News - Page 17 of 19 - Himalayan Education Lifeline Programme

December 12, 2009

Newsletter 2009 (No. 7)

A very hazy Lake Phewa, Pokhara

NEWSLETTER No. 7

Welcome to our 7th annual newsletter. It seems like only yesterday that I sent out the very first of these newsletters. I’m glad to report that HELP continues to thrive!

The year in a nutshell

This has been a year of consolidation, with just two new projects added to our portfolio. HELP has, in my opinion, reached its optimum size, and I have no plans to expand its scope any further. Further growth would mean taking on staff and finding office premises, turning HELP into a different kind of beast.

November 1, 2009

Teacher training seminars in Leh, Ladakh: September 2009

Barbara Porter, our teacher trainer, has recently returned from Ladakh, where she has run a couple of very successful seminars for local teachers. The first was for primary level teachers and the second, for secondary teachers. The aim of our teacher training programme is to develop long-term inprovements in the standard of English teaching in the schools we help.

These seminars follow on from the seminars held in Kalimpong and Sikkim in February 2007.…

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May 14, 2009

Nepal: No toilet, no job

Staff of some organizations in Dolpa [Karnali Zone, western Nepal] will lose their job if they do not construct a toilet in their house by the end of this fiscal year in mid-July 2009.

This follows a request by the District Drinking Water Office to all offices, schools and organizations to construct toilets to make the district an open defecation free zone.

Fewer than 12 percent of the population in Dolpa use a toilet.…

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May 5, 2009

Nepal’s PM resigns

Pushpa Kamal Dahal,the Maoist prime minister, who was in charge of the interim government that is responsible for drafting a new constitution for Nepal, has resigned after some members of the coalition pulled out. He had called upon the chief of the army to resign for failing to integrate Maoist irregulars into the regular army, and this move has not only been strongly criticised by the non-Maoist parties, but the President refused to countenance the dismissal. It is too early to say what this means for the fragile peace process, but it is not a positive development.…

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March 2, 2009

The HELP Goecha la pass trek: 17 October- 30 October 2009

After completing the Goecha La pass trek in Sikkim last autumn, it occured to me that, with our knowledge of the area, and our contacts, we are well placed to organise treks for those interested in experiencing the Himalayas and combining hiking with visits to HELP projects. For example, on the way to the start of the Goecha La trek, there would be a chance to stay a night with a Sikkimese family in Kewzing, and visit the village school which is being supported by HELP.…

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December 16, 2008

Newsletter 2008 (No. 6)

Himalayan dawn

I’ll begin with the event that is freshest in my memory!

Charity trek in Sikkim (October-November 2008)

Good morning?

Knackered

As most of you know, no-one signed up to join me on this trek which I had thought would be a great way of raising funds for HELP. Well, as it turned out I wasn’t so wrong. Firstly, my eldest son Alan decided to join me, which was a boost to my rather deflated morale. Even better, we managed, between us, to raise £1280 thanks to the generosity of friends, relations and work colleagues.

October 2, 2008

Trek

About 18 months ago, I was approached by the Mountain Company with a proposal to run a charity trek in Sikkim under their auspices for the benefit of HELP’s various projects in the Himalayas. This seemed like a good idea at the time, providing tourists with a chance to stay in a Sikkimese village and to visit a school we are helping (en route to the start of their trek), in return for a donation to boost HELP’s funds.

Disappointingly, we have had no takers.…

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October 2, 2008

Nepal: The Missing State

My representative in Kathmandu has just sent me the following excerpts from a paper by Saubhagya Shah delivered at a seminar in Kathmandu under the auspices of the National Media Development Center (NMDC) and FE5 Nepal on Sept. 20, 2008; Harvard Ph.D. Saubhagya Shah is the program coordinator Conflict Peace and Development Studies at the Tribhuvan University, Nepal.

Saubhagya Shah, PhD

A major irony in Nepal at present is that despite the impressive governing alliance and the strong backing accorded to it by New Delhi and the Western powers, the government has never been so weak.

August 1, 2008

JN Memorial School building project

With the help of family and friends (including parents and children of the Hilmarton Primary school) of one of our volunteers, Rebecca Scott, who taught at this school in 2006, a new robust reinforced two-storey concrete structure has already been built at a cost of about £4,300, to replace the wooden structure that was slowly sliding down the mountainside. The children moved in on 28th July, straight after the summer break. This project came in under budget and was completed ahead of time.…

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June 25, 2008

Darjeeling hills strike lifted

The indefinite strike (bandh) in the Darjeeling hills, called by Gorkha Janamukti Morcha who are pressing for more autonomy, has been suspended pending the outcome of negotiations with the Government. The GNM have given a new deadline of 5th July.…

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