School with a view

Education remains at the forefront of Umbrella's priorities and will remain so when Umbrella moves to Gurje. A higher standard of education was also the request from the women of the village when they were asked what they wanted for their children. The schools that are currently in Gurje would not have the capacity or the facilities to provide the standard of education that Umbrella endeavors to uphold. It was clear that Umbrella would have to build a school for our children and the children of the entire community, raising the standard of education for the entire community.

Thanks to the tireless work of previous country director, Jacky Buk, a grant was secured from the Indian Government, in conjunction with the Nepali Government and the Nepali Education Office to build a school and hostel in the Gurje area of Nuwakot, 20 km north of Kathmandu. The Indian Government donated $500,000 for the construction of the building, the Nepali Government donated the land and the Education Office agreed to run the school in cooperation with Umbrella.

The school planned will have a capacity for 500 students, with 50% of places going to local children. The school will be an English medium in keeping with the top schools in Kathmandu. This will be a vast improvement from the standard of the local schools currently in Gurje. Intensive bridging classes will run to bridge the gap between village, government school and Kathmandu, private, English medium schools.

Extra-curricular activities will be encouraged to ensure a rounded education. These activities will vary from art and sport to agricultural training. As one of the goals of the move is to reintegrate our children into their rural backgrounds it is important that we teach them about village ways and how to appreciate the natural resources around them.

A vocational training centre is also part of our Gurje education plans. The centre will be a huge benefit to both Umbrella children and the youths of the community. Unemployment is a huge challenge acing more and more school leavers and now even students leaving college with higher qualifications are finding it difficult to find jobs, we hope the vocational training centre will equip the students with enough skills to make them attractive candidates in the work force.