In Sailung, many discussions have since taken place about the possibilities of giving the school a broader meaning. This resulted in a list of activities that can take place in the building. Some of these will start soon, including a women's group that focuses on basic language development and exchange. More or less linked to the school function itself, a library, a computer lab and a kitchen and vegetable gardens are provided. The latter in particular to provide the children with a good meal. The library and computer facility are at the service of the entire community.
the extra features
The parent group has been running at a different location for a long time. Between 30 and 50 women participate. They support each other in various areas, and if necessary also financially.
When they can use the school building as a meeting place, attention can also be paid to education, since a large part is illiterate. Sabitri Shrestha leads this group.
It computer/internet cafe is used for the education of the children, but could also have a community function. In this way, the internet becomes accessible to everyone. In Nepal, a comprehensive e-learning curriculum is available for all school levels, including educational materials for educators, in both Nepali and English.
Visma has since sponsored the laptops for the computer lab. Dabaki Shrestha leads this section.
The plan is to make a school kitchen to set up and make the possibility for a school garden in which the students learn to grow their own vegetables. This is based on the idea of drawing attention to a healthy diet. Students can be served at least one healthy meal per day from the school kitchen. The kitchen will be run by a team of moms: Dil Maya Shrestha, Laxmi Shrestha and others to support.
New initiatives
birth center annex medical support center
The school building is progressing well. The village development committee has now asked whether the foundation can also provide support in setting up a birth center and medical support center. Now women have to walk more than three hours to the nearest birth center (or travel one to three hours by truck).
It is intended that this support center will be set up in collaboration with an already existing clinic further afield (Gaughar clinic), under the direction of Dr. Uddave Koirala.
Container to Nepal
School furniture has now been offered in the Netherlands. We would also like to collect teaching materials, medical equipment and other items. It is being investigated how these items can be transported to Nepal. Container transport is being considered. We are still looking for a place in the Netherlands to store the offered materials until they can be transported.
