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The school we have selected to rebuild is the Shree Primary School. It is located in the village of Katahare, Golanjor Rural Municipality ward number 6. The school enrollment is 83 students. The families in this village and students from the untouchable caste. They are very poor and they live in the jungle. This school is isolated because it is located in a jungle site. Generally, no outer people go there except teachers. The villagers are not exposed to the outer world.
There are 93 households in the village. Since they are all untouchable caste people, they grow food that is only enough for 3 months. The rest of the year they go to the jungle to collect jungle foods to survive.
All the houses in this village were damaged by the 2015 earthquake. Now about 80 percent of the homes have been rebuilt.
The school has recently received some support from the Lions club including stationary and school bags for the children. The school still needs repairs from the 2015 earthquake as the schools' walls are cracked making it hazardous to be inside. The roof is so badly damaged that water enters into the classrooms. The need of reconstruction is urgent but this has not had the resources to make the repairs. The grant will make possible the purchase of materials for much needed repairs.
Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. Its average income per capita is one-twentieth that of the United States. 16 percent of its population suffers absolute poverty, living on less than $3.20 per day.
The Nepalese people suffered from a protracted civil war between 1996 and 2006 which killed more than 17,000 and crippled many more. An earthquake in 2015 killed over 9,000 people and injured 22,000. Both disasters resulted in thousands of orphans. So, RAW actively supports three orphanages.
For the country and the people, education is the way forward. Education is free and mandatory through Grade 8 and there is a School Leaving Certificate exam at the end Grade 10. Most village schools only teach through Grade 10 and students have to leave the village to complete high school.
The earthquakes of 2015 destroyed or damaged 7,923 schools in Nepal, making them unusable, unsafe or hazardous to continue as a school. To date, about 2,800 schools have been rebuilt leaving about 5,123 schools still waiting for help. At present there are still about one million students studying in temporary or damaged structures such as the one shown in the photo provided with this proposal. The parents of the students have been very willing to help rebuild the schools that are repairable.
The Rotary Club of Fort Collins, After Work has focused on rebuilding schools in rural villages devastated by the second earthquake which are located in a very poor area of Nepal in the Sindhuli and Ramechhap Districts. This is a subsistence rice growing area of Nepal with a large population of families and children from the Dalits caste -- the "untouchables."
Our Rotary club has provided funding for materials to rebuild or repair seven of these damaged schools since 2015. Although seven seems like a small number given that thousands of schools were damaged, rebuilding these schools has made a difference for the children and parents in these villages, enabling children to receive a basic education.
This project will rebuild another school in rural Nepal. Our club works with Sudip Koirala, a Rotarian with whom we have successfully completed over 50 projects in Nepal since 2009. From past experience, we have selected schools that require materials costing about $9,000. Typically, the materials have included sand, bricks, stone, cement, small stones for concrete, tin for the roof, rebar and paint.
We have also provided windows, doors and basic furniture. All labor is then provided in kind by the villagers with project management by Sudip and other Rotarians and Rotaract members in Nepal.
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