Bijaya Basic School, Aarba Bijaya, Kaski

Project Cost: £30,897 (including a community contribution of £8,232)

Main funders: My Small Help

Additional funding: The Stamp Family and Esland

In June 2018, at the launch event and conference for The British and Nepal NGO Network (BRANNGO), Tim Mitchell and Alan Sweetman met with Josh Stamp from My Small Help (MSH), a charity supporting communities and livelihoods in Nepal. MSH were looking to construct a school in Nepal and following further discussion, Bijaya Basic School, Aarba Bijaya, Kaski was identified as a suitable option with PTN.

Bijaya Basic School is located about 1 hour from Pokhara, has 43 students, 8 teachers and runs from nursery to year 7. However, following changes in the Nepali education the school was required to increase this to include year 8. The school required improved classrooms as all of the existing buildings were affected by the earthquake in 2015 and were potentially unsafe for use, however due to space limitations they were still being used.

The project involved the demolition of an existing building and the build of a new, 3-room building in its place to provide safe a secure classroom. The School Management Committee (SMC) proposed to provide 30% of the project costs. Additional support was received from the local municipality to provide a new toilet block and water supply to the school. Work began in October 2018 and was completed in March 2019. The school was officially opened on 1st April by My Small Help and The Stamp Family.

My Small Help are planning to build an ongoing relationship with the school to improve the education provided and the resilience of the local community. The organisation has already secured additional funding for new educational resources for the school via a UK donor.

Tim Mitchell, Chair of Pahar Trust Nepal said, “We are very pleased that we were able to complete this project from initial conversation to opening in 9 months. It is a demonstration of how effective the organisation is at identifying and delivering projects in Nepal. We look forward to working with My Small Help in the future to continue the education improvement at Bijaya Basic School.”

Josh Stamp, Trustee, My Small Help said, “From the initial conversations with Alan and Tim, through to the project brief and final completion, I was incredibly impressed by the speed and quality of the school build. We were kept up to date throughout with regular pictures and communication. Upon completion of the project we were treated to an amazing opening ceremony by the local community. I can't recommend Pahar Trust Nepal enough as a partner who focus on community ‘buy-in’,sustainability and quality of education.”

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