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Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. Its average income per capita is nearly one-sixtieth that of the United States. According to the World Bank, 38.8 percent of its population suffers absolute poverty, living on less than $3.20 per day which is a significant increase from 2010.
The Nepalese people suffered from a protracted civil war between 1996 and 2006 which killed more than 17,000 and crippled many more. In addition, an earthquake in 2015 killed over 9,000 people and injured 22,000. It also destroyed or damaged 7,923 public schools in Nepal and more than 21,000 classrooms were destroyed and 12,000 mostly damaged making them unusable, unsafe or hazardous to continue in use. To date, about 7,700 schools have been rebuilt or reconstructed.
For the country and for 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 Rotary Club of Fort Collins, After Work has regularly rebuilt schools in rural villages devastated by the earthquake.These have been located in very poor areas in the Sindhuli and Ramechhap Districts that rely mostly on subsistence rice cultivation where many of the families are from the Dalit caste also known as "untouchables." However, the school we have selected for this project is the Patandevi Primary School that is in the Mahabharat Range of the Himalayas. The school has 78 students from marginalized Mongolian communities. More than 35% of school-aged children in this area are not attending school because of the inadequate infrastructure and the damaged building. The school building and particularly its aging roof forces the administration to declare holidays on rainy days. This project will renovate the school building and enhance the educational materials for critical early childhood development classes.
As for all projects in Nepal our club works with Sudip Koirala, a Rotarian with whom we have successfully completed over 50 projects since 2009, and his team. This project pays for all required materials (and for their transportation to the site) including sand, bricks, stone, cement, small stones for concrete, metal roof, rebar and paint. We also provide windows, doors and basic furniture. All labor is to be provided in kind by the villagers. Project management by Sudip and other Rotarians and Rotaract members in Nepal is under the direction of the five members of our club's international committee.
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