Category: Blog
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SBE Pilot Project Video
COMMITTED believes education gives individuals the freedom to dream the
impossible and chart their own destinies. However, often in rural Nepal,
education of children is either neglected or not a priority due mainly
to poverty. In the communities COMMITTED serves, the financial burden
placed on the household is so much that children either do not go to
school at all or drop out long before graduation. To address that, and
as a part of Sikchya Mero Adhikar (Education-My Right) Campaign,
COMMITTED establishes Social Business for Education (SBE) projects.Social Business for Education is an income-generating project,
profits from which will be used mainly to run and support free,
mandatory, and quality education at community schools. The rest of the
profits will be spent on village development projects through a local
government-led community planning process. These income generating
self-sustainable businesses are appropriate for the local economy and
run as a community managed cooperative. As such, both the community and
the school will participate directly in the planning, implementing and
running of the business. Each year a certain amount of generated funds
from the SBE is allotted towards improvements outlined in the School
Improvement Plan (SIP).You can more here, a post by the Education Program Director of COMMITED on his Blog.
The video below, found on our YouTube Channel, was made in 2011.
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Project Update: Fishery in Thangpalkot VDC
Fishery project in Sindhupalchowk has taken bigger shape since June. Barbed wire fencing has been laid around the nursery to protect it from
cattle and unnecessary intrusion. The nursery pond, divided into two parts, have been stocked with
fingerlings of Common Carp, Grass Carp, Big Head Carp and Silver Carp.
Barbed wire fence around the Raithane Nursery Much progress has ensued in the production pond as well. 2,900 fingerlings have recently been restocked in pond. A
new shed and a sorting tank has been constructed at the pond site. The shed will
act
as a storage room for fish feed,
fishery equipments- all in all, an office for the fishery project while
the sorting tank will be used for conditioning fingerlings.
Newly constructed sorting tank 
Shed to store fish feed and fishery equipments Shree Chilaune Ma. Vi., a government school from Manekharka has also embarked on the fishery project to support operational activities of their school. So far, 2,300 fingerlings have been installed in the cages of Chilaune’s Bhuttey pokhari. The fingerlings will be ready for harvest by the end of this year.
Bhuttey Pokhari Locals from the VDC have, too, stepped into fishery. Bir Bahadur Dom, a local farmer, has started fishery in his 2 ropani land. COMMITTED has provided him with subsidy and technical assistance as feasible. Along with Dom, two local farmers, Krishna Shrestha and Ganj Bir Tamang have also started fishery in their ponds. Shrestha has stocked 200 fingerlings in his pond while Tamang has taken a bigger step by stocking 1,960 fingerlings.
Ganj Bir Tamang’s and Bir Bahadur Dom’s pond While the fishery project grows, work is underway to start a Haat Bazaar in the VDC, a first of it’s kind in the whole district of Sindhupalchowk. Materials required for the construction of Haat Bazaar have been already been assembled.
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Testimonial from a visitor to Shree Raithane School
A friend and former colleague of COMMITTED’s Education Program Director Dorje Gurung Emily Adams accompanied him to Thangpalkot last week. During the visit, Emily inspected the ongoing projects and also conducted an impromptu art activity for the students of Shree Raithane School.
Reproduced below is a reflection of her visit.After 4 hours on a bus from Kathmandu and a three hour hike, I arrived to the village of Thangpalkot. The village was surrounded by beautiful, lime green rice-filled terraces, the sound of streams running to a nearby river, large forested hills and clouds that almost felt like you can reach out and touch them. I had the fortune to trek to Thangpalkot with two locals and the Education Program Director for the NGO COMMITTED, Dorje Gurung. Upon arrival, I explored the projects COMMITTED has been implementing to improve the quality of education at the local school, Raithane. This involved additions to the school itself, including a science lab, library, play area and two new buildings. I was also impressed to visit lakes in this village that COMMITTED has been working with to create self-sustaining fisheries, which will ideally help the school to maintain financial needs in the future.On my second day in Thangpalkot, I spent time with a woman I trekked with studying in Kathmandu, who was visiting her home in the village on holiday. Her name was Padma. She was full of energy and excitement at the recent developments COMMITTED has implemented in her village, claiming the number of likes her facebook images of the newly implemented fisheries has received. Little did I know on our trek that she would become a translator for me for an impromptu art lesson my second day. I asked her to gather any kids in the village who were interested in an art lesson of any age or gender. She did an excellent job gathering 27 smiley, happy kids eager to learn art. We filled the new library in Raithane with children ranging from three to early teenage years.
