The last visit to Lumbini for me

Just returned from a day with one of our schools visiting Lumbini. 

On the way, Head Sir got the dancing started in the aisle with his drumming.

For some students it was a first visit to Buddha's birthplace, plenty to see and make notes about.

Part of the teacher team.

At the lunch break Head Sir got the volunteers up dancing ......

and some of the students.

A little more sightseeing at Maya Devi and the Sacred Garden,

then back on the bus ...... 'Is tomorrow a holiday?' 'Yaaaaaaaay!' Ann joined in.

Plus a little more dancing in the aisle to bring us home.

Why so long between posts?

It is clearly a reality that I've simply kept on putting it off ....... not happy with some idea I've had for a post and then the urgency has just faded away. Obviously, I am not the best blogger. Unexpected weeks in Kathmandu during May because of strike action in the Terai due to the politics of Nepal's constitution, busy weeks in June getting to know the staff of our new schools, rainy season holiday in July so no school and for me a fabulous time (though short) visiting home, back here in August and into it, head down, to see what can be achieved in the next few months.

Pacific Guest House (PGH). The VSO volunteer home away from home - our destination on arrival in Kathmandu and where 'out of towners' find themselves on stays in the capital. I've spent many nights here.

Great snacks, about 100 metres from PGH.

About 100 metres in the other direction from PGH, they do not seem to have a happy life really.

One afternoon in May, VSO volunteers diverting ourselves with low cost material projects at PGH.

Road widening

Local authorities are sorting out/demolishing all or part of buildings that have been placed illegally on the roadside. There is no doubt that wider roads in parts of Kathmandu would benefit some, but also that many buildings (and livelihoods) while perhaps built knowingly on the road side, have been there many years – think perhaps 30 years.  Imagine the consternation when the +7.2m appears in paint on the front of your shop. Creating new front walls for your reduced building is happening on long stretches of road. The main road through Bhairawa has also been subject to checking and clearing. At my corner shop the bicycle repair shop was moved some metres back, not looking so tidy just at the moment.

Enrolment campaigns

Part of our project is to increase enrolment in our schools through working with the local implementing partner, for us here in Rupandehi, the Dalit Welfare Organisation. They lead activities like the enrolment campaign and arrange bridge classes for students who have not been attending school with the aim of a transition to the appropriate class after nine months. At 7am over the last few days I’ve joined the walks through villages around three schools. Each has been very different – students with tie and belt and orderly marching in one, a more casual stroll with teachers gathering students as we went in the other two. Taking the school to the village and talking close to home about what’s going on in school seems to make a lot of sense. In a school close to the Indian border the numbers in school could be doubled it appeared from four to eight hundred students if enrolment and attendance was improved. In other locations the drift to private schools appears to be significant. Teachers speak of families enrolling their children in the first year of school in the government system but immediately a private school provides bus travel – class 1 – parents move them on. 

In fact, due to my poor ICT skills probably (and maybe poor internet options in Bhairahawa) this post was written in April and is only now finding its way on-line ...... with luck there will be another post soon bringing a more up-to-date bulletin.

A wedding

What a wonderful opportunity to be able to attend the marriage of the daughter of my Nepali family. The week leading up to Saturday was full of people coming and going, every day something different being cooked in our backyard, and the neighbours’ backyards some days. Puja and Dipendra had so many different duties to fulfil, some alone and others with her parents, lead by a charming and laughing priest. This all took place in the front garden, transformed for the day. Towards the end of the afternoon the bride’s father gave many gifts to Dipendra and his family before a truck was loaded up with furniture and the couple set off to his family’s home for another round of ceremony and celebration.





Farewells

The school year ends soon and our project moves from the current focus schools to new ones. That means farewells of course and farewells to the original Bhairawa volunteers who arrived in Nepal in March 2010. This week has also included the holiday for Holi, where powdered colours are smeared, thrown, mixed with water and ‘shot’ or thrown by balloon. Not that playing Holi is confined to the official holiday. As well as the three scheduled school farewells on Tuesday, because we were travelling by minibus in order to also deliver some carpet, we managed to fit in a funeral meal and a promotion party. Some days are busy!





Last week of year 1

During this last week of my first year (how fast it’s gone since 11/11/2010) things have continued to roll on in much the same way really ..... Cycling around and about Bhairawa but now the temperature is FAR more pleasant. Every now and again seeing sights like the sarus crane.

Attending meetings where I struggle to follow the conversation, but this time being amused to meet a fluent Nepali speaker who grew up in Aberystwyth – encouraging me to dig out of my brain my very few Welsh words in answer to his question Cymraeg.

(my ICT skills are not up to giving you the photo I planned here - sorry)

Visiting schools, but never knowing what the day will hold. These photos are taken in ECD classes because I was delivering ‘zines and photos to the teachers – who loved the ‘zine of their work put together over 2 training days in October.

