Dear reader,
It is very special to see that a beautiful goal has been achieved! The new school building already fulfills a central function within the community. The speed and impact of the project results also continue to surprise us.
“Sailung speaking”
Krishna tells:
Kids Learning English School in the memory of Ton Van Den Brink was formally established in April 2017 under the auspices of the municipality of Shailung for children from the region, with no distinction between rich and poor, religious or non-believer. The school was established to provide quality education according to 21st century education system.
In the 5 years since the school was founded, we can proudly report that we have achieved wonderful results, both in school performance and the socio-emotional development of children. And of course the success of the construction of the beautiful “Blue” school with 12 rooms and the sanitary building.
We are also happy with our teachers who excelled during their training. And with our best friends from the Netherlands, they are always by our side. We don't just believe in teaching the kids about the textbooks, rather we believe in facilitating them from the many aspects of life. We are not just educating a child, but we are educating a child who gets a lot of information through different dimensions of life.
We believe in providing a complete environment in which he/she can visualize many aspects where he/she can accommodate himself/herself with all the unknowns of life. That is why we have realized a homely environmentally friendly building in collaboration with our friends foundation in the Netherlands. We think that education is a pathway for learners' competence, where they can find themselves in the comfort zone to learn even in any kind of complexity. So it is to strengthen them. We try to give them strength with new insights into applicability, creativity and productivity.
In the long way to achieve the wonderful results, there is of course the immense hand, mind and soul of many creative persons. We have been able to achieve this success today with many ups and downs. We know that behind every achievement there is great effort, the good teamwork of national and international members of the school and the very friendly teaching given here. I applaud that both teachers and students feel this important place as their warm home, but not just as a school to study alone.
We agree in the doctrine of minimizing cost and maximizing quality. The tasks we perform in volume matter less than those of the task we are aiming for. So I strive for value in all deeds, whether in the classroom or outside the classroom. Whether in personal or professional life, the value is once considered precious. Yes, this is the age of adding value in every act.
A country's education system should improve people's daily lives, as education provides a good foundation in life. Education should be the beating heart of our culture, technology and daily activities of life. Education should connect people's lives in their own life situation. So we believe in providing education to enrich the lives of students from different dimensions.
So in this five year period, the community children and we were very happy that after two years we managed to build nice and safe classrooms, with many facilities such as computer rooms, kitchen, office spaces, digital classrooms, etc. The location in the mountain area often presents additional challenges in the rainy and winter season. We try to do our best, but due to a lack of transport and communication facilities, this can sometimes be a challenge.
Finally, I would like to thank all our national and international teams for making our dream come true.
“My school is the best school!”
a contribution from Miss Minita and two of her students, Prakash and Samichya from class 4:
Why my school is the best school!
My school name is Kids Learning English School (KLES) In memory of Ton Van Den Brink.
The school is located in a beautiful place and started in 2074 (Nepalese calendar). It is beautifully surrounded by green trees and flowers; it is located in Managaun, Shailung-8, Dolakha. It is one of the best schools in our village. Our school building is large, the school grounds are full of grass with beautiful flowers and a clean environment. It is located between the mountains, without any noise or pollution.
My school building is big and grand. It was built 1 year ago. It consists of 12 classrooms, a large teacher's room, a classroom from kindergarten to grade four and a large kitchen with great utensils. Our school has many amenities such as a computer lab, a library in each classroom, a large playground where we rest or play during our lunch. We have a beautiful podium with two flags, one is the flag of Nepal (our beloved country) and the other the Dutch flag (our best supporting friends and family country). We also have separate toilets. In our school, students from Kindergarten to Class Four can read. There are over a hundred students at my school. My school with seven teachers, our headmaster is so humble that we can talk to him easily and we never hesitate when we need to discuss something and other teachers are the best and kind hearted! They explain the subject to us in a very constructive and interesting way with very humble behavior. With good teachers and the playful environment in my school makes my school the best.
. My school is a very nice place where I go every day.
. I go to school to study, read and play.
. My teachers at school teach us respect, honesty and creativity and responsibility in society.
