Greetings one and all.
I hope you are all well. It has been a while since I last sent a Nagarmail, for that, my apologies.
A great change has swept over the villages in Nepal. Three years on since the earthquakes, locals have been busy building 2 or 4 room houses following strict guidelines set by the government. The rubble from the devastation is nowhere to be seen and construction works are in full swing. There are cut off dates for each phase of rebuilding and if not adhered to, the 3 phase grant will not come. It is great to see the area close to our school in Sathikurya and people getting back on with their lives, farming, schooling, living.
It is a year since we constructed 5 rooms in Nagarhope Basic School, accommodating over 70 children now, up to Class 2. We are in the planning stages of constructing a 6-room 2-storey Primary Block, which we have been fundraising for over the last year. A great concert by Elvis (Kevin Doyle) and The Way it Was Orchestra was performed July 2017, and a 4 member team cycled 1170km from East to West Nepal in January of 2018. Both of these endeavours were raising funds directly for the school building.
Since opening our school in 2014, more time and resources have naturally been directed to its running and upkeep, hiring staff, providing uniforms, books etc. We are in the midst of the monsoon season in Nepal now, getting to and from the school is difficult as the road is under construction. There’s times where you simply wait as a Dozer flattens and levels the road to let traffic through.
Our school and college scholarship program is still ongoing, sponsoring close to 200 students at various levels. We will have to cut back on this program in the future as our school running costs are rising with each year and to accommodate the building of the primary block.
There is a certain stability in Nepal since the new constitution was promulgated, more power and resources are now the responsibility of the local level. People had to come to the capital or other large centres before to get paperwork, driving licenses. The local level has been entrusted with many of these tasks, ultimately relieving people of long, arduous and costly journeys for simple documents.
I myself will be home in Ireland from late August to late September, I hope to meet up with some of you during my stay.
Thanks again for your continued support.
Mise le Meas
Fachtna ‘Doc’ Clandillon
July 30th 2018