Aim of the project:  To improve the quality of Shree Bhanu School’s education, creating an enabling environment for children, by: (1) Improving the school’s infrastructure, (2) Strengthening school governance, (3) Empowering teachers and children, (4) Sensitising parents, and (5) ensuring wider community engagement.

Our appeal: Good education can bring a lifetime of wealth in the form of understanding, knowledge and potential prosperity, which of course presupposes good schools.  Sadly, perhaps because it is not easily accessible, particularly during the three-to-four-month annual monsoon, and partly because Nepal is desperately poor, Nigalpani’s school has been rather neglected over the years. As the birthplace of the first Gurkha winner of the VC, it and the nearby villages served deserve more.  After all, the Victoria Cross, like the U.S. Medal of Honor, is only won after an act or acts of great personal bravery and considerable subsequent scrutiny: probably the toughest two medals in the world to win.  We believe that the birthplace of Kulbir Thapa, VC, a slightly built man but truly heroic figure, deserves better recognition – like improved facilities to match the current building work, per the Aims of this Project.  We hope you will support it (details how to do so are in Financial Controls below if not through this site).  And if you do, may we ask you to kindly email onward to two good friends, to widen its reach.

Why this school? This is the story....

There are several villages called Nigalpani in Nepal. This one is small, very poor, in Baglung district, west of Pokhara.  It lies a hard, two and a half hour footslog up, very up, from the nearest road, west of Baglung and south of Burtibang.  North lies the magnificent Dhaulagiri massif, the highest point being Dhaulagiri 1, at 8167 metres, or 26,785 feet, the world’s seventh highest mountain. Nigalpani has always been small and poor, but it has a unique distinction. Here, in 1889, was born Kulbir Thapa, the first Gurkha soldier ever to win British and Commonwealth forces’ highest decoration, the Victoria Cross. (See citation attached in Gallery)

In 1964 my father, then Captain Jack Keen of 6^th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles (6GR), with a brother officer from the same regiment and battalion, Captain Pat Robeson, made a duty trek in Nepal. Eight days out of Butwal, the first major stop on their itinerary was Nigalpani, home of Captain (QGO) Chandrabahadur Thapa (later MVO), Kulbir’s nephew, and Dad’s 2IC, then on six months inter tour long leave.  Having stayed briefly with Chandre Saheb and family, the two British officers and their host headed for Baglung, whence the Gurkha officer would return home, and from which the two British officers would head for Ghandruk and Pokhara. In Baglung occurred a significant event for Nigalpani.

At that time Nigalpani had no school.  To attend the nearest, each day, village children descended 1,000 metres (3,280 feet) on foot to near the bottom of an adjacent valley, and then climbed 1,000 metres to a village which had a school.  In the afternoon, of course, they made the return trip.  So, 1,000 metres steeply down (uralo in Nepali) and 1,000 metres steeply up (ukalo), to go to school; 2,000 more uralo, ukalo to go home: pretty daunting, most unsatisfactory.

Baglung, today almost a metropolis, was much smaller in 1964 and, on arrival, the three officers soon learned that the District Commissioner, one Makkrabahadur Rai, was visiting.  Now,  apparently, Makkrabahadur’s father had been the Gurkha Major of a battalion of 6GR: what an opportunity where who one knew counted for much more than what one knew!  It took some effort but Chandre Saheb was eventually persuaded to approach the VIP on the Regimental connection to broach the subject of a school for Nigalpani.  (If a WW2 Burma campaign veteran, Mentioned in Despatches for bravery in that campaign – as the Gurkha officer, then a young soldier, had been – can’t address a District Commissioner, who can?)  To cut a long story short, a deal was cut.  The Government would pay for a building, which the villagers would construct; it would also provide a teacher, for whom the village would pay accommodation and keep. Deal done!

