Helping this rural Nepalese school!

Heaven Hill Academy is a forward thinking and inclusive school in rural Nepal in the village of Guansahar. They provide education for children that would otherwise not have it, for example children with special educational needs, girls and children from low caste families. Families can access free education at the school if they cannot afford the fees. It is most important for the Principal that the children from the village access education, regardless of the obstacles. Needless to say without education the children's life choices will be very limited. The school is independent and gets no help from the Government and therefore relies heavily on help from volunteers and outside help.

The school runs new and exciting initiatives which are rare in Nepalese schools such as horse therapy for children with special educational needs and those needing help to boost their self confidence. With the help of volunteers, the school also embarked on a camping trip for two nights earlier this year which was a great success and the first time both the children and teachers had ever camped in tents! They are looking forward to doing this again!

https://youtu.be/wRwoDK2TubA

The school classrooms are very basic and have very few resources. An example of the difference we as volunteers and the donations people give can be seen in the library. Volunteers have set up a library over the last few years and children access activities with the volunteers to practise their English. This is a colourful and bright room that the children relish spending time in! Sadly the stock of appropriate children's books is minimal so cannot yet function as a lending library. We are helping to write to future volunteers to suggest that they bring books with them when they visit. They have one copy of the Gruffalo here and the children this week have loved reading it!! I know from my own school and teaching how important stories are for children's development and would love to see their access to books improve.

The owl flying!

Watching the Gruffalo, after reading it and playing some games.

Reading the Gruffalo!

Sadly sending items over here is not really an option as the Nepalese postal system forces the recipients to pay for custom duty. Therefore donations of money are the most helpful in order for the school to develop it's own resources, classrooms and to grow. The long term aims of Heaven Hill Academy are to build a kitchen, Grade 4 classroom and computer lab.

If you would like to read more about the school, please follow the link and also read my previous blog post.

Donating to a specific project such as building a classroom or kitchen will make a huge difference. There are also opportunities for you to sponser a child for £8 a month. Additionally if you wanted to set up a fund raising event or share this post or the donations page, this would be greatly appreciated.