This day, being really pleased to see a maths game that a VSO volunteer introduced to the teacher being used and enjoyed – not just as it was demonstrated in the training, but adapted with the teacher’s own ideas.

Trekking over the Daishan holiday

Wonderful mountain views and many steps up, up, up and down, down, down. Opportunities to see more of the life of Nepali people in other places and plenty of food for thought about development, tourism and the impact of it all. My nine days trekking to Khopra Ridge (out of Pokhara) with VSO volunteer friends was truly a great experience. Pity I couldn't go the extra 1100 metres up to the lake for the day, but hey I was happy to accept my limits!

Work

Seems that not many entries have had so much to do with work ....... and that is why I am in Bhairawa. Since leaving Melbourne last November I have of course, learned a great deal about how education and schools operate in Nepal. The fundamental starting point in order to make suggestions that will be even remotely useful in my role as an education management volunteer. Matters like timetables and calendars through expectations of teachers e.g. no desks and chairs to be provided for most teachers in class and on to how decisions in Kathmandu play out here in the district. The biggest challenge for any Head Teacher in Rupandehi is simply having ‘enough’ teachers and rooms. Arrangements vary from a class with 90+ students in it, to subject teaching in a school with more class groups than there are teachers. One of our 12 focus schools does not have any toilets; most schools lack adequate rooms in some way (number, dimensions, security, flooring and so on). School Management Committees are not able to meet the minimum standards written to guide them. The political landscape in Nepal in the relatively recent past means that there was a population shift to the capital – some teachers here talk of an oversupply of teachers there.

Everyone is very enthusiastic about VSO’s presence and works hard to find ways to make our time productive. Communication using my poor Nepali and teachers’ varying levels of English remains an ongoing challenge. I am able to impress in a random encounter in a shop but discussions with a Head Teacher about planning often relies on the English teacher being available to also join us.

The use of low/no cost materials is often raised as something teachers are keen to improve in their work. For our 12 schools their experience leading up to our involvement, has been varied. A few schools have relatively large collections of books and other teaching resources sometimes unused for years, with knowledge of what is in the collection, lost. Superficially at least, this could be a result of agencies giving boxes of material with little training and even less follow-up. VSO’s approach is very much about training and working alongside teachers and managers rather than providing resources. There is a budget for us to provide classroom items, but it is small and the focus is on the professional experience of the international volunteer working alongside Nepalis. Other schools have very little as they have only recently been established. Both Nepali and international organisations are numerous and provide all sorts of different support based on their view of the needs.

Enrolment of students has increased substantially in our district over recent years though there are still students to reach. Our project aims to enrol all children in the catchment of the chosen focus schools and to help staff improve the quality of education in order to increase retention.

One task I am working on is continuous assessment. Until this year, students from class 1 onwards have had exams three times a year to assess their learning. The district has introduced continuous assessment in classes 1, 2, 3, but as with any new policy, anywhere, there are many points to raise and implementation issues to understand and discuss. It is many faceted and is a very interesting issue for me to work with.



how to use ..........  in what subjects?



How far does the money go?

OR       What can I buy for an Australian dollar or two?

Today’s exchange rate as per Republica newspaper is 1AUD – R78/, more than it was when I arrived last November. I’ll let you do the calculations of dollar and cents.

Lunch at a cafe: a plate of veg momos R55/ or Masala Dhosa R50/

2-egg omelette and puffed rice at the DEO teashop R30/

Cup of black tea with lemon R5/

Small bottle of sprite etc R30/

Repairing the puncture on my bike R20/

Pumping up my tyres R5/ - actually my family told me it’s 2 each tyre, but I always offer a R5 note

Bus fare for the hour ride to Lumbini for me and my cycle R50/

English newspaper R3/ or R5/

Yak cheese 100g R55/

1 kg tomatoes R20/

1kg eggplant R10/

250g green capsicum R15/

300ml bag of milk R21/

Cup of yoghurt 200ml R20/

500ml bag of yoghurt R38/

Muesli 400g packet R85/

6 bananas R25/

2kg whole-wheat flour R74/

Butter 250 g R125/

Material to make a pair of plain pants, R165/ and to stitch them R100/

A suit – material for matching pants, top, scarf and then stitched for me approx R1000/

Electricity per month on average approx 300, but this month my bill was 408 – did I mention it’s hot here and so I like using the ceiling fan? Plus the power cuts are less than in the cold season.

A 5 day course of antihistamine tablets plus a small tube of eye cream to help a fellow volunteer recover from their effort to beautify themself with hair dye R48/ (It was me who went to the pharmacy to buy as their eye was so swollen, didn’t want to cycle, no problem to buy products clearly labelled ‘not without prescription’)

 

veg momos at Mokhan Bhog, a favourite lunch spot

This entry lacks the photos I anticipated, will aim to add some more over the coming days ......