5 Sponsorship of children in Bigu - "Himalayan Region Welfare English School" (HRWES)

It was the request of Lopön Tsechu Rinpoche, a very highly regarded Buddhist lama, to build a school in this remote area of Nepal which would enable the highly motivated children to obtain a basic education. He named Namgyal Lama, a local monk, to be head of this project; he is also our contact on site. He works whole heartedly to ensure a good education for the children.

Currently, 111 children aged 3 – 17 years attend our school and we have employed 6 very motivated teachers. Moreover, we employ a cook who prepares a daily warm meal with vegetables grown in our own garden as well as the traditional milk tea for everybody. Namgyal Lama wants to "hire" a school cow which would provide milk and fertilizer for the garden. We would like to stay as independent as possible in this very remote region.

In April 2015, our school has been completely destroyed during the earthquake. The same is valid for the kitchen house, a part of the new building, the complete village and the monastery. Thanks to donations, we have been able to provide some tents and plastic sheeting so that the village people could build a primitive housing for the classes in order to assure a more or less routine class schedule.

As soon as the road – which has also been destroyed by the earthquake – is being repaired and after the monsoon in autumn, we plan to start rebuilding the school. Namgyal Lama has hired an architect to submit an offer for an earthquake-proof school building with 10 classrooms, including kitchen, dining hall and bathroom. The cost estimate amounts to 25,000 USD.

Our children attend kindergarden, pre-school and 1st to 6th grade. It is our intention to offer up to 10th grade so that the children will reach a regular graduation.

Our classes are leaning on the teaching schedule of the Nepalese government. We teach Nepali, English, mathematics, general knowledge and sports. Since most of our children descend from the Sherpa tribe, we also offer Tibetan (oral and in writing), the traditional songs and dances as well as Buddhism so that their culture remains vivid and will not get extinct. Most government schools do not teach this.

We still need sponsorships for children, so that school fees, uniforms, books, material, teachers' salaries and our cook can be paid for and to ensure the future of the school.

At the beginning of each year, you will receive a donation receipt for the past year. You have the possibility to write letters to your child which I will either hand over personally or I will take care of the transport.

Head of project for the mountain school in Bigu: Anna E. Bach
@-mail: anna.elisabeth.bach@web.de