April 2012 Newsletter
April 30th, 2012 by Dennis Crommentuijn-Marsh
Dear Sponsors, please find below the April Newsletter.
There is lots of progress with the school, the children are working hard, and a few nice poems at the end. You can also follow us on Facebook.
Click here to open: Newsletter April 2012
for UK donors, you can now make donations by mobile phone!
February 16th, 2012 by Dennis Crommentuijn-Marsh
We now have JustTextGiving in cooperation with Vodafone and JustGiving. And for once it is completely free for us !
We get every penny and we even get the gift aid if the donor goes to the website and signs in.
In the UK you can make mobile phone donations (seek bill payers permission first!)
Text JUNA12£10 to 70070 (or the amount you want to donate but it’s £10 max)
The amount is then added to your phone bill as from “Nagajuna Trust”.
It’s as simple as that. So if you are out and about and someone says they want to give something, no need for cash – simply get them to text !
We are also on Facebook! Join us!
February 15th, 2012 by Dennis Crommentuijn-Marsh
Social media forms an increasingly important part of sharing charity news and getting people engaged with our cause.
So now we also have a group on facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/groups/thenagajunatrust/
The group is open to any interested person, whether you are a sponsor or not. If you are on Facebook, add this one to your groups. Also feel free to share it with your facebook friends. The more we can spread the word, the more chances of getting the funding we need to complete the school!
It is also a great forum for sharing the latest news and discussions. Recently we had two new people joining the group from Iceland, who have stayed with Yeshi and Tenzin! If you have fund raising ideas, or would like some information, like photos, DVD’s or flyers, let us know.
Besides Facebook, you can also find us on twitter and youtube!
Rainham Mark Grammar School & Worldchallenge builds play equipment
December 31st, 2011 by Dennis Crommentuijn-Marsh
World Challenge arrives at the school
It is the last Friday that Dennis is in Pokhara. He is using the free wi-fi in the local “German Bakery” lunchroom, which is situated just round the corner from the school. One of the teachers rushes in and says that assistance is required at the school. A group of secondary school students from a Rainham Mark Grammar school in Kent has arrived, and wishes to understand how they can help. Despite the monsoon season they have spent a few days trekking in the mountains, and have now a few days in Pokhara to help the Nagajuna Modern school with a project. We all sit in the library and with a cup of tea Dennis explains the history of the school and proposes how they could help.
Building play equipment
They all decide that they would like to build some play equipment on the play area adjacent to the school. They decide on what to build, how to build it, which materials they need and how much it all will cost. Yeshi’s friend, Topgill, will assist with any hardware and tools that are required.
A swing, a shelter, a climbing frame and a sea-saw!
In an incredible short amount of time the students manage to build a climbing frame and a shelter from local bamboo and used car tyres. They also commission a local welding shop to build a swing and a sea-saw. The results are absolutely fantastic.
Thank you to the team for their efforts and determination in creating these useful additions to the welfare of the children.
Dennis visits the school in July
December 31st, 2011 by Dennis Crommentuijn-Marsh
first time to Nepal
Having been with the charity for 7 years and not yet visited the school, Dennis was in a unique opportunity this summer to spend one week with the school in Nepal. It was an amazing experience.
Don’t go in the monsoon season!
Firstly, it was the monsoon season, so Dennis can lay claim to having been to Nepal, but not really seen any mountains! But that did not matter too much as he was too busy teaching the children in their academic topics, inspecting the new building work, and buying clothing for the children. There were a few landslides and occasionally the roads resembled more rivers, but the temperature was very comfortable, albeit a bit humid.
A warm welcome
The first welcome at the school was wonderful, and made him feel like royalty. The school music band played, the children lined up in 2 rows in front of the school, and the flags were out! A cup of sweet tea, and a sit down, and then down to business. Yeshi and Tensin were kind enough to let Dennis sleep at their house. The local vegetarian food was wonderful.
