Earthquake Relief: Rebuilding Schools in Nepal

The school year in Nepal runs from the second half of April, soon after Nepali New Year, through the first half of March. That means that this academic year is almost complete, and it is truly amazing how well the teachers and students have managed to carry on in the face of such unprecedented and severe difficulties.

Your support of ETC's work to repair, rebuild, and re-supply schools is so very important in ensuring that rural Nepali children were able to return to school as soon as possible after the spring 2015 quakes, and will be able to attend improved schools in years to come. Here are two of the main reasons why:

1. The government has allocated approximately US$1,500 per school for post-quake reconstruction. This is nowhere near enough to rebuild more than one small building of perhaps two rooms, and even then it would be empty of furniture and classroom materials.
2. Other organizations (large and small) are pledging to work with individual schools in various parts of Nepal, but in many cases they have not even been able to put in place the necessary formal/legal approvals, much less has the work been started, and it is uncertain when that can and will happen.

Considering ETC's intensive and ongoing efforts in this broader context makes them all the more remarkable and valuable. We are currently working on quake-resistant (metal-frame) structures at several schools, employing local labor and with our staff providing ongoing supervision and technical support. The first structure ought to be completed in the next few weeks. These completed buildings will serve as valuable models for future building efforts in the area.

We also continue to provide classroom materials and furniture where those items are lacking - see the photo below, of a set of desks and benches that had been carried up the hill to a school from the nearest road by a group of students. ETC provides complete desk/bench sets, whereas at some schools there are piles of currently unusable contributed desk/bench frames: for now, the villagers do not have spare boards and cannot cut new boards to make the frames usable. This is a prime example of how ETC's close relationships with school personnel and consistent presence in the communities makes our work so effective, even down to this level of detail.

Your interest in and support of our work has made this possible. Thank you so much.

Links:

• ETC's website
• ETC's Facebook page
• Ithaca Journal article about ETC's work with women in Nepal