We created three art projects. The first was a warm up to get kids feeling comfortable. They played an art game, drawing a head, hiding their art and passing around their paper to other people to add to it without looking at the original drawing. This quickly turned into loud laughter and kids exhibiting their strange creatures to friends. Nearby local families became curious at this burst of joy and faces could be seen shortly after peeking through the window and doorway in wonder. Our following artwork was a self-portrait, where kids practiced drawing the different features of their face, taking notice of proportion. At one point, kids were asked to look closely into the eyes of their friends, noticing that we each have a pupil in the center of our eyes. This, as you can imagine, made some embarrassed, others laugh and a handful fascinated at this realization. Lastly, we created a still life of flowers, drawing a range of different types of flowers. At this point the older students gained confidence and drew some beautiful local flowers that can be seen within the village. Throughout the entire 90 minute lesson, the students were enthusiastic, kind and engaged. 
Teaching the art lesson was an inspiring experience and a wonderful opportunity to connect with local kids in the community. It was evident that the kids I worked with loved making art, using their hands to create images and were proud of their results. They were respectful, thanking me as they left the lesson. I felt a sense of wonder at what it might be like to teach at their school and what life would be like to live within their community. Thangpalkot is a lovely village, where I could not be distracted by wifi, people work hard in beautiful fields, drink social teas and kindly greet foreigners. Sitting on a hill with locals watching the boys play football under prayer flags in the field below until sundown became a relaxing pastime. I was moved to see the hope of the local people that COMMITTED is helping provide, both young and old, for the future of their community.Emily Adams
Visual Arts Educator -
Two Taltules of Taltuleshwory
A week or so before our travel to Thangpalkot earlier this month, Kumar Sir told me about a little girl, Sabina, and a small boy, Saugat, whose guardian and family, respectively, were struggling to cover the children’s educational expenses.
Sabina Ghale
Saugat GurungThe children attend the neighboring school of Taltuleswory Primary School, also in Thangpalkot VDC. (COMMITTED recently completed a library project at the school.)Hearing their stories, I decided I would pay these children a visit during our visit to the village.Sabina, a beautiful little girl studying in second grade, I discovered, does live with her maternal aunt just as Kumar Sir had described. Her dad had died a while ago. Though her mom was still alive, she had remarried and left the village with her new husband. (I didn’t ask for details beyond that.) But they weren’t the only problems the little girl faced. For a while now, it turned out, she had displayed considerable insecurity about her background and had begun using and writing a different surname from the real one.The little 3rd grade boy Saugat’s dad, unfortunately, had been in the bus that drove off the road and plummeted down a hill last summer killing 14 on the spot. While the dad was lucky to have escaped with his life, he had injured his legs–he is lame as result. His mom is a day labourer. The boy and his family live with his paternal aunt and her husband, unable to support themselves completely.As per my request, the Principal of Taltuleswory, Ms. Pandey, submitted a formal request for sponsorship. They are very detailed as you can see below.
Request for Sabina and Saugat’s sponsorship.
Sabina Ghale’s story in the Principal’s words.
Saugat Gurung’s story in the Principal’s words.Currently, the education of one student costs Rs. 8420 per year. (At the current rate of exchange, that amounts to about US$87.00.) See below for a complete breakdown of the expenses.
Cost of their education.I am thrilled to report that a friend, who wishes to remain anonymous, has agreed to sponsor Sabina’s education all the way through to 10th grade!Now, Saugat needs a sponsor! Please let me know by email or by some other means if you are willing to sponsor him. If you are contemplating doing so, please have a read of our sponsorship policy and how it works before you make your final decision.And be sure to visit this page later for updates.Dorje
Dec. 17, 2013.* * * * * * * *Update 5:50 pm Dec. 17, 2013Another friend, who also wishes to remain anonymous, has agreed to sponsor Saugat!!!Thank you you two–you know who you are!Dorje Gurung
Education Program Director
(Click here for the original post on Dorje’s Dooing blog.)
