(Winter-)Schools in the remote mountains of Nepal

Preliminary Remark: The villages and the schools in Upper Dolpo are located in one of the remotest mountainous areas in the world at around 4,000 meters altitude and there is no or hardly any phone contact and Internet is not available. To get to Kathmandu from Upper Dolpo, you need to walk 7-8 days and additional 48 hours by bus. This said, we only can deliver detailed reports of the school sessions with 9-12 months delay after the school period ended. We need to give the school coordinator time to write and provide their reports once they come to Kathmandu. Thank you for your understanding.

The Tripitak Basic School was established by the Nepalese government in 1975 but was only in operation for a few years because the government did not take the local needs of the population into account. The number of students decreased, and the school was closed. Dawa Phuntsok, a former villager, reopened the school in 2019 as co-coordinator and was looking for a sponsor. In spring 2021 we decided to finance two teachers. In January 2022, we as the HUMAN Foundation pledged to build a new school and finance the school operations.

The main goal of the school is to provide free and high-quality education to the underprivileged society in Upper Dolpo in order to develop the potential skills of the children so that they can stand on their own two feet after their education.

Our vision is to offer primary education in their home village so that they do not forget their mother tongue, Nepali language, religion, and traditions and keep in touch with their parents. After primary school education we want to send them to Kathmandu to give them further education.

The 2021 school year began on May 1st and ended on the last day of October. The lessons went smoothly, and the students achieved very successful results. It is very difficult to direct the school lessons because there is currently no real classroom, school furniture, too few teachers and a lack of good facilities. However, we managed to do it by teaching on the floor of an old building and accommodating the teachers in a house without any facilities. There are currently three well qualified and enthusiastic teachers who are willing to improvise and adapt to new challenges and demands in order to achieve the best for the children.

The school management committee (SMC) meeting was held several times over the past year. All members are very supportive and helpful towards the school. They help us for free and are also very loving and caring when dealing with our students. There were three meetings on school planning, school administration and activities to improve school operations.

For the 2022 school year, all the goods and equipment needed for the school have already been purchased and transported from Kathmandu to Lhuri. And at the same time, the planning for the school building is in full swing. If we get enough wood, there is hope that we will have eight rooms available in autumn 2022.

Thank you very much for your outstanding support.