December 2023
In early December, I went with Ngawa Tamang to his native village of Haku.
By public bus, we covered the 120 km to Haku Besi in an eight-hour drive of which an hour and a half was spent on lunch. The stretch there is mostly in poor condition. Only a third of the road is paved. While bumping and colliding, we drove towards Rasuwa district while loud music reverberated from the loudspeakers. Despite all the shaking and deafening noise, I regularly dozed off, occasionally banging my head against the window. As a result, I got off the bus with a whopper of a bump on my head.
Just before nightfall, we reached our final destination and began the climb to the village of Haku Besi. Out of the darkness, "namaste didi" suddenly sounded. It was headmaster Karbo Tamang who was waiting for us. We took up residence in his house and moments later people from his school came in, including Bishnu and Rishi, both employees of CEPP, Centre for Educational Policies and Practices.
Bishnu has been staying and working in Haku for almost two years. It was and is quite a challenge for her. A little later, a live chicken was shown and judged and still a little later it was simmering in the pot for a tasty curry with dal bhat tarkari. This is the national dish of rice, lentils and vegetables. Rakshi, the locally brewed alcohol, was brought out and tongues were loosened. Stories of the past but also of school and village functioning today came up. It was a good start to visiting the projects of the five Haku villages over the next few days.
After a cup of morning tea, a Nepali ritual not to be skipped, we visited Haku Besi school. This has a kindergarten class and primary school classes from 1 to 8. With pride, headmaster Karbo showed off his simple classrooms, which are furnished as well as possible. The two students, Ellen and Fleur from Luca School of Arts in Lucas Gent, who did a two-week internship here last summer, have made a world of difference.
Beautiful murals were painted so that the whole place looks much more colourful and child-friendly. I saw the school desks, the computer tables, the projector and the blackboards we had given from Bikas. Everything is well used here. This school, despite its inferior building and limited space, is regarded as one of the best in the region. This is certainly to Karbo's credit. He is the driving force and makes sure his teachers do a good job. Always looking to innovate and improve, he seizes all tips and opportunities offered to him from CEPP and others.
I also met the mothers' group who are very enthusiastic about Bishnu and their school. It is a close-knit women's group that meets regularly. They take turns going to school once a week to follow their children's lessons closely. They work together with the school in an open and constructive way and strengthen each other from their experience and knowledge. The proper education and care of their children is central. To them, Karbo is the best headmaster they can imagine. He lives and fights for his school. If a student does not show up, he gives the parents a call asking where the child stays.
The number of students is still seen growing in this school. For instance, children from the surrounding villages come to Haku Besi because they have higher grades. There are also pupils who prefer Haku Besi to a school nearby because it has a better reputation. If a school here runs well, there is much less flight to the cities. We can only encourage this. Karbo pointed out to me the shortage of classrooms. There are two run-down classrooms, consisting of zinc plates, which he would love to see renewed. This should be nothing special to him, just simple but decent classrooms. His school is now very austere. The building was a temporary school, erected after the big earthquake of 2015 but it is still very functional. For Karbo, it does not matter that the building in itself is not very good and beautiful. What matters most to him is the content of education and he succeeds very well in that. This school also has a boarding school. This allows him to take care of children who live a bit further from school, as well as youngsters who are difficult to take care of at home because the mother is on her own. During the week, they stay at the boarding school and they go home at the weekend. Because there is a boarding school close by, more children stay in their home area and only flee the region a few years later to go to Dunche or Kathmandu, when they continue their studies. I credit Karbo with his fantastic work. He may have the worst school building among the surrounding villages but he has by far the best school operation in the region.
Bishnu, Ngawa and I lash our backpacks and start the steep and long climb to Thulo Haku. Of course, we get to stop a few times along the way with acquaintances of Ngawa who is from this region. We are offered milk, a boiled egg and even nettle soup. The target of being in Thulo Haku by 10 o'clock was adjusted by more than two and a half hours. Nepali time is as flexible as a rubber band.