All lessons in English
Dennis taught the children English, Mathematics, Science, Social studies, Music and Biology in classes I to VI. All topics are taught in English, and the children are well behaved. Mind maps were used to teach a number of the topics. Music was a lot of fun. They did “the lion sleeps tonight” with all the movement for rain and the roaring lion. It was great seeing first hand how the school runs, and lunch was at the school, mostly consisting of a plate of rice with dahl or rice pops. the only lessons that are not taught in English are Tibetan and Nepalese!
Purchasing new clothes
One day Tensin went to the market to discover where the cheapest underwear and socks could be purchased. In the afternoon Dennis, Tensin and Yeshi went to purchase 80 pairs of underwear, vests and socks. That evening it was all handed out personally to each child.
The building work progresses well
It was also great to see how the building work was progressing. Mr. Ram, the site manager, and his team are building the school. The school is being built at the edge of a rice field. So deep foundations are required as the soil is quite wet. They had completed all the foundations, and the pillars for the first floor. As it is on the edge, it is slightly higher, thus it has a wonderful view over the rice fields and the adjacent edge of Pokhara.
The school performs a dance show
On the thursday night the children were invited to do a dance show at another Tibetan school, about 30km away. It took 1.5 hr to get there. The schoolbus had 40 children and 12 adults in it. They are making great use of the bus. We went in the afternoon to have sufficient time to set the show up. In the evening all the children and people from the local village came to watch the show. Dennis was allowed to sit at the main table together with the head of the school. The hall was completely full, and the show was fantastic. The children did a fantastic show, and the locals rewarded this by donating money. They managed to raise £70! Afterwards they had dinner and went to sleep in the same hall.
goodbye but nor farewell
The week went quickly, and it was very intense and emotional. It was great being there and seeing everybody. It is interesting how such experiences stay with you for a long time.
Dennis is looking forward to returning with his family when the new school has been completed.
Thank you to all the Sponsors! Together we raised £3,095!
December 31st, 2011 by Dennis Crommentuijn-Marsh
Thank you to all the kind sponsors. We managed to collect an incredible amount of money. £3,095!
This far exceeded our expectations. We only expected to raise a little over £1,500. It was quite incredible seeing the money flowing in faster than we we going on the river. Rebecca had had set up a link on Justgiving a special app on her smartphone, which meant she could keep on increasing the target, and every time the donations kept exceeding the target. All the money has gone to the building fund.
http://www.justgiving.com/takeonthethames
We did it! 127 miles, 43 locks, 4 days, 3 people, 2 canoes!
December 31st, 2011 by Dennis Crommentuijn-Marsh
It was a very hard slog, but we did it!
Day 1
We started early Friday morning from Reading, where we collected the single canoe from Thames Canoe Hire . Dennis brought the double, which had been modified with a DIY rudder. Then it was a 60 mile drive to the start just down stream from Cricklade bridge. Sam and Rebecca in the double and Dennis in the single. It was hard keeping up with the ladies! The weather was mild, and dry, with a slight breeze. As there had been no rain for a long time, there was no flow on the water. Thus we could not add this into our calculations to get faster to our first stopping point.
We got our feet wet launching the canoes, and I am pleased to say, that was the only part of our bodies that got wet. No one fell in! because we did not start till 9:30, we had lunch around 15:00. Which meant we arrived quite late in Oxford. We finished around 21:30 at Oxford. It was a very long and hard day. Sam’s husband awaited us at a pub with some warm vegetarian meals which were very welcome as it was cooling down rapidly.
Day 2
The day started with some modifications to the rudder, which had bent slightly. Fortunately I had all the right bits and bobs with me, but it meant again a later start than planned.
Day 3
Day 4
The final day! It was around 6pm that we finally crossed the finish at Teddington lock. We were very tired, but very happy.
We are ready for our next challenge! 200km canoeing in 4 days
May 15th, 2011 by Dennis Crommentuijn-Marsh
At the end of May Rebecca, Sam and Dennis will attempt a new challenge to raise funds for the building of our school.