2nd phase plus - more updates

This is what the "school" situation looks like at the moment:



Work on the new school buildings has been moving rapidly. The buildings are nearly complete, and we're now sending money to Nepal to purchase tin roofs in order to complete these in time for the monsoon. During the rainy period work will continue on finishing the internal work - plastering, etc.


A picture of Santaman with workers.

Speaking of donations - more are needed, urgently. We have collected recently nearly $2000 (which we are sending) and secured two donors who promise to give between $100 and $200 per month once the school is completed, which will be great for paying teachers' salaries.

In the meantime, some updated photos (mid-June). As you can see, the buildings are there! We have a school cooking. These are pictures of some timbers that are being prepared, of the school foundations and walls, as well as door frames and windows fitted.

2nd phase - updates

It's been a long time since I wrote here. But, here are some updates. Some of these are old news already, dating from May. Nonetheless, here they are. This is mostly from April 2007.

Oli (from trekinfo.com forums) has been to Kaaule and has seen the construction first-hand. He also met with some interested people in Kathmandu, and they provided some wise advice:

1) We need to draft a Memorandum Of Understanding between the "charity organisation" and the village school building council. This is the masterplan that sets out all the commitments, expectations and requirements for the plan. It should cover details of costs & expenses, our cash payments and any contributions made by the village in the way of land and materials donationated or labour. And a list of our expectiations regarding the size and quality of the buildings being funded. This MOU ought to be well considered and strictly adhered to.

2) We need to appoint an independent structural surveyer to oversee the quality control of the actual building. Things like are the foundations sound, cement mix quality, use of branded (mfrg warrenty) materials used, drainage & damp proofing, walling & the roof - etc. CAN suggest the build is checked for quality at 3-5 key stages and our release of additional funding is made only after a favourable inspection.

3) We should register with the Social Welfare Council, apparently they are a Nepali body who oversee the workings of charity & NGOs, projects like this. It is important that we are seen to be playing by the rules.

4) We need to consider the long term sustainability. After the initial build the school will need maintenence, probably a significant chunk of cash every few years, but we need to avoid having to make every small contribution (e.g., repainting the blackboards, etc.). Perhaps a school farm can pay a bag of carrots for a morning of maintenance odd-jobs.

This is all very good advice, indeed, and I'm working on implementing at least parts of it. I think, however, that items 1 and 3 are, perhaps, not as important as 2 and 4, so I'll concentrate on these latter ones more. The reason I attach less importance to the others are due to the nature of my personal relationship with the people on the ground and due to the small scale of the project overall.

At the time Oli went to Kaaule, the ground had been cleared but a wall had collapsed and they were repairing it. Here are some pictures from that stage (April). These pictures are of the Western and Eastern walls of the cleared ground, some photos of the final stages of ground clearing, and a photo of the workers on site.

Breaking rocks!

Hello! This is the first post, but without further ado let's get to work quick. Some brief updates:

• investigating how to become a registered charity; it seemed to me a few weeks ago that rather than creating yet another small charity, it would be better to minimize (taxpayers') money spent on the paperwork and join forces with an existing charity whose purpose is similar. So I dug around and found such a charity. I won't state the name here yet in order no to jinx my chances, but I wrote to them and they were very nice and responsive to me! It seems we'll get somewhere with them, they seem to be open to becoming an "parent" or "umbrella" organization for this project, but these things, too, do take time. They did, however, ask me some very important questions, which I'll address here as well (below);
• in Nepal, in the meantime, work is underway! The village elders have had a meeting and a School Management Committee (SMC) has been put together, with Santaman chairing it. They have found ground for the school building and have started clearing it. Currently the villagers are breaking rocks for the school building. There are some pictures of all this below.

Here are some important questions that were asked about this project, and some answers. These are important topics and the answers are not final nor complete, of course.

1. Where will money for the teachers come from?
   This question, and generally, the question of long-term sustainability of the school project are very important. At the moment, I hope to secure a few long-time donors, who would be able to provide standing-order (regular) donations to total $100-200 a month. That would pay for 1-2 teachers. Longer-term, I hope to apply for various indigenous peoples improvement grants to create a lasting fund for the school.
   
2. Do your future plans include provision for nursery education/adult literacy classes/secondary education?
   The short answer is - not yet. At the moment, we're setting our goals "small" - let's build the primary school, let's see how it works out, let's get it to be sustainable over a foreseeable future, and then we can think about more things. If this project turns out to be a success, I have no doubt that others can follow.
   
3. How much will be reserved from your projected budget for maintenance of the new school?
   Once we reach the necessary minimum needed for the ongoing construction, we will start a drive for maintenance. Generally speaking we expect this to be no more than 10-30% of the construction costs - more precise figures will be calculated in time, though, and posted on the website.
   
4. Will you be going to Nepal (Kaaule) regularly yourself to oversee the project or will Santaman be overseeing the work himself? Would he have a deputy whilst he was away leading treks?
   Yes, I (Misha) will be going there myself, but not as a work overseer - that part is under Santaman's control. When he is away, one of his family members will do the necessary work. A more detailed answer to this question is forthcoming.
   
5. Who would administer the accounting in Nepal?
   Santaman is responsible for the accounting in Nepal - a careful record is being kept of all expenditures, contracts and materials purchase orders and can be made available on request.
   
6. Has the timber already been cut so that it has now seasoned?
   No, not yet. The villagers have not yet received the funds for timber purchase.

So, what's happening now? This week we are sending a portion of the raised funds to Nepal to purchase some immediately needed materials. Santaman is in Kathmandu this week and will travel to Kaaule at the end of it to continue the work. We are trying hard to do as much as possible before the monsoon starts.

And here are some pictures, as promised:

A view of the village.
Children waiting for their school.
The village meeting.
Clearing the ground for the school.
Breaking rocks!