www.sailung.nl
It is unbelievable how much there is to report after the newsletter of 3 months ago. Although the new school has been in use for less than six months, the impact of the imposing whole is already apparent in the activities and interest in and around the school.
Visit to the school
Around the end of the school year and the visit of board member Jeannet Diteweg and her husband Marcel in April, there was a big party at school, during which the school extension was officially opened with the cutting of a ribbon, with a visit from administrators and interested parties from Sailung , and with all children and parents. The children gave speeches and beautiful Nepalese dances were performed. Afterwards an extensive Nepalese meal for everyone. It was a very warm welcome for the delegation from the Netherlands and a happy celebration. The pleasure that the children experience and the positive support from the parents is visible. A school where children can grow and thrive. In addition to visiting various families, Jeannet and Marcel had many opportunities to discuss the development of the school and the structure of the 3-year plan (see below) with the local government.
Completion of 2nd phase
It is actually quite special that we can report that the construction team has gone home and the construction activities are ready. A beautiful extension of the school building with the school kitchen, computer room, teacher's room and extra classrooms. The sanitary building is in stark contrast to what has been available until now. The use of solid materials, ceramic toilet facilities, stainless steel sinks and aluminum doors has prepared it for the future. The schoolyard has been leveled and, for safety, surrounded by a fence to separate the fields and other areas almost 3 meters below.
The budget of more than 10% (approximately €6000) has been exceeded, mainly due to the unforeseen extra heavy and deep foundation for the sanitary building, price increases of materials and the extra labor and material required to make the school safe. terrain.
All rooms will be carpeted, which means that there is much less dust in the rooms, less cold that penetrates from the floor and the acoustics are improved. The children now leave their shoes on racks outside and have been given slippers for use in the classrooms. Thanks to the Rotary Noordwijk and surroundings that made this possible.
And for those who haven't received it yet, the school is connected via fiber optic network to the internet, years earlier than expected. This eliminates the need for the satellite dish. The first digital lessons have already been provided with the help of a beamer that Marcel and Jeannet had brought with them. In the container (more about this later) is a whole load of furniture and computers to fill the computer room. When all that is installed, it will be checked whether a connection can be made from Sailung video to a number of schools in the Netherlands.
A number of extra activities have already been organized in recent months.
Some experts from the agricultural sector from Kathmandu have been to give a lecture promoting the cultivation of cauliflower instead of green cabbage. This will bring in more.
Krishna was interviewed at school by documentary makers from the local broadcaster. We also received beautiful drone shots of the school building.
There has been a medical initiative to vaccinate children from school and surroundings up to the age of 12 for free against typhoid fever.
From the Dutch foundation Thang [ www.stichtingthang.com ] Introduce 150 children's books into the school as the start of a real library. The enthusiasm with which the books have been received is heartwarming.
It had already been discussed before, but when suddenly a message comes that a real school bus has been arranged about 200 km from Sailung, everyone is pleasantly surprised. A more remote community indicated that they were very interested in letting their children go to KLES (Kids Learning English School in memory of Ton), but that the distance was too great for the children to walk. We briefly looked at adapting a truck for the transport of children. The school board has concluded that with the arrival of a school bus, the influx of children can also be expanded, which is why they went after a bus. And what kind. Beautifully refurbished and repainted in the school colors and the name large on the front window.
All this has resulted in the 100th student being registered last week and the number of new registrations for the new school year having exceeded 30. We are now at a total of almost 110 students, more than a year earlier than expected. The new Miss Minita also comes to the school by bus. [in the photo many new students still without uniform)
Last December's newsletter called for families to support by donating a cooking stove to replace the open fire in the living areas where cooking takes place. Last month, 30 cooking stoves were completed and collected for installation. This saves the families almost 50% heating wood and they are relieved of the smoke nuisance in their living spaces. We are glad that this was possible with your support. What was very unfortunate is that one of the families, who had received a cooking stove that had not yet been installed, burned down their house with all its furniture, cow, goats and barn in the evening as a result of the open fire in the living room. There was no insurance for this, but fortunately there is some financial support from the community for the victims.
As the number of students grows, so does the number of parents whose parents are too poor to pay a school contribution. So if you or one of your friends or acquaintances still want to support a schoolchild and thus financially support the school, we heartily recommend that.
Now that the first goal, realizing a good school, has been completed, in consultation with the board from Sailung and the Netherlands, we have worked on drawing up a 3-year plan to improve the social and economic to improve the situation of children and adults in Sailung. The following key points have been defined for this: 1. Educational Programs 2. Agriculture 3. Health 4. Sustainability
o a sustainable energy supply for the school with solar energy;
o a sustainable energy supply through hydropower;
o use of organic residual material for eg biogas; 5. Ecotourism
The container, which is filled with a lot of school furniture, teaching materials, computers, adult, children's clothing and more, is almost in Nepal. The items are expected to arrive in Sailung in mid-June. To help solve the container puzzle, discuss a 3-year plan with those involved (new mayor, new board members, etc.), Jan Post will visit Sailung on behalf of the board in June.
Namasté and if you have any questions after reading this newsletter, you can contact me or one of the other board members personally.
Sincerely on behalf of the board,
Jan Post
jan.post@sailung.nl
