For keeping alive Himalayan culture and language the project supports education.
The project supports kindergartens, schools, students and teachers in different villages, valleys and cities in Nepal. I believe that education is the foundation for improving people's lives and sustainable development. The project therefore encourages communities, educators and students for life long learning for tomorrow.
The project supports Himalayan enthnicities as Sherpas, Tamang, Gurung, Magar and others.
The vision is for development and reform of teaching and learning in schools, studying of Nepali and local languages and culture, the improvement of life skills, and the strengthening of self esteem. The project aims to reduce the school dropout rate, particularly for girls, and support further education for secondary school and further education.
Together with relevant organisations concerned, the project supports the promotion of appropriate measures for the conservation of local agriculture, forest, and water resources, tourism, industry, education, health, culture and other organizations, to spread public awareness of the impact of climate change at a local level, and to manage plastics harmful to the environment.
How it all started and how is has developed
On my first trek in 2017 in Mustang, a Tibetan valley in the western part of Nepal, I met the trekking guide Sonam Sherpa. His commitment to his village and particularly to the school, which was badly damaged by the earthquake in 2015, impressed me greatly.We started to discuss possible ways of supporting the education system. The experiences I have gathered from my professional work in International Projects in Education (IPE)made it obvious to transfer knowledge to school improvement and teaching methods. All the IPE textbooks are open source and have been used in various forms in Nepal.
Since then I have visited Nepal many times, made some in-service training in different schools and supported educators, students and schools. Two teachers visited Switzerland in 2022 for an exchange and insight into the Swiss school system.
Since 2023 the project has supported Riya Bantha Magar, a 7 year old student at SMD boarding school, Pasang Tsering, a 18 year old teenager finishing his last school years and Pemba Sherpa, a 29 year old teacher doing her Bachelor and Master degree in Primary education. Besides this support, the project also provides school material, helps with health issues, supports extras for school excursions and other needs. More details can be found in the reports.