. I like my school very much. It's a place where I learn to grow.
At our school, we have the opportunity to participate in various extracurricular and extracurricular activities that hone our personality. At school we receive meaningful and skills training. School gives us the opportunity and platform to develop and polish a student's talent. Last but not least —- children are the bright future of our country, so if they get an education, it's important for the development of our country!
Minita Thakuri, Prakash Subesi and Samichya Shrestha
Visit to Sailung
At the beginning of July, Jan Post spent 3 weeks in Nepal. The intention was to help assemble and install all the items shipped with the container. In addition, to consult with the newly elected leaders of local and umbrella municipal organizations about the 3-year plan.
Unfortunately, we are fully confronted with the bureaucracy and corruption in Nepal. All in all, the items arrived in Sailung with a delay of four weeks and extra bills of over €5,000. The good news is that virtually all materials have arrived. And there are many! The classrooms are filled with the new furniture, beamers and computers are installed, teaching materials are arranged, the generator is in operation and the introduction of the sewing machines is still waiting until the rainy season is over. The children and community have been provided with clothing and medical care items have been collected. Thanks to all sponsors for donating the many items.
Bus project:
With the completion of the impressive blue school building and recognition of the high quality of education, families living further from the school explored the possibility of arranging transport with a small 4WD truck to take their children to the school. Walking is too far and too difficult for the little ones. The school board anticipated their request and after a long search bought a small 4 wheel drive bus. With the start of the new school year, 31 children now come by bus. Also 3 teachers and the doctor use the bus to go to the school.
Muna is also very happy that the bus is coming to her house. Muna is 9 years old but can only walk a short distance due to a fire accident. Thanks to the bus she can go to school.
The bus also passes a family with 7 sisters. None of the sisters went to school. But now that they see the enthusiasm of the other children in the neighborhood, the second oldest girl Alina, 10 years old, and her 2 younger sisters also come to the school. The family does not have the means to pay the school fees, but they are fortunate that their story was shared with the artist Ragini Upadhyay who was willing to support the family through the Shivata Love Foundation.
Although the school bus brought great success, its operation is troublesome. The price of diesel has more than doubled and consumption is almost 4 times higher than indicated, especially during the rainy season. To save costs, the driver will stay overnight with the family at the starting point of the bus journey. It was a special experience to take a ride. It looked like a fairground attraction so much bumping and shaking. The starting point from which the children are collected is more than 500 meters lower than the school. It is a strenuous ride for driver Milan, with a lot of gear changes and every now and then a new attempt to get away through very bad parts. Ten of the 31 children who ride the bus come from families who are unable to pay a school contribution. We are looking for sponsors for these children.
Books for every class.
It was nice that Mrs. Fisher of the Thang Foundation (https://stichtingthang.com/ ) could meet us in the bookshop of Rajeev Joshi publisher and Nepali member of the Thang Foundation in Kathmandu. After the necessary explanation about the cooperation and further possibilities, we purchased 3 bookbags (thanks to the sponsors) with a total of 150 children's books. Now there is a bookbag in every class with books of the reading level in the class.
Consultation chairman VDC.
As planned, consultations have been held regarding the design of the 3-year plan with the new political leaders of the Shailung Village Development Committee [VDC] and the higher VDC, who have been elected for 5 years.
Chairman Shailung VDC, Mr Dhana Bbahadur Tamang, who was a teacher himself, has already visited the school and is impressed by the school building and the teaching methods used. He would like teachers from other schools to do internships to gain experience.
The themes from the 3-year plan certainly fit in with his municipal policy. For the medical support center annex birth center Managaun, he indicates that a better location is available, more central in the community. He thinks that ground preparation could possibly start in October. mr. Dhana indicates that at least three people will be working full-time.
Improving the road is a very high priority for him. When we come back next year, much of the road should be paved and weather resistant.
This will also make driving the school bus a lot easier.
He is also very interested in setting up agricultural and tourism projects for the community.
More consultation:
The consultation with the chairman of higher VDC Shailung mr Rimal Babu Shrestha was very special.