Fast forward to 2020: having visited Nepal twice, once as a nine year old on a week-long Helambu trek with a small party of friends organised by Dad (ever tried herding cats .  .?), and once with my wife Kristin to attend a 6GR Regimental Durbar, I began thinking of a charity that might be created for a specific project in Nepal – such a poor country and always needing external help.  I asked Dad for suggestions.  His emphatic, immediate response was Nigalpani, and probably the school.  He supposed that the village, almost as hard to reach as very remote villages much further west, had probably been rather neglected in the 56 years since he had been there in 1964. Once again Regimental connections came into play.  Anne Griffith, widow of a 6GR officer, and a former Assistant Adjutant herself, is Nepal Program Director of CAIRN (Child Aid In Rural Nepal) which specialises in providing teacher and librarian training, and libraries, to schools across Nepal, always ensuring that the underprivileged are among the beneficiaries.  She kindly offered to send a CAIRN team to Nigalpani and report.  Extracts from that report and one by the Area Welfare Office of the Gurkha Welfare Trust follow:

• The school is central to many surrounding villages north west of Tamghas.
• The community is poor, mainly composed of Magars 55%, and Dalits 45%.
• There are 368 students, 175 boys and 193 girls.
• The number of students increases annually.
• Existing furniture is in appalling condition and insufficient for students’ needs.
• Nepal has made significant achievement in improving educational access (but) substantial numbers of vulnerable and marginalised children remain out of school.
• CAIRN works through local partners and implements four programmes: Teacher Training, School Construction, Library Construction & Installation, and Educational Awards.
• There are 10 teachers: 8 female, 2 male (37 students:1 teacher). Of the teachers, only the headmistress has had formal teacher training.
• The school team and parents committed to improvement of standards, by added involvement in the School Management
  Committee and PTA.

Duration of the Project:  Five years, under the partnership of the Keens/CAIRN, and CAIRN’s implementing Nepalese partners, Seto Gurans and Pahar Trust Nepal, in line with current Government policy.

We are two and a half years into the project, so what has been achieved?

• Overall, we have raised >£30,000 through incredibly kind donations have been made through JustGiving as well as other methods (details below), which places us with £25,000 further funding for the first five year project.
• Five Year Library Program - this includes refurbishment, furnishing, resourcing, training and supervision. All of which creates a platform allowing children to learn to read at age appropriate levels progressing on development. So far the Library has been fully furnished and opened with trained Library staff, and over 2000 new books for all ages provided with more to come this year. We continue to work to ensure the Library is used not just by students and teachers but members of the community.
• Teacher training for teachers in Grade 1-5, parent education, staff costs, remedial training, monitoring, support and evaluation by implementing partner. This training is an essential part of our commitment to the school. From having little or no previous instruction, the teachers have received comprehensive training and are being supported to ensure the best outcomes for students.
• The program will continue to implement teacher training and also deliver Leadership and Management Training for the Headteacher, School Management Committee, Parent and Teacher Association and community Leaders. A Health and Sanitation awareness program is being delivered to students and school stakeholders, and workshops planned in response to the needs of the community.
• Our endeavours have gathered interest in other funds / trusts / organisations who are generously providing support funding for improvement of existing classrooms, construction of new classrooms, construction of gender based bathrooms, furniture for children to sit on/at so children are no longer sitting not on floors.

This is very much at the beginning of where we would like to take this project but we have to start somewhere and that's looking at the basics to ensure we set the foundations right. The future for the students of Shree Bhanu School may be uncertain but what we're building is support to giving children education the effects of which may last a lifetime.

CAIRN is dedicated to ensuring that every child in Nepal is given the opportunity to gain an enriching education. CAIRN's efforts are focused on helping rural communities, where over 23.5 million people (81% of the population) live and education is still incredibly hard to access for many. CAIRN is determined to improve the educational opportunities for some of the world's poorest children. To find out more please visit their website www.thomassfoundation.org.uk/cairn

Financials: For anyone looking to donate but not through JustGiving below are options:

Bank Transfer: Please contact Thomas's Foundation

ahiggins@thomassfoundation.org.uk

By cheque: Please pay to Thomas's Foundation CAIRN (Kulbir VC), please post to:

Mrs E Woodcock, Thomas's Foundation, New King's Road, LONDON, SW6 4LY