A new partnership?

We have spent most of today with Yogendra Chitraker, Director ECCA, and one of his staff Sidhu visiting three schools they provide support to in Patan together with our own two schools also in Patan. Basically ECCA are a large Nepalese NGO who develop schools through helping them to network better within their own community and assisting them to set up nature and environment clubs and studies within the school.
Essentially we have much to gain by working together at no cost to each other. ECCA have 2000 "counsellors" employed around Nepal helping the poorest schools to achieve more through self motivation and we have realised today just how much we can work together without stepping on each others toes. Initially they will take Sramik and Bal Bigyan schools under their wing to help them maximise their potential withing their respective communities.
On our part we have access to a different network of professional teachers and volunteers from the UK and again we can work together to maximise efforts. For example a group of teachers from the UK could come to Nepal to run a skills programme attended by groups of their counsellors who in turn pass it on across the whole of Nepal!
More next week, its back to videoing tomorrow.

Tihar

Image via Wikipedia

Today is the last day of Tihar, or Diwali the festival of light as it is known in India. Comprising five days of fireworks, lit up buildings, feasting, and a series of special days to worship/pay respect to crows, dogs, cows, ones self and brothers.
Towards the end of this festival is Nepal Sambat, which in the Nepali calendar is New Year's Day in the year 1130. That was yesterday and in central Kathmandu was celebrated by the Newar people with a variety of programmes of music, dancing and feasting.
Today is Bhaia Tikka, or brother's day in which sisters respect their brothers with a small puja (religious ceremony/blessing) and food. In turn the brothers give their sisters a gift. We will be visiting one of Champa's sisters houses today for this event which according to the astrologers cannot take place until after 11.53 this morning.
On the schools work front it's back to work tomorrow with the schools opening again after the break. We have a visit scheduled with the help of our friends at ECCA, the education NGO, to a government school they have helped to influence the local municipality and is therefore now thriving. It should be a good benchmark for us and we will write up news of that visit tomorrow.

The last school

Kesh Chandra school in central Kathmandu was visited today, its the smallest school we support with around 100 pupils. As usual they are the children of migrant or itinerant workers so are extremely isolated from the permanent community.
They are housed in a community group owned building connected to a temple area and the owners want them out. Mind you, they have been trying for 20 years and not succeeded. However they have made life extremely uncomfortable for the school with a refusal to allow the connection of running water to the site or the building of a toilet.
Their needs apart from this are virtually identical to the three other schools we have visited and a few patterns are emerging. I will spend a few days thinking about all the data we have collected and create a summary report posted here for those who are interested.
So, at 1pm today, temperature 89 degrees, Champa and I ended a fairly intense three days of questions, questions, questions. I'm not sure of the UK equivalent but we have basically carried out an assessment on the management and teaching of four schools plus held a lengthy meeting with people connected to the Nepal Ministry of Education. To celebrate we dragged ourselves off to the renowned Fire & Ice restaurant for pizza and ice cream. The festival of Tihar starts tomorrow so it's a few days of relaxing and family socialising before we start again. Tomorrow it's barbecue night at Dwarika's to thank our family for all their organising of Sharon's wedding.

Education, education, education!

This afternoon's meeting was with Dr Chitraker (Chairman of ECCA) and Mrs Shrestha, the recent Under Secretary for Education. For our non regular readers, ECCA are the organisation who helped us to run the 5 day training programme on Water & Sanitation Education for 12 teachers in our schools. Unfortunately Dr Poudel, the current Under Secretary was called away to the Ministry so we are arranging a further meeting with him.
Our primary objectives were to develop understanding of the education system in Nepal and to seek influence to facilitate further State aid for our schools.
We spent some time outlining our background, our broad strategy and our current processes before making a summary of what we see our schools receiving and ..... what they appear to NOT be receiving from the State.
Much to our amazement Dr Chitraker explained that it was NOT the government's fault if the schools weren't receiving their full dues!! But, he explained that in Nepal the onus is on the schools to directly seek out government support based on a clear understanding of what they are entitled to. So, part of what ECCA do is to "educate" school heads about how to engage with government and work their way through Nepal's labyrinthine bureaucracy!!!! Amazing.
But, he immediately offered to show us some schools as examples who they have helped to help themselves AND to begin a programme of educating the Heads in our schools to do the same.
In addition we talked at some length about professional development for teachers and that despite having a National Teacher Development Centre outside Kathmandu and having 30 Regional Centre, the teacher development programme is "a pile of crap"! Well, Mrs Shrestha didn't actually say that but that was what she meant.
So, here's a possible deal: Can WE help to facilitate some UK Heads/teachers, maybe backed by their Education Authority, who would like to work on such a programme?
Are you there Janice, Nerissa, Stella? Anybody on Skype?