In the afternoon, a meeting with headmaster Dawa Norchung and his teachers is scheduled. Here, the meeting runs much more laboriously. Although I speak a fair bit of Nepali, I cannot follow. People are talking interchangeably and I don't understand anything. I know that in the past, the headmaster was difficult because people confronted him about the fact that both he and some teachers were regularly absent. Apparently, this remains a thorny issue and he feels people should not interfere. The drive of this school here is significantly lower than in Haku Besi. I can already see it in the less orderly classes and because more dirt is lying around. When I ask if they want to continue working with CEPP, I get a positive answer. However, if we continue with CEPP in this school, the headmaster and his teachers will have to prove that they are worth the investment of time, energy and money. On the other hand, we don't want to leave children and parents to their own devices. The parent group is doing quite well here and also responding to the teachers' many absences. The fact that parents are watching and asking for better teaching is perceived as threatening by the teachers.
The vegetable gardens are doing well in this village. People regularly seek advice and it is Arjun Tamang, a young man from Sanu Haku, who contributes a lot here as a CEPP employee. He has grown tremendously in his work and is now working full-time on everything revolving around agriculture and horticulture.
With some disappointment, Bishnu and I walk on to the next village, Nesing. Bishnu has put so much energy into this work and then it is mainly the headmaster who does not want to cooperate. I understand her great disappointment.
Rishi, who had already walked ahead, rejoined us. He helped us across the difficult stretches where they are making a new track. With a big machine, they are trying to drill the big boulders into pieces so as to build a road that will connect one village to the other. From sunrise to sunset, the machine can be heard. Man tries to dominate nature but I fear that with the first hard rains, the tables will be turned again. Landslides may wash away parts of the road and then the game of take and give will continue to repeat itself.
In Nesing, we were welcomed with open arms. There, I visit the house of Dawa Singi, a man with golden hands. He was also one of the first to get an earthquake-proof house from BIKAS after the earthquake and now I see that he has seriously expanded his house. He is also one of the village's green volunteers and his garden looks fantastic.
In Nesing too, the women's group works very well. Just as we left, they were cleaning up the paths. The dirt was picked up, the weeds pulled out and the paved path was even brushed. The local school here is tiny and has only 18 pupils, mostly toddlers.
The three of us set off in the morning for the next village of Grey. In the distance, we could see the white peaks of the Langtang mountains and after a cold night, we were happy when the first rays of the sun warmed us up. We were warmly welcomed by the school headmaster Saroj Tamang. He is a real jumper and extremely driven to make his school a model school. Although he had to go to a meeting outside his village, he wanted to receive and show us around first. We were welcomed with numerous garlands of flowers made by the school children themselves.
We witnessed the school's day opening. Some 150 students in uniform were lined up in the playground in rows from small to large. One of the older pupils stood at the front and directed the morning's proceedings. Today, it was 15-year-old Asim who took up the microphone and led the half-hour programme very enthusiastically. There were gymnastic exercises, a Nepali dance, a speech by a student and, of course, the Nepali national anthem, which everyone sang along at the top of their voices.
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After the headmaster introduced me, the students went to their class row by row and to the rhythm of march music. You felt a great enthusiasm and togetherness in the whole event. Here, too, the two trainees from Saint-Lucas had been working for a few weeks and here, too, they were so happy to have received help from foreign students. The headmaster wants nothing but to learn, he said. He wants it to be the best school in the region. The number of students continues to rise. Where children from the big village of Grey used to move away, they now stay in this school for as long as possible.
A rule at school is that the first half of the week everyone speaks English, the other days Nepali is spoken. This is how they try to improve English and I must admit that I heard quite a few children and teachers speak English well.
Again, the boarding school is an important part of the building. It ensures that the children stay in their familiar environment. Over 100 children stay there during the week. Apart from care, they also receive a lot of study support. Parents pay a fee for food and the teachers take turns looking after the children. A serious extra task on top of the teaching job that is not to be underestimated. Here one also sees much better school results among the students staying at boarding school. Extra attention is paid to the amount of homework and living together with peers. I visit every class and it gives me great pleasure to see how a school is kept running well here.
Via Nesing, we return to Pangling, where the CEPP staff's temporary residence is. We get another visit from Pangling's headmaster. He asks us to be allowed to use the building we built with Bikas six years ago as a boarding school. Again, the same request to accommodate children during the week. Most women are responsible for bringing up their children on their own as many men are elsewhere to work and earn a living. There is not much time for the children and they are more likely to be sent to local school that offers boarding, rather than to a school without this facility, so that the children can come home at the weekend. Even if something happens, they are not far away. If this option is not offered, the children will have to go to a boarding school far away and can only come home during the major holidays.
