Mark wrote:  "Nepal was prominent in the news last week with a feature photo showing a long line of mountaineers in a ‘traffic jam’ just short of the summit of Mt Everest. Although the situation was the object of media scorn, some news outlets also highlighted the fact that an increase in tourist numbers, seen not just in the Everest region but elsewhere in Nepal, means more foreign currency available for Nepal’s development.

Education development is an area in need of help. One pressing issue in Nepal are the schools that were destroyed four years ago in the 2015 earthquake that are yet to be rebuilt. Funding has been a major issue, with only 55 percent of the 9,000 seriously damaged or destroyed schools having been fully reconstructed.

The Shree Chandra Kala School, located in the Gorkha District, is one of those schools that have not completed their rebuilding program. The school ran out of funds to complete the concrete roof for a four room building over a year ago.

Last year, our International Programs Committee decided to help the school to complete the roof by contributing funds to help purchase concrete. The contribution was passed onto the Rotary Club of Gorkha for presentation to the school.

Mark visited Chandra Kala several weeks ago and is happy to report that construction workers were on site preparing the material to commence the installation of the roof. Mark first visited the community after the earthquake to deliver aid to Chandra Kala as well as six other schools in three districts that were severely affected by the disaster.

Mark said that when he first arrived at Chandra Kala: The children were being taught in temporary classrooms made out of bamboo, salvaged timber and tin sheets. When they were in class and it rained, they couldn’t hear the teachers and the unsealed floor was flooded and muddy. When it was a warm sunny day, the tin roof got incredibly hot and the floor was dusty. It was incredibly tough for children to learn in those conditions and for teachers to do their work.

Another building at the school was recently completed and the children were able move out of the temporary classrooms. But the school is still short of teaching space. The completion of the second building will allow teachers to conduct all of their classes in a child friendly and safe learning environment. Thanks to RCM’s contribution, and the contributions from Mark's Foundation and the local community, the building will be ready for use after monsoon season.

Mark met with the Rotary Gorkha President and management committee in Gorkha city to express his thanks for their help, to exchange Club banners (top photo), and to talk about pressing humanitarian issues in the District.

Whilst in Nepal, Mark was also able to oversee the completion of a community sanitation project with the help of eight Australian volunteers. The volunteers had returned from a successful trek to Everest base camp, or what they described as a tent city, before their community work. Mark also managed the installation of computer labs in five rural schools and an orphanage in Kathmandu that provides care for children living with HIV."

 

 

Our thanks to Mark Pinoli for this profound report of his time in Nepal in 2019.