DARE Nepal Project 2009:
Shree Siddhartha Lower Secondary School, Chitwan

Overview

This project will be working with a NGO in Nepal called PSD (Partnership for Sustainable Development) Nepal. PSD Nepal works in various sectors towards the development of rural communities and especially emphasizes the needs of the most vulnerable groups, aiming their efforts at children, youth, women and disabled persons and conducting projects in the areas of education, youth development, health/sanitation, information technology and environment. PSD Nepal already work with groups similar to DARE at Edinburgh and Oxford Universities. Their website can be found at: http://www.psdnepal.org/index.html

The Shree Siddhartha Lower Secondary School was established 28 years ago in kerunga village of Jagatpur VDC of Chitwan district, 175 KM from the capital, Kathmandu. Most of the people here have been resettled in this village after being displaced from Makawanpur district. Due to the re-settlement, the village has been very behind in terms of development, only recently getting access to clean water and irrigation. It is also at a disadvantage because the villagers have faced social discrimination and are very poor and uneducated.

At present, the village has 338 households of different castes (from the Dalits – untouchables – to the higher classes of Brahmins and Chhetries) with a total population of 2047. Because they are a newly settled village, they are uneasy about mixing with neighbouring villages and as a result have become isolated.

Education is must for development of any community but unfortunately the literacy rate of this village is very low. Siddhartha Lower Secondary is the only school in this community and with the villagers facing discrimination and isolation, the children are reluctant to travel to neighbouring villages for education. For this reason, Siddhartha is hoping to expand and upgrade the school to secondary level. To achieve this aim, the school needs an extra 4 rooms - one for pre primary, two for secondary level and one for principal. The school will only be able to get limited funding for this from the Nepal government and so have asked PSD to contribute. As a result, PSD Nepal have asked DARE to find suitable volunteers to help them to help this village.

PSD will allocate one counterpart for one group. The counterpart will facilitate the volunteers and the counterpart and volunteers will work in coordination with the school management committee. This will ensure that the volunteers know exactly what they need to be doing and when so that the best possible outcome for this community can be achieved.

Activities

Week one of the project will be an orientation week where you will take language classes and learn about Nepal and the area you will be working in. You will be further briefed on what is expected of you and what your aims and objectives are for the project. This week will be spent with a group of Edinburgh University students who will be carrying out another project for PSD Nepal, working with a different community. Weeks 2-6 will be spent doing the following:
1.   Construction of four roomed building
2.   White washing of the classrooms
3.   Helping with teacher-student interaction programs
4.   Organize extra curricular activities related with awareness raising programs to promote education.

Accommodation

Volunteers will be staying with a Nepali family, gaining a privileged insight into traditional family life. This arrangement also is of benefit to the family with whom you will be staying as they get to learn about our people and culture by having you stay with them and they can also earn some extra income by hosting volunteers.

Food

Traditional Nepalese food (curry, lentil dishes, rice) provided by your host family and PSD Nepal.

Dates

10th June – 21st July: Week 1: orientation week, weeks 2-6: project work

Costs

For a 7-person group, £606 per person is to be paid to PSD Nepal before the group leave for the project. Because part of this cost includes project materials, DARE will be making a contribution towards this sum. This will be confirmed nearer the time but is expected to be around £100-150 per person, thus leaving £450-500 to be paid by the volunteer. This cost covers ALL projects costs including all accommodation, food, travel within the country, and expenses for the orientation week.
Flights: currently £600
Extras: holiday travel before or after the project, travel insurance, vaccinations – sometimes free if you speak nicely to your nurse!

Volunteer Qualities

This project is different from other DARE projects as PSD Nepal will be guiding you through the project, starting with you induction week and continuing through the programme by having a facilitator on hand for you throughout. You also have the opportunity at the end to ‘debrief and provide feedback to PSD Nepal. Although largely organised for you, you will still be required to book your flights and organise some fundraising before you go and responsible for ensuring that the project completes the aims and objectives set out by you and your hosts.

Due to the activities, volunteers with a construction background would be of particular use but anyone who is willing to learn and do physical work would be very much appreciated and prior experience is by no means a requirement. Also, you will be working in a school so anyone who likes working with children or is interested in teaching would enjoy this project, too.

You will require to be sensitive to different cultures, particularly as you will be staying with a local family in their own home. You will need to be respectful of their beliefs and able to adapt to different styles of accommodation and different types of food as there will be no fast-food restaurants nearby! This is a 6 week project and you will need to consider how you will adapt to different surroundings and how you will cope being away from home for this time. As with all our projects, an ability to work well in a group is essential as is initiative, hard-work and a desire to make a difference and put in 100% effort.

email daredundee@googlemail.com with any questions.
(Please e-mail us if you would like us to send you a copy of the PSD Nepal handbook)