Then it is time to say goodbye to the Haku villages and we all return to Kathmandu together. I am glad I took the time to visit each school. I was able to listen and talk to the teachers, students and parents. I heard their stories, saw them working, saw the changes and listened to their expectations. In each village and school, I saw an unstoppable growth process. There was the hope for even more progress and the demand to keep working with Bikas. In some communities things do go more smoothly than in others.
I would like to express my great respect to Bishnu who has already worked here for two years under often difficult circumstances. For family reasons, she will stop working at CEPP at the end of December. She laid a foundation that created a snowball effect. Parents have become more aware of the importance of sending their children to school. They have become the driving force of schools alongside teachers. Together, they form the growing soil for a good education for their children. The snowball is unstoppable yet sometimes it bumps into something.
At the bridge over the Trisuli River, we hang a khata with our names on it. Bishnu's name, in big letters, will be there blowing in the wind for a long time to come. Along with Buddhist prayers, they will blow into the world past 'her Haku villages' where she has done so much work and where people care about her.
People wishing to support the Haku schools can do so on Bikas’ account number BE32 2200 7878 0002 with the mention 'Haku'. Dhanyabad, thank you.
Betty Moureaux, chairwoman of Bikas
Rainy season
August 2023
The rainy season is in full swing. The plants that were recently sown and planted are already getting more than enough water. Schools are closed for a few weeks and will reopen before the end of the monsoon.
For some children, going to school during the rainy season is not easy. Heavy rains turn some paths into streams and landslides are no exception.
It happens that some children simply cannot get to school because it is too dangerous on the way. They then stay home for several days, even weeks which obviously does not help their school performance. As much as one wants to go to school, one does not take the risk, which is quite understandable.
Schools have regularly asked us if we could help set up temporary hostels for these children. This way, they would stay near the school during the monsoon period and would still be able to attend classes.
As sorry as we are and as much as we would like to give these students a chance at education, we cannot respond. On the one hand, we do not have the resources to help; on the other, it is an ethical issue. We think it is better for the children to stay in their familiar surroundings with their parents.
Since CEPP started the education project in the five Haku schools, we have seen parents becoming more and more involved in the schools’functioning. For the teachers and certainly for the headmasters, this is a major upheaval. We can understand the change is sometimes difficult for them.
Parents have become much more vocal, which is not always appreciated by teachers. If a teacher doesn't show up, the parents start asking what the reason is. They do not take it lightly that their children do not get a proper education.
The CEPP staff who have been in the Haku villages for more than a year and a half now sometimes get a hard time, mainly from the school heads.
The challenge is now to work together for the sole purpose of striving to improve education.
Many of the teachers sat like kings on their high thrones and just did what they pleased. Now that there is more parental involvement, they need to get much more involved.
Change is always exciting, challenging and requires a lot of commitment and openness. It is searching together for a different way of dealing with pupils and with parents, a different way of teaching. Searching to work with natural and sustainable resources. We are curious to see how things will progress…
In turn, the green garden volunteers, parents of school children and other villagers are wildly enthusiastic about the cooperation with CEPP. They feel heard, supported and see that education and the cultivation of fruit and vegetables can also be done differently.
Meanwhile, we are busy organising an 'eye camp'.
Together with the French organisation Saint Chamond Espoir, we want to send a group of French opticians to the Haku villages in the autumn of 2024. Students from the five schools in the Haku community will then be able to undergo an eye test. Those who need it will be given glasses.
The villagers asked if we could also send an ophthalmologist along because many people have problems with their eyes. They cannot get to an ophthalmologist for proper diagnosis and treatment. Cataract operations are also in demand.
We are looking into what is possible because we have to follow the rules imposed by the Nepalese government.
Babu Lal Tamang, who helps us with several other projects and already organised an eye camp in the past, will help us now too.
He will contact a Nepalese ophthalmologist asking him to take action in the Haku villages as well. We hope it will be successful and affordable.
If we can set up an eye camp with both the ability to give glasses to young people who need them and to help the elderly who have poor eyesight with cataract surgery, this would be fantastic.
Even if the glasses come from neighbouring China, we should start preparations now. All sorts of evidence on paper is required and various approvals need to be obtained beforehand. We still have more than a year but we are already working on the applications and organisation.
