Our Projects

Nursery class
This photo shows the condition of most nursery classes in rural Nepal these days: 3 to 5 year olds sitting in benches looking at a blackboard with the alphabet written on it. This picture should be exiled to our history books as soon as possible. Children at this age aren’t ready to grasp the alphabet; the fact that after 2 years they can barely write their own name proves it.

In our model nursery class, that should in fact be termed playgroup, children crawl around the floor (carpet), scribble on the walls (topped with blackboard paint especially for this purpose) sit on cushions, play with blocks, puzzles, stuffed animals, etc. The teacher sings nursery rhymes with them, draws pictures with them, plays with them, and so on.


The focus is on a wide variety of activities to develop all the different parts of a child and on a good relationship between teacher and child, as well as between children.

The class room has its own bookcase filled with teaching materials that are created for this age group in particular. Materials that are based on similar items from the west but that have been adapted to fit the nepali context.




Scholarships for girls

Even though primary education is supposed to be free now, there are still costs involved in sending children to school: books, uniforms, exam fees—to name but a few. These can mean genuine obstacles in having children attend school; especially when the same child can help out at home or in the fields and add to the family’s proceeds.

Girls are more likely to be kept out of school, since their education is seen as being less important than their brothers’. In rural Nepal, even in 2007, boys will grow up and run the family farm or hold a government position (and thus be an asset to the family) whereas girls will be married off and their future income (if any) will not benefit the family; as a matter of fact they will only cost the family—an impressive dowry at the day of their wedding.

It is therefore important to make sure that girls of poor families do receive a chance to come to school and receive an education. The REDC tries to find donors to sponsor the costs for them. At this point in time we are able to sponsor 5 girls but we would like to increase this number enormously.

Chitrakala	Shanty	Trisana	Chunu Maya	Bishnu Maya

First Aid

Most of the children in Nepal live in rural areas, far away from facilities like doctors and hospitals. During the 10 year civil war we learned how important it is to have some basic medical knowledge and know-how within the confines of our own community. But even now, with a peace treaty signed and unrests at an all time low, we still need to be able to give First Aid to children as well as adults as it might take up to a full day to reach a doctor.

We ask the NRCS to teach a Fist Aid training course every year or every other year so we can have 24 participants from as many schools as possible to learn how to apply First Aid. The training lasts 4 days and covers all the aspects a regular First Aid course would, plus additional elements specific to rural areas like snake bites or other attacks from wild animals.
 

Dental Care

Although commercials on toothpastes abound on national television, we know it is just the small minority in the capital city that actually buys and uses them. Most Nepali people brush their teeth only once a day, in the morning as soon as they get up, even before the morning meal. They use a toothbrush that is probably between 6 and 12 months old. It is not difficult to conceive that many if not most elderly people have but few teeth left and have to swallow their food whole.

As the new generation obviously will not learn proper brushing techniques from their parents, and dentists are unheard of in the remote areas, we think it of enormous benefit to the children to provide them with some sort of dental care instruction. We invite dentists from the city to come and show all children in primary school at least once a year the ins and outs of caring for ones teeth. 








Challenges Ahead


It would be shortsighted to only boast of our success and not look ahead to see what the next issues will be to prevent our dream from becoming reality.

What we see happening in rural Nepal is the upcoming of so-called community schools; schools that are being run by communities in stead of by the state. The main problem, however, is that communities do not have the financial resources the state has and can therefore not pay equal salaries to their teachers. We thus see a high turnover in community teachers; most teachers leave after having received the necessary experience and join private schools in the urban areas where salaries are much higher.

We should be thinking today how to keep these teachers in rural Nepal tomorrow.

Another major issue in the villages of Nepal is the lack of money, as most families are subsistent farmers. They grow in their fields what they themselves need to eat. Very little surplus is being produced to be sold and thus turned into cash. These farmers have difficulties paying the costs of education for their children.

We should work out strategies to generate income for the local community so they can afford to pay school fees.