Coming together to revitalize earthquake-hit communities in Nepal. One school at a time.
The European Union (EU) and UNICEF partner in Nepal to construct Transitional Learning Centers, equip schools with educational materials, and train teachers, as the country moves to reimagine and rebuild its fallen educational infrastructure after the devastating earthquakes of 2015.
This is the story of one school in Gorkha, the district at the epicenter of the tragedy.
This dilapidated structure in Gorkha, Western Nepal, used to be a chicken coop.
After the earthquakes of April 2015, teachers at Shree Karmasingh Primary School started using it as classrooms.
The school was destroyed beyond recognition by the earthquake. With no recourse at their disposal, community members agreed to use this abandoned chicken coop as school building for their children.
Students from Early Childhood Development (ECD) to grade three would come here everyday to learn.
The space was unhealthy, and extremely dangerous for small children.
Without proper enclosures the class was open to mosquitoes and rain.
And there were open holes on the upper level, big enough for the little kids to fall through.
Shanta Mani Kaini, the principal of the school, says it was a desperate measure — without a building the students would have lost out on years of education.
The situation was set to change for the school, however.
Shree Karmasingh Primary School is one of the sites in the district for the construction of a Transitional Learning Center. It is part of the recovery project being implemented by UNICEF Nepal and partners (in the case for this school, HANDS International), funded by the European Union and supported by the Government of Nepal.
The construction site, a three-minute walk down the chicken-coop structure, is a plain area with no risks of landslides or flooding.
The selection of the site, as well as the design of the Transitional Learning Center, is in accordance with the recommendations provided by the government of Nepal for transitional school structures after the quake.
As other construction sites in the district race towards the finish line, Shree Karmasingh Primary School was completed just recently.
Together with the community, teachers, local government agencies as well as partner agencies, the school was inaugurated amidst a ceremony.
Classes in the new school structure have started already.
And the students could not be happier about their new classrooms.
The project aims to erect a total of 650 Transitional Learning Centers in nine earthquake affected districts, while also distributing educational learning materials and training teachers on the post-earthquake educational scenario.
So that students like Sujal Panta (below), who wants to be a doctor one day….
…. have a safe, and encouraging environment to continue to work on their dreams.
(Read about the celebrations for the school’s opening here)