If you want to help then your support is welcome on Bikas' account number BE32 2200 7878 0002 with reference to Haku.
Thank you - Dhanyabad
Betty Moureaux, president of Bikas npo
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A new school year
May 2023
The old year came to an end and we welcome the new year 2080. The school year also came to a close. After the final exams came a short school holiday. Everyone was looking forward to a little rest. Teachers, many from other regions, returned to their families for a week.
Arjun, the young employee of CEPP - Centre for Educational Policies and Practices - who lives in Thulo Haku, stayed in the village and looked after the vegetable gardens.
Bishnu also took a break but first she and other CEPP staff members gave another training session.
During exam periods, CEPP staff could not work in the schools. At the request of the local education officer, a workshop was organised for the surrounding 12 schools. A four-day training with 21 teachers was held in Chilime, the main town of the district.
During the training, teachers interacted with each other on integrated teaching practices and tried out the possibilities.
The teachers made educational materials from local resources. They discussed how to teach interactively and make lessons more engaging.
They learned methods to improve the relationship between teachers and students in order to strengthen this bond.
The teachers who participated in this training were all very enthusiastic. According to them, this was the most valuable training they had ever received. They were already looking forward to putting the acquired knowledge into practice.
Meanwhile, the new school year has begun. Textbooks have been distributed, schools are filling up again and expectations are high. We look forward to what this school year will bring.
We wish the teachers an exciting year in which they can integrate new teaching methods. Also that there may be a pleasant, growing and positive cooperation between the schools on the one hand and with the students and their parents on the other. We wish the students the opportunity to gain knowledge in a safe and child-friendly school and to do so in their own familiar environment. Every child has a right to education but in remote areas, where children often have to work at home, this is not so obvious.
A new school year will also bring unprecedented challenges. CEPP will again do its utmost to help the schools of the five Haku villages in their growth and development. CEPP staff will again go from house to house to support and encourage parents to actively follow up their children in their schooling. Teachers will again be given training and encouraged to give their best.
Bikas is very happy to work together with CEPP to ensure a better future for hundreds of children from this region.
If you want to help then your support is welcome on Bikas' account number BE32 2200 7878 0002 with reference to Haku.
Thank you - Dhanyabad
Betty Moureaux, president of Bikas npo
Inauguration of the school and operation of CEPP
February 2023
On 2 November 2022, it was celebration time in Thulo Haku. The new school, two storeys high and eight classrooms big, was finally inaugurated.
Bikas worked with the local government to make sure the school building was there. During the major earthquake of 2015, this school had been completely destroyed. Seven years later, a new and sturdy building finally stands.
The students, teachers and also the parents who helped with the construction were now proud to show off their new school.
As president of Bikas and project leader of the Haku project, I was very well received along with a group of sponsors/ travellers from Anders Reizen. Our webmaster Omer D'Hondt was also present .
A hellish bus ride took us from Kathmandu to Haku Besi where we were met by Tamang friends. Here our trek began and half an hour later we were met at Haku Besi school by the headmaster, students and parents. We were offered drinks and khatas, the traditional prayer shawls, were hung around our necks.
We were allowed to sit on the school benches we had sponsored while children sang and danced for us.
I was ushered away to see the school furniture donated by Bikas.
The colourful round tables we had commissioned for the little ones, blackboards, computer tables and projector were displayed with pride.
Everything turned out to be very useful.
After the ceremony, we continued on our way and just before dark, we reached Pangling, Sanu Haku.
Here too, we were welcomed by the headmaster and by the staff of CEPP - the Centre for Educational Policies and Practices.
Michel Rai had come specially from Kathmandu to use a powerpoint to explain to us what CEPP stands for and how they work. In every school in the four villages, they want to make at least one classroom child-friendly and educational. Classrooms are transformed into a cosy space where both teachers and children enjoy spending time.
Meanwhile, three classrooms have been furnished. One by one, they have become model classrooms.
Wooden boards with carpets on top provide a dust-free and warm floor.
With the addition of some cushion, the youngest children find it pleasant to be there. But what stands out the most are the beautiful, colourful and educational painted walls.
Students from Kathmandu's Art Academy and a painter from nearby Dhunche have painted fragments of daily life, the human body, animals, mountains, fruits, vegetables and the alphabet on them, among other things. Rightly, they were very proud to display these beautiful classrooms.
