The wild Far West

We have recently returned from 8 days in the Far West where I was monitoring schools and meeting with partner staff and Roger was finding out at first hand what  effect climate change is having  on poor farmers in this vulnerable region just south of the Himalayas

Machapuchre and the Annapurnas as seen from the plane

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one of our computer labs in a remote school

We flew to Dhangadi airport in the extreme South West of the country and were rewarded with the most spectacular views of the entire Himalayan range from Khathmandu to the extreme west of Nepal. Tibet is just the other side of the mountains , which are so high that our little plane was well below the summits. On arrival we travelled by jeep for several hours to reach our first school. travelling with us was the generous donor who was funding our TAP computer labs and also the Nepal Director of a well known computer company who was providing all the software for the schools.
As well as monitoring how the students were learning computer skills, I also had a chance to talk with teachers about the impact of the trainings they have had on child friendly learning. It was good to see the younger students sitting on carpet instead of concrete floors, with posters on the walls and children being taught more actively, rather than just be rote learning. However, in these remote government schools there is so much to do and the pace of school improvement seems very slow. The key to sustainability is the involvement of the whole community, including the school management committee. The parents in these communities do not have the means to send their children to the private schools so they have a keen interest in improving their local school, even when resources are so scarce.

Children getting a snack in the street after school

We had great welcomes in the schools with Malas( necklaces ) of marigold flowers and speeches. The head teachers were keen to have feedback on how their school was progressing and I was able to give the teachers some help with  teaching and learning , but the best part was talking with the students. Students of all ages are keen to learn here and their parents, many of whom can only writ etheir name , value education highly.

young students in child friendly classroom

The terain in Bhajang district in the far west is towering hills and deep valleys with few roads. To reach one school we had to walk for four hours straight up hill with a three hour walk back in the afternoon. We also met with farmers groups who told us about the effect the changing climaate was having on their lives. It was well worth the effort and we slept well that night!

Walking to a remote school

Life here is still very  traditional

We stayed in different local hotels but my favourite was a traditional stone  and thatch guesthouse with no electricity or running water. it was an hour each day round trip to fetch water but we had excellent food and the landlady was so welcoming. One solar panel on the thatched roof provided lighting and to my suprise we slept really well.. 

The air was so clean compared with the city and at night the stars were amazing, recalling Psalm 8 .

The kitchen at the guesthouse-the young goats are left behind when their mothers are out feeding in the forest

Overall the Far West seems similar to our life in Pokhara 20 years ago, with friendly people, and a very  traditional way of life. However the constant striving of the ordinary people for a better life for themselves and their  children is something that we can all empathise with.