We were allowed to visit him at home in his simple apartment in Kathmandu on his day off. He has also visited the school and is impressed with the results.
The three-year plan has also been discussed with Mr Rimal; he is very positive about further development of the agricultural sector.
The potato yield is relatively low. mr. Rimal will have the soil in Sailung examined for potato diseases, the Potato Crop Development Center is located in Attarpur (30 km from Shailung).
The cauliflower harvest is usually massive, with the result that prices also fall immediately. The 3-year plan includes an idea to investigate whether other crops are conceivable.
He indicated that 20 km from Shailung in Magapauwa (the village where Shanti comes from) a project with tomato cultivation in plastic greenhouses has been started. Project leader Norajon Shrestha will certainly be able to support us with a greenhouse project in Sailung.
Tourism is also an important theme.
The Kathmandu Post wrote last year that the majestic Shailung could become a major tourist attraction in the Dolakha district.
At an elevation of 3,146 meters, it has traditionally been a spiritual center for both the Hindu and Buddhist communities. In addition, there is a breathtaking landscape with a wide view over the Himalayas.
To attract tourism, one will have to empathize with the wishes of the visitors.
All in all, another special visit, which shows that the school board has good contacts with local politicians.
Blog from our sponsors:
Study day at the Wild Geese:
Last June, the Wilde Ganzen Foundation, our main sponsor, organized a study day.
Jan Schouw was there on behalf of our foundation. It has become an instructive day; the exchange between all kinds of projects, interesting examples and the presence of project participants from different countries made the day more than worthwhile. At the end of the day, our foundation was also able to take the stage to hand over a token of thanks from Shailung in the form of a certificate to the chairman of the Wilde Ganzen.
Message from the Foundation Interdenominational 40-Day Action Laren-Blaricum-Eemnes:
Ria Vos, secretary says: We have been supporting projects in developing countries for more than 45 years during the 40-day campaign within the BEL municipalities. In 2019 we came into contact with the Ton Memorial School Sailung Foundation, which wanted to realize a new earthquake-resistant school building in Nepal. A very ambitious project, but which fully met the goal that we have in mind: a foundation led by people who work completely selflessly to offer underprivileged children, women and communities a promising future. There is now a beautiful school building in Sailung, despite difficult weather conditions and Corona problems. We are proud that we have been able to support this foundation in realizing this ambitious project and have now also pledged our support for the next project, a medical support center annex birth center, with full confidence that this project will also be successfully completed.
Wanted: sponsors!
How beautiful it is to see that the children of less wealthy families also merge into the group as soon as they have a school uniform. Such 30% of the parents of children at school cannot pay school contributions and do not have to pay for the time being, but will be called upon if their financial situation is more favourable. There will probably always be situations where parents cannot pay the school contribution. At the moment this is a group of 33 children. Of these, 23 children have already been sponsored. If we get all children sponsored, the school, including sponsorship, will run financially independently. Recently we even welcomed sponsors for the children from France and Nepal.
Message from the treasurer Jan Schouw:
We have been able to welcome new sponsors in recent months. This gives us a stable income stream of approximately €850 per month. We currently contribute to the costs of the school (salaries, maintenance) with € 595 per month. In addition to some minimal costs (bank costs, insurance) we now have a good balance between expenses and income.
The container promotion has resulted in additional expenses. The materials that eventually ended up at their destination cost us € 12,227 in transport, necessary documents, storage and unforeseen matters. Budgeted was €7500. The difference is caused by much more bureaucracy (and corruption) than we thought in Nepal, and associated extra costs for interim storage, accommodation costs, etc.
thanks for all your generous contributions over the past period. We can use this to realize beautiful projects, such as the construction of a schoolyard with local stones, installing the computers, purchasing kitchen equipment and storage cabinets for the classrooms.
Namasté and if you have any questions after reading this newsletter, you can contact me or one of the other board members personally.
In the next newsletter we will discuss the new projects that are in the pipeline.
Thanks for the support and warm regards on behalf of the board,
Jan Post
jan.post@sailung.nl