The next morning, we were led through their beautiful experimental garden by the other CEPP staff, Ram Chandra, Bishnu and Arjun. We saw a passionate Ram Chandra who knowledgeably presented his Garden of Eden. The locals learned how to grow both known and new types of fruits and vegetables.
We saw onions, beans, carrots, coriander... but also kiwis and papayas.
Thanks to the varied supply, the villagers' diet is now enriched with delicious, fresh and home-grown vegetables and fruits packed with vitamins.
A volunteer couple has been assigned to each experimental field to learn a lot under the watchful eye of Ram Chandra. In turn, they pass on this knowledge to the other villagers. The enthusiasm shown by Ram Chandra is clearly contagious. Almost every household now has its own vegetable garden.
The location of the experimental plots near the schools creates an exchange of information. The students follow along with the processes of the nurseries. They are taught in the experimental fields, help with cultivation, see everything grow and, when the time is right, they harvest and taste what they have sown themselves.
| Celebrations at Thulo Haku |
And then the day of the inauguration of the new school building finally arrived. Due to the corona pandemic, the construction and inauguration had been pushed back by three years.
Meanwhile, the main village square had filled up with spectators. The students of the school but also many people from the village community were present.
People had made a gateway above which hung a banner with the Nepali and Belgian flags on it. Tamang women and men in traditional costumes were waiting for us. For the occasion, I had also put on a Tamang dress with accompanying handmade hat.
The Belgians and one Dutchman from our group were given the places of honour alongside some prominent members of the village and school community. Traditionally, speeches, thanks, khatas, traditional dances and drinks followed.
The whole event was a vote of thanks by the school and village community to the people who made it possible to realise this project.
Spread the word they said ... thank you to everyone who supported.
The school is handed over to the school community who are in charge of its management. An official inauguration plaque is hung on the school building.
After many pictures and many happy faces, the day draws to a close.
It is encouraging to see what has already been achieved at Haku.
The building process is behind us and now we are concentrating on the content of education.
Together with CEPP staff, work is now underway to improve primary education in a safe, friendly and child-centred environment. Gradually, an awareness of the importance of sound education in one's own environment is emerging.
Where previously little or no attention was paid to the youngest children, people are now realising that a good foundation is also very important in education.
A clear growth process is underway. They learn a lot while playing. Attention is paid to better hygiene, classrooms and playgrounds are maintained, access paths are regularly cleaned up, improved agricultural methods are taught, landslide problems are tackled and environmental responsibility is sought.
A very important innovation is the involvement of parents in their children's schooling. Parental control and pressure on schools is something new. Parents are encouraged to supervise their children's education. They take turns attending school one day a week. They motivate their children to attend school and encourage the teachers. If parents follow up on a school project then one can get a lot done.
I could see with my own eyes that there are immense changes in the Haku villages.
Sometimes it is difficult but still they have come a long way.
Starting this year, the neighbouring village of Grey and its school will also be involved in this project. Grey belongs to the Haku village community. They had already asked to be involved at the start but this was not granted at the time, partly for financial reasons.
Obviously, costs are rising, especially now that everything is getting more expensive. Still, we think this project that is very valuable and sustainable deserves our support.
When we see what has already been realised in the Haku villages, we look forward to the future with hope.
If you want to help then your support is welcome on Bikas' account number BE32 2200 7878 0002 with reference to Haku.
Thank you - dhanyabad
Betty Moureaux, president of Bikas npo
November 2022
It has been a long time coming but this autumn, the moment is finally there. The inauguration of Thulo Haku school is scheduled for early November.
In the presence of a group of tourists from Anders Reizen, the school will be officially inaugurated and handed over to the school community. From now on, this group will own and manage the new building. They will have to take care of the school that was built in cooperation with the local government and with the help of the many villagers.
The eight-classroom building came about at the request of the community. The previous school was completely destroyed by the major earthquake in 2015. Students were temporarily taught by soldiers who had never been in front of a classroom before. The period after the earthquake was still traumatic for many children; the immense fear of a repeat of a disaster like this one lingered for a long time.
Nevertheless, teaching was restarted as soon as possible so that the children did not wander around the villages aimlessly. A few months after the earthquake, with the help of many sponsors, we were able to temporarily install school barracks. Slowly the desire and hope grew to build decent permanent and above all safe schools.
