This little girl in a remote primary school in Sikkim got distracted by the photographer who was taking the picture through the classroom window. HELP supports her school with volunteer English teachers and with money for new buildings.
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Sophie Hudson has just sent in a description of her time in West Sikkim:
It’s hard to believe I’m nearing the end of my time in this amazing corner of the world. For the last few weeks I’ve been lucky enough to call Tathang, a remote and tiny village in West Sikkim, home. The outstanding landscapes and natural beauty of the area blow you away, but the people here are what makes this experience truly unforgettable.
It’s such a privilege to be able to work with the students and teachers here at Vidya Sagar.…
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Barbara Porter (Director, Volunteer Programme), who is visiting our projects in the Indian Himalayas, has just completed a three day teacher training seminar in Dehra Dun on behalf of our local partner, the Serve and Share Association. Nearly 30 participants from 16 different rural schools and interior districts of Garhwal (Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Tehri and Rudraprayag) participated and will hopefully return to their mountain schools with new ways of teaching English. Before 1947, these districts of Garwhal were ruled by a maharaja who did nothing for the education of his people.…
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We are recruiting volunteers right now. If you would like to volunteer your skills, please visit the volunteer page of our website. We are looking for English teachers and medics.…
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This newsletter marks our 15th birthday! I never thought when I set HELP up in 2002, with the indispensable assistance of my family, that it would still be up and running 15 years later. I hope you will agree that it has been a worthwhile effort.
We redesigned our website this year. If you haven’t seen it, do go and check it out and let us know what you think of it.
The on-going demand for a separate state for the Nepali-speaking regions of West Bengal flared up earlier this year in a prolonged strike in Darjeeling and Kalimpong and surrounding areas.…
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You can raise free donations for Himalayan Education Lifeline Programme every time you buy anything online with the UK’s leading online fundraising service, easyfundraising.
With over 3.2 thousand shops and sites on board including Amazon, eBay, John Lewis, Sainsbury’s, Virgin Trains and Aviva, you can get donations on everything from your weekly shop to your annual holiday and it doesn’t cost a penny extra!
Plus, if you join and support Himalayan Education Lifeline Programme we’ll get an extra £2 when you raise your first donation.…
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On my recent inspection visit to Nepal, I visited the local NGO in Damak that is helping abused women and their children to make their way in the world. We have been providing them with funds to pay the rent of their safe house and to purchase sewing machines and training. HELP sponsors, in particular, have been supporting some of the women and their children to enable them to complete their schooling and gain professional skills. These visits are an eye opener for us on a very cruel world, and brings us closer to the heart of darkness than anything else we do.…
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The unrest that has, for over 100 days, brought economic life to a halt in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts, has been called off, and life is starting to return to normal. We will now re-instate our volunteer programme in this part of India, and also Sikkim.…
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The Nepali-speaking region of the Indian state of West Bengal is again in turmoil over its demand for a separate state they want to be called Ghorkaland. Many shops are closed and roads are being blocked by picketing protesters. Read this update from the BBC
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-40323341
For the time being, we will not be sending volunteers to West Bengal or Sikkim. We will re-instate our programme there as soon as the unrest ends.…
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The world’s biggest school system is also one of the worst
Read this revealing article, which appeared in the 6th June edition of The Economist magazine, about how India’s children are being let down by an education system which is not fit for purpose:
