PROJECT OVERVIEW FROM HOYENGLA IN SANKHUWASABA DISTRICT

The Partners Nepal (TPN) just completed the School Building Handing-Over Program to Shree Balkanya Adharbhut School Management Committee in Hoyengla Village of Silichung Rural Municipality-1 of Sankhuwasaba District. Members of TPN, such as Chairman Ang Rita Sherpa, Secretary Bheem Raj Rai, and Treasurer Bhala Kaji Kulung, were present to hand over the building. The field visit was from 9^th June to 14^th June 2022.

The Shree Balkanya Adharbhut School Management Committee, Hoyengla, had completed rebuilding the school building with financial assistance from The Partners Nepal. TPN considered rebuilding this school to provide better access and a safe environment for the school children for a good education in their locality, as it was not possible due to the building being severely damaged due to the 2015 earthquake.

 

PROJECT LOCATION

Hoyengla Village is located in the very remote Silichung Rural Municipality 1of Sankhuwasabha district of Koshi zone of Provincial No-1, East of Nepal. Geographically, it is located in the mountain region of Nepal. Hoyengla is bordered by the Bhojpur district in the South and Solukhumbu in the western part, and Makalu and Chichila Rural Municipality lie in the northern part of this region. There are approximately 67 households in the Village. The people here are mainly the Kulung Rai community. Their primary sources are Millet, Maize, and cash crops like Cardamom.

The Kulung Rai had maintained a rich culture of customs, festivals, architecture, dress, and social values. Unlike the other regions, their village is intact, except their houses have been modified from roofs to corrugated iron sheets. The building structures have slightly changed from their original houses.

Despite rich natural and cultural resources, most Kulung Rai of this village are economically poor, unlike the other areas where the community could make money from agriculture and tourism. According to local people, their crops’ savings last only for 6-7 months, and they must work for others to earn money for the remaining periods. The climate of Hoyengla is dominated by temperate to alpine due to its location in a high land area.

This school was built in 1992 with financial support from local people and later small help from District Education Office in Khandbari. From 1992 till now, this building has been no renovation or restoration except for minor maintenance of the roof and walls. The school has property worth 7 Ropani lands in three different plots per their registration. It is the only school in the Hoyengla village. According to the parents, traveling their children for that long distance to reach school is very hard. The presence of students in this school is laudable; due to this reason, there is no chance of merging this school into other areas.

 

URGENCY OF PROJECT SUPPORT

The original school building built by local people’s contribution was never restored nor maintained since it was built in 1993 and has not been repaired since its inception almost 28 years after its rebuilt. The building was built with a stone wall in a mud mortar joint, and it didn’t have any prevalent features and techniques that support withstand quakes. Most of the wood used has started to decay and loosen from its original state; the CGI roofing is also affected by rust, causing water to pass through during rain. On top of that, the 2015 earthquake made it worse.

As a result, with this situation in mind, the school management committee and the parents of Shree Balkanya Adharbhut School in Sisuwatar were very concerned about the school conditions and worried about their children’s safety. The people of Hoyengla village were much concerned about their children going to Shree Balkanya Adharbhut School. The school building was severely collapsed or damaged by the 2015 earthquake, and the roof leaked during the rainy season.

The damaged school building, in turn, threatens the children’s lives in the mountains. The earthquake’s damage disturbs children’s daily attendance and the natural beauty posing dangerous looking. Considering this situation, the locals had expressed their desire to rebuild and renovate at the earliest. Due to a lack of external income sources other than saving grains from annual crops such as maize, millet, and cash crops that last only 6-7 months of the year and on top of that, the Government support through the rural municipality and District Development Committee DDC has been very limited.

 

SHREE BALKANYA ADHARBHUT SCHOOL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE COMPLETED THE REBUILD PROJECT

The School Management Committee, under the leadership of the school Principal, Ms. Jaya Kulung, and the local people, completed the school building reconstruction program within six months. The school rebuild program began in early January 2022 and was completed in the first week of June 2022. The local people of Hoyengla have demonstrated their strong support and appreciation of the project by offering to contribute their labor voluntarily. Every household in Hoyengla village contributed approximately five to six straight days of labor contributions while demolishing the old building to prepare the ground foundation.

The contributions committed by Hoyengla would become a significant contribution in kind or cash from the local community while processing to build the school. The local community had pledged kind contributions of approximately 150,000, equivalent to 1,200 USD, and they were very grateful for our generous support to rebuild the School in Hoyengla.

 

CHALLENGES

The area is so remote, and it takes three whole days from Khandbari, the district HQ of Sankhuwasaba District, during short days. The road has reached Budhabare but has to change to two sites due to the Sankhuwa confluence. The road is rough and not paved, and only a four-wheel jeep will be used in that area. The trail to Hoyengla village is 3 hours straight up, and the locals had to carry everything on the back from the road to this tiny village, like cement, rods, and corrugated iron sheets for construction.

 

APPRECIATION

The Partners Nepal and the local people from Hoyengla village would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the respected donor agencies like DiversEarth, Oak Foundation, Stefan EISELINE of Aero TELEGRAPH and his friends, Ihab Zogib and Sandra Spissinger, all from Switzerland, Engage Nepal, Scot B Barker, Peter Nichols and his friends from Colorado USA, for supporting this school rebuild project. As mentioned above, it would not have been possible to reach this much success without the donor’s insight, love, and support agencies.

TPN is equally grateful to Ms. Jaya Kumari Rai, the principal, and the Shree Balkanya Adharbhut School for her great dedication and hard work during this rebuild program. Without her interest, hard work, leadership, and great coordination would not have been possible.

Likewise, the School  Management Committee of Shree Balkanya Adharbhut School and the Silichung Rural Municipality-1 of Sankhuwasabha District members for their hard work and provided kind support during the rebuild project periods. The support and cooperation from Silichung Rural Municipality-1 was a great help for us to proceed to provide the support to rebuild the school in Hoyengla village.

Without support from the organizations and individuals of TPN mentioned above, it would not have been possible to rebuild the Shree Balkanya Adharbhut School in Hoyengla village. TPN anticipates your continued support in the coming years to provide the same support to the mountain communities that different sources have neglected. As always, your support at this difficult time is very much appreciated by TPN and the local people of Hoyengla village. We will update you as much as possible with the project progress.

 

TEXT AND CONCEPT BY: ANG RITA SHERPA
PHOTOS: Ang Rita Sherpa & Jaya Kulung