We started with schools in Nessing and later in Sanu Haku (Pangling). Finally, it was also the turn of Thulo Haku. In both Nessing and Sanu Haku, we built two classrooms. In Thulo Haku it became eight classrooms whose construction was spread over three years. The laying of the foundation stone was in autumn 2019. At that time, we still thought everything would be ready in 2020 and we would do the opening ceremony then. Unfortunately, the global corona pandemic delayed the whole process and so it became impossible to finish the school before 2021. In the meantime, a request had come up to build a floor on top of the four classrooms. So it finally became early 2022 before the school was completely finished.
Throughout the construction period, no one from Bikas had been on site and we had had to content ourselves with photos and videos received through social media. Despite the fact that we were not physically present, we were still able to follow the evolution. It was impressive to see how people could realise such great works with simple means. People worked very hard to get everything on site and build the school.
After the school building was there, an extra fence was built. An additional water project now provides the school with potable water. The necessary school desks were also made. Thus, they gradually refined the building and its surroundings.
After years of commitment to the construction and everything related to that process, we started supporting the teachers and the actual teaching at the beginning of this year. Together with our local partner CEPP - Centre for Educational Policies and Practices - a change was slowly brought about. The importance of sound education in the nearby environment was now highlighted.
Teachers learned how to teach by using simple means. The relationship between parents and teachers and students improved tremendously in just a few months. Motivation and eagerness to learn ensured that the number of children attending school gradually increased. We see a beautiful educational growth process, but there is still a long way to go.
As before in Pangling, CEPP is now furnishing a classroom in Thulo Haku so that people can teach there in a clean, pleasant space. A nice classroom encourages not only teachers but also students to come to school and encourages users to improve the other classrooms as well. We are therefore very excited to be able to visit this finished classroom.
Meanwhile, Bishnu and Ram Chandra, the two CEPP staff in Haku, have again moved mountains. There were consultation moments with the parents of the students in the four villages of Haku. One worked with the students on nature conservation, there were trainings on hygiene, a thorough clean-up was done around the schools but also in the villages and on and around the paths and roads leading to them. From house to house they went to talk to people about education, hygiene, nature conservation, etc. Every time, I am amazed that two people can change so much in a village community that was otherwise not interested in any change. Big congratulations to CEPP. I am already looking forward to meeting these two collaborators in Haku and seeing their work with my own eyes.
By the time the magazine is published, the school in Thulo Haku will have been inaugurated. We are already trying to add some photos now. Next time, you can read how this all went. After three years, I am finally returning to Nepal...how long this has taken! I am very curious to see with my own eyes all that has changed in these three years in the Haku villages. It will be a happy reunion...exciting!
Those who want to support the Haku villages can make a contribution to Bikas' account number BE32 2200 7878 0002 with the mention 'Haku'.
Thank you, dhanyabad
Betty Moureaux, chairwoman of BIKAS asbl
October 2018
There was a party in Haku on September 30th and October 1st!
The schools that we built with Bikas in Sano Haku and in Nesing were inaugurated. Among those present were our president, Betty Moureaux and our webmaster, Omer D'Hondt. The representative of the local government, the regional school inspectorate and of course all teachers and pupils were also present. Local people who helped building the school were there als...
| The feast in Sano Haku |
This was a festive event where local people showed their respect and satisfaction to BIKAS. And as is custom in Nepal, first the Nepal national anthem was played, followed by various speeches. Thanksgiving frames were handed out, dances were performed, the ribbon was cut and the inauguration board was officially bared. The keys of the schools were handed over to the main teachers. The responsibility for the follow-up now lies with the school community. The school with associated toilets is now officially opened and the children are now being taught in a new and safe school building. Thank you very much to everyone who helped to build these schools. The children of Nesing and Sano Haku will be grateful to you forever. We wish the kids a lot of learning pleasure.
| The feast in Nesing |
In the meantime, a request has come to help with the school furniture and the school boards. Negotiations have also begun to start construction of a large school in the large Haku. Here are more than 150 children who have long been asking for a new, solid school. Unfortunately Bikas can not do this alone.
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| Pupils at work in the new school in Nesing. |
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| Many thanks to the province of West-Flanders for sponsoring the project in Sano Haku. |