Hello from Nepal and welcome to my first Volunteer Linking update! My name is Beth and I am volunteering in the Kaski district of Pokhara, helping to improve access to - and the quality of – education for the children in the area. Before I tell you about what I’ve been doing since arriving here I’d just like to say thank you for supporting me on my placement. Your donations are helping to provide a brighter future for the children of this desperately poor country so I’m really looking forward to updating you on all that your support makes possible throughout my two years here.
Living the Nepalese way
The pace of life here is very slow compared to the UK, which takes some getting used to. Showers here consist of heating pans of water on a stove to wash with, and electricity shortages mean that most evenings are spent by candle or torchlight. People have been very kind and welcoming, which has impressed me because their lives are so hard compared to mine.
Helping Nepal’s most disadvantaged children
The purpose of my placement here is to help the most marginalised children gain access to and complete a good education. These children are mostly girls, children with disabilities, and children from the ‘Dalit’ caste.
The term ‘Dalit’ means downtrodden or oppressed. Classed as ‘untouchables’, they are seen as unclean and impure and generally suffer from discrimination in the classroom. So it’s no wonder that currently only 1% of Dalit children complete primary school. It’s my duty to help Dalit children, girls, and children with disabilities enjoy more inclusion in the classroom so that they too can have a good quality education.
Visiting the schools
Seeing the schools has been a real eye opener for me and made me realise just how much we take for granted back home. Classrooms here are often bare stone rooms and have little or no resources. It’s strange to think of my old school in Manchester bursting with laptops and educational computer games and different kinds of toys in comparison. The majority of teaching here involves copying from the board or repetitive chanting. The children often look disengaged and teacher morale tends to be low due to a mixture of low salaries, few resources to teach with, and a lack of training to keep them motivated.
Change is possible
In comparison, I had a wonderful experience visiting an Early Childhood Development (ECD) class in which a previous VSO volunteer had worked. ECD classes are for children under six years old and are designed to help schools provide the best possible start for children from an early age.
The children in this class were playing games, smiling and laughing, and actively participating in their learning, and I felt quite emotional seeing them. There were colourful displays on the walls and the room had a really positive, purposeful, and warm atmosphere, which was in stark contrast to most of the other places I had seen. The local teacher seemed to be enjoying herself too and I watched her do an activity where all of the children sat in a circle – to ensure everyone is included and that nobody is overlooked - matching and identifying numbers.
It was really inspiring to see the difference that another VSO volunteer had made and so I feel confident that, with your kind support, I can make differences like this too throughout Pokhara.
My first mission – helping youngsters
The new school year starts in April and from then until the end of my placement, I’ll be working specifically in four schools. For now though I’m concentrating on a newly established class for under six-year-olds from different backgrounds. Their special classroom has been built jointly by the community and the District Education Office because the nearest school is too far away. There are a large number of children in the class and just one teacher who is struggling to manage and has asked for some support.
The children are currently kneeling on the floor as there are no seats, let alone desks, and they spend most of the day copying letters from the board. Some of the children are as young as three so it’s quite shocking to see them bent over on the floor, copying things down so monotonously all day.
I’m going to help the teacher establish some more varied routines in the classroom with interactive numeracy and literacy games.
I’ll work with her to help include each child and develop their learning in a way that’s fun for both the children and their teacher. It feels like quite a challenging task, but I’m feeling very motivated and optimistic after seeing the success of the other Early Childhood Development class.
I look forward to updating you on my progress!
Thank you again for your support, and I promise I’ll be in touch soon.
Beth
