Improve education for Nepali girls and minorities

Spring in Nepal means the beginning of a new academic year. The 2014-15 session began in mid April, and we have focused our attention on implementing our health and sanitation program as well as providing classroom materials.

These efforts entail setting up pipes to deliver safe drinking water and provide water for toilets, as well as replacing chalkboards with dry and erase boards and markers. In addition to eliminating chalk dust, the new boards are an important classroom resource and status symbol for public schools in rural areas competing with private schools nearby.

Schools typically face two problems when it comes to water access: they may only have it during the morning and evening, when school is closed, and the taps are usually installed at a height appropriate for adults. To solve these problems, we provide collection tanks and install child-friendly taps.

Over the past three months in central Nepal the Santi School Project has:

• installed water systems at two schools and begun work at two other schools, including repairing the toilets at one location
• benefitted more than 1,500 students and teachers from eight different schools in four districts
• replaced more than 50 chalkboards in classrooms with dry and erase boards and markers

Health and Sanitation Program

We’ve worked with the following schools in recent months:

Bal Manorama Lower Secondary School, in Ashrang village development committee (VDC) of Lalitpur district

• New drinking water system
• 10 dry erase boards and markers

Bal Jyoti Lower Secondary School, Nanglebhare VDC, Kathmandu district

• New water system including improved toilets 
• 7 dry erase boards and markers, which helped completely replace chalkboards for classes nursery through grade 8

Gumrang Lower Secondary School, Thula Durlung VDC, Lalitpur district

• New water system
• 5 dry erase boards and markers

Guru Lower Secondary School, Bukhel VDC, Lalitpur district

• 9 dry erase boards and markers
• Previously, Santi School helped the school complete construction of a two-classroom building

Banaspati Primary School, Chaughare VDC, Lalitpur district

• 6 dry erase boards and markers

Kankali Primary School, Makwanpur district

• 6 dry erase boards and markers, which discontinued the use of chalkboards from all classes from nursery to grade 5

These projects have been completed with support by donors like you and organizations such as Avionte Software and Rising Tide, which are both based in the United States and have operations in Nepal.

Two More Projects Under Way:

In Nawalpur VDC, Sindhupalchowk district, 70 kilometers from Kathmandu, we are helping two schools, Nawalpur Secondary School and Siddhartha Primary School, implement our health and sanitation program.

At Nawalpur School, we’re installing a water system, including toilets. We’re also fixing shutters on doors and windows for four rooms of the building.

We’re also setting up a water system at Siddhartha School, where we’ve already delivered dry erase boards and markers to replace chalkboards in classes from nursery to grade 5.

Both of these projects are expected to be completed by mid June. We are implementing the projects through donations raised by Adam Martin of Chicago, who visited Nawalpur during the winter of 2013, wanted to help, and asked his friends to support these projects.