By Joey | Programmes Director
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
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By Aimee Foster | Fundraising Manager
By Aimee Foster | Fundraising Manager
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