a preparation phase - doing the groundwork for exciting new projects due to begin in Panauti later this year! 

Our new environmental education project, Environmental Education: A Pedagogy of Empowerment, Hope and Action is due to commence within the next few months. This project’s delivery will transform the self-empowerment of children in some of the most remote schools we serve. Through a multi-faceted approach, and building on our flagship creative community outreach project, Act on Education, we will instill an understanding of climate change and the tangible ways our young people can change the future for the better. Young people will explore, design and implement various collaborative activities to face the climate crisis with confidence and informed action. We can't wait to share our progress with you in future reports! 

Another exciting new project to begin in the autumn is Improving Early Childhood Development. Early years education in Nepal is severely underfunded and children are often far behind where they should be when they move into primary education. We’ve delivered training for primary and secondary teachers for years and have seen improvements in the quality of education, attendance and engagement of parents, school management and communities. We are excited to build on our success with this new project. The results will be pre-primary children who are developmentally on track and have the best chance of a bright future.

And finally, we are extending our popular Sister Schools project to more schools! This means more children in the UK and Nepal will have the opportunity to learn about each other's daily lives, cultures and school experiences via workshops, assemblies and live link-ups. The result? True global friendships between global citizens who have a better understanding of the lives of children on the other side of the world.

We've also been very busy preparing for summer when we will be giving talks and having stalls at local community events. We can't wait to unwrap all the new, beautiful felt goods from Nepal and showcase them to residents of the New Forest. All profits will support our vital work. Keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram pages to find out where we'll be and when! 

As always, we are truly grateful for your support. Without it, nothing we do would be possible! Until next time, we hope you have a wonderful summer. 

Links:

• Our Website
• Our Facebook
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