The Partners Nepal Supports the School In Hoyengla Village Of Silichung Rural Municipality -1 Of Sankhuwasabha

The Partners Nepal supports Shree Balkanya Adharbhut School in the remote Hoyengla village of Silichung Rural Municipality – 1 of Sankhuwasabha District. Ang Rita Sherpa, chairman of TPN, and Bheem Raj Rai, Secretary of TPN, made a short visit to Hoyengla village to make direct observations and meet the local school representatives & government authorities to discuss the school rebuild project. The Shree Balkanya Adharbhut School was severely damaged due to the 2015 earthquake.

Hoyengla village in Silichung Rural Municipality-1 is in the Sankhuwasba district of the Koshi zone of Provincial No -1, East of Nepal. Geographically, it is located in the mountain region of Nepal. There are approximately 67 households in “Hoyengla Village” of Silichung Rural Municipality-1. The people here are mainly the Kulung Rai community. Their primary sources are Millet, Maize, and cash crops like Cardamom. The Kulung Rai maintained a rich culture of customs, festivals, architecture, dress, and social values.

Despite rich natural and cultural resources, most of the 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 savings from crops last only for a maximum of 6-7 months, and they have to work for others to earn money for the remaining periods. The climate of Hoyengla Village is dominated by temperate to alpine due to its location in the high land area.

The Shree Balkanya Adharbhut School is located in “Hoyengla Village,” approximately 2 hours steep hills from the main road. 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, there has been no renovation or restoration of this building except for minor maintenance of the roof and walls. The original 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 it was 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 it to withstand against quake.

Most of the wood used has started to decay and loosen from its original state; the CGI roofing is also affected by rusting, 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 are very concerned about the school conditions and worry about their children’s safety. The people of Hoyenla village were much concerned about their children going to Shree Balkanya Adharbhut School. It was severely collapsed or damaged from the 2015 earthquake, and the roof leaked during the rainy season.

The damaged school, 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.

The Shree Balkanya Adharbhut School Management Committee has organized a meeting at the school compound on November 13, 202. The meeting was chaired by Vice-Chairman Mr. Dhan Bahadur Rai of Silichung Rural Municipality-1, Sisuwa Khola of Sankhuwasabha District. The main purpose of the meeting was to introduce the School Management Committee and the members of The Partners Nepal.

Based on the request made by the Principal of Shree Balkanya Adharbhut School and our direct observation of the school conditions, TPN had agreed to support the school rebuild project as of November 2021 with generous support from TPN’s donor agencies in Europe and USA. Supporting education projects in a remote part of Nepal would provide much assistance to avoid further collapsing that needs immediate restore rebuild. The Silichung Rural Municipality-1, Sisuwa Khola of Sankhuwasabha District, had pledged Nepal Rupees 1100,000 (9,500) USD to match support to rebuild the school.

The school management committee had formed a construction committee consisting of 7 executive members responsible for rebuilding the school as of December 2021. The local people of Hoyengla village have demonstrated their strong support and appreciation of the project by offering to contribute their labor voluntarily. Every household in Hoyenla village will provide kind contributions, approximately five to six straight days of labor contributions, while demolishing the old building to prepare the ground foundation and rebuild the main school.

The contributions committed by Hoyenla village 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 support to Hoyenla. The principal, the school management committee, and the Silichung Rural Municipality-1 of Sankhuwasabha District were very helpful and cooperative in disseminating information about the school. Silichung Rural Municipality-1 was very supportive and agreed to provide any information required about the school.

The Partners Nepal and the local people from Hoyenla village would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the respected donor agencies like DiversEarth, Oak Foundation, Stefan EISELINE of Aero TELEGRAPH, and Ihab Zogib, all from Switzerland, Scot B Barker and Peter Nichols of USA, for supporting this school rebuilds project. It would not have been possible to reach this much success without the donor’s insight, love, and support, as mentioned above agencies. TPN is equally grateful to Ms. Jaya Kumari Rai, the principal, the management committee, and the members of Silichung Rural Municipality-1 of Sankhuwasabha District for their warm welcome and the kind hospitality during our visit to the school site. The support and cooperation from Silichung Rural Municipality-1 was a great help for us to provide support to rebuild the school in Hoyenla 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 Hoyenla village. TPN anticipates your continued support in the coming years to provide the same support to the mountain communities that have been neglected from different sources. As always, your support at this difficult time is very much appreciated by TPN and the local people of Hoyenla village. We will update you as much as possible with the project progress.

Ang Rita Sherpa
Chairman
The Partners Nepal