Saturday, April 27, 2019

Gathering Pace!

Work at the Steve Sinnott Learning Resource Centre in Tansen has really taken off over the last few weeks. After a frustrating wait to make a secure bank transfer from the UK, we had a flurry of activity signing work agreements with contractors. There was what felt like another wait after that, as contractors did much of the initial work of building furniture, making window frames and whiteboards off-site. But over the last couple of weeks, it has been a flurry of activity at the centre, with everything being installed.




There's no question which of the recent works has got the local children most excited. The new swings, slide and monkey bars are going to be very well even before the centre is open. I just hope we can keep the kids off them long enough to paint!

In the two days that I've been back from Kathmandu since they've been installed, I've barely seen the area free from children, which is of course exactly what we want! Although I am questioning whether I should have given more budget to this to make the area even bigger and better.



We've also taken delivery of a batch of Raspberry Pi computers, which we'll be using to teach computing once the centre is open. As we prefer to support the local economy, I searched long and hard to source these in Nepal, but it proved impossible so in the end, we had to have them imported. This meant a trip to Kathmandu and a pretty torturous couple of days at the cargo customs building. But finally, I got them cleared and they are now in the centre, awaiting the arrival of monitors, keyboards and some connecting cables from a local dealer.

With the work of the actual building now complete and furniture in place, the next step is buying all the library books and teaching resources needed to make the centre a great place to learn, which is what I'll be doing for the next couple of weeks, before getting on to the final stage of making wall displays, setting up classrooms and getting ready to open and teach! Hopefully, by the time of my next post here, we'll have a firm opening date and be planning an opening celebration!

Tuesday, April 02, 2019

Regular readers of this blog (few as you are!) will know that we had been experiencing some difficulty with bank transfers between the UK and Nepal, which was delaying work on the Learning Resource Centre. I'm absolutely delighted to say that these difficulties have now all been overcome, the first funding payment has arrived and we're getting back to work on getting the centre ready for action. Since the money arrived on Sunday, we've signed agreements for doors and windows, as well as furniture for the library and office. We've more contractors to meet this week; we should have more agreements signed in the coming days. 

As frustrating as the wait has been, I think it was right that we took a cautious approach, not transferring any large sums of money until we were certain we had a secure transfer route. It's far better to put work back a couple of months than to see significant sums of money vanish. As it is, we haven't lost any money during this time, although I may have lost some hair by pulling it out! 

Teacher Training in front of the LRC
Barbara has now returned to the UK, after a great effort to get around and visit all our supported schools in Palpa. It was great having her here, really helping to get things done and making some very enjoyable school visits. We also had a fantastic meeting with the headteachers, who all shared news of their schools progress over the last year, and their plans for the year coming. We really have seen some excellent progress, especially in terms of infrastructure and there are certainly some ambitious plans to watch out for.

Handover Ceremony at Mahachap
While visiting Himalaya Primary in Mahachap, we were able to make an official handover of classrooms that we funded after the earthquake. The difference between the old and new rooms is unbelievable and the students were clearly excited to be learning in the bright new classrooms.  Schools are now on holiday, with the exception of a few students who still have some exams left to sit. 

With world famous trail runner Mira Rai before the race
Despite schools being closed, it promises to be a busy end to the Nepali calendar year for Saran and I, as we try to make up for lost time by getting the LRC up and running as quickly as possible. During the downtime, I have been able to get lots of lessons prepared and fully form a few ideas. I also managed to sneak in an extra race that I didn't think I would have time for, running 55km from 'Monkey Temple' to Buddha Stupa in Kathmandu. 
Running 55km is hard, but the views are rewarding! 


For the most regular updates of how our work at the LRC is progressing, please check our Facebook page where I post photos of the work as it's going on. There should be plenty done by the time I write my next blog post here!