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.

read their story here.

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.

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

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.

There are some great stories and terribly exciting news!

Open it, read it, and sponsor our great cause!

Newsletter March 2011

Yeshi visits a local stonemason to find out the cost of a concrete brick, from which the foundation and a large part of the building will be constructed.

a large brick of 16″x9″x8″ = Rs40 (about £0.35)

How many bricks will we need?

We don’t know how many bricks we need, but it’ll be a lot; and, of course, we will need to get someone to lay them for us, so here are some suggestions for donations, which include the cost of labour.

Please help us with the next phase of the build. The flattening of the land, and the construction of the foundation.

We are looking for people that want to donate money to either:

• donate laying one brick = £0.50 (how many schoolchildren want to donate their Sunday pocket money?)
• donate laying one hundred bricks = £50

Do you have other ideas how to get donations? Or is the above not ambitious enough for your budget? In this case:

• fund raising the ground floor (will let you know the price)
• fund laying the foundation (will let you know the price)

In the Leicester city-centre  I noticed a wall where the bricks had people’s names engraved on them. I don’t think we can be that sophisticated, but I am sure we can have some kind of dedication for your efforts within the school.

Do you fancy a working holiday in Nepal?

Do you like a holiday with a difference? why not help build the school?

The Nagajuna School is the proud owner of a piece of land!

Yeshi has found a piece of land of the right size, in a good location, at a good price

It’s the middle of the month, and Yeshi gives Rebecca a phonecall. He has found a piece of land, and the landowner will keep it until the end of the month at that price. We have a look at our savings, have a quick board meeting, and the quest begins in earnest to purchase a piece of land in Nepal…..

First some background to the land situation in Pokhara – Mountains, Mountains everywhere…

Nepal, as you may or may not know, is situated in quite a mountainous region of the world. Eight of the fourteen 8-thousanders (feet) are located in Nepal, including the massive Mount Everest range. Near Pokhara you will find the Annapurna Range, which are described as the most dangerous climbing mountains in the world. Suffice to say that flat building land is in short supply.

The other challenge we face is that at the end of 2009 the Nepalese government decided to turn Pokhara airport into a full international airport, thus attracting more international business and commerce to the area. You can guess what happened to the price of land in Pokhara. The impact of this was that the original land we had an eye on became too expensive for us to purchase. So we had to look for an alternative: either a tiny piece of land in Pokhara, or something suitable but further away from Pokhara.

We are 40% short of the target for the land price

Yeshi informs us that he has found a decent sized plot slightly further away from Pokhara at a price, in a good location, and the right size, but which is higher than we had originally assumed. How do we close the gap?

A UK based Trust makes a large donation

In the UK we have had regular contact with a trust run by an independent successful business lady in the North of England. A few years ago she decided that she wanted to help the school. Out of the blue we received a notification from her trust that she is able to make a large donation to help with the purchase of the land. We are ecstatic by the amazing gift she is able to give, and redo the sums…We are only 15% short of the asking price. Where do we find the rest?

The kindness of friends – mind the gap – it’s closed!

We rally around our friends, and look at our own pockets and savings. Can we find the final amount so Yeshi can close the deal? We contact some of our regular sponsors and some new found friends and little by little we are closing the gap.

Two days before the deadline we have the total amount together! Yeshi can go to the landowner and seal the deal!

The Nagajuna School is the proud owner of land! The first phase on the journey of building our own school is complete!

A period of silence. No news reaches us for a couple of weeks. We are not sure what is happening. But then we realise that the Nepalese are very good at one thing; doing things in a good old-fashioned bureaucratic manner. Yeshi is ensuring that the landownership’s rights and regulations are followed and the money is transferred properly to the seller. This means that The Nagajuna School is the legal owner of the land. The advantage of this is that it is not linked to an individual, but to the school itself, thus ensuring the long term security, with which we can build a school.

‘X’ marks the spot

The first photos arrive in our in-box, including a little map where an ‘X’ marks the spot of the piece the school now owns.

It is about a 20-minute drive to the north west, outside Pokhara, in a ricefield that is being converted to a residential area. This means it has fresh running water and there is a road and electricity. It is slightly smaller than the original land we had an eye on, but large enough to build the school with a small courtyard.

(I have  looked it up on Google maps, and will add a map later.)

What is next? Flatten the land and build the foundation.

All our savings have gone into the purchase of the land. Thanks to our regular sponsors we have enough money to keep the school running, but nothing to do any other work. So we have to start from scratch to start saving up. First we need to flatten the land and divert the water, then we can slowly start thinking about the foundation.

Here are the photos of the land! A very very proud moment!