Shropshire's generosity to fund new schools and teachers for Nepal
A Shropshire charity has made a long-term pledge to help educate Nepalese children whose homes and schools were devastated by earthquakes earlier this year.
The Nepal Appeal, run from The Old Vicarage Centre, in Stottesdon, has many friends and colleagues in Nepal and were devastated to hear the news of the earthquakes in April.
Initially pledging to raise £25,000, the appeal has already nearly doubled that in less the six months, the current total standing at £45,000.
After rebuilding numerous homes, Ant Eddies-Davies, of the Old Vicarage Centre and adventure training company Live The Adventure, has now pledged to rebuild the lives of affected schoolchildren.
Ant was behind the build of a school in Kodari, in Nepal, in 2009, but when he visited after the earthquakes, he found part of it had been flattened and the other half declared unsafe. He has now pledged to rebuild the school, along with two others, and help with vital resources to support the rural education system as a whole.
“I have visited a number of schools as part of this trip and seen the same thing, make-shift schools out of donated tents or bamboo and tarps, yet there are excited and keen children to educate” said Ant.
“We have rebuilt a number of much needed homes through the Charity but there is a real need to assist with schools, not just to rebuild them, but to support them on a long term basis.
“This will include contents, resources, computers, looking at the education structure, even supplying volunteer teachers. The Nepal Appeal aims to provide long-term support so why not improve and support the whole rural education system that desperately needs it.”
While visiting Nepal last month Ant came across another school 1500ft above the main road, which had also been flattened by the earthquakes.
He said: “A villager donated land and a makeshift bamboo structure was erected to last the next three warm dry months. We will now fund and support this school.”
Ant has already seen the ways lives have been changed thanks to help from the Nepal Appeal rebuilding houses for people who lost everything in the earthquakes.
These included Mr Seto Giri who may lose a leg following the injuries he sustained when his home collapsed on him. His wife has left him following the earthquake with one son and no home.
Anita BK who is pregnant with her seventh child while her husband is ill in hospital. They are from the lowest cast in the village with no funds. She lives in the remains of her fallen home.
Hema Kumari Giri has three daughters. Her husband was killed as their home collapsed so she doesn’t want to live on the same site anymore. The village has instead donated land for a new home close by.
Chali Maya Shrestha, who has one son and two daughters and no home thanks to the earthquakes. She also tragically lost her husband and another son when they drowned in an accident before the earthquakes hit.
Ant says he has been overwhelmed by the support from Shropshire and beyond, which is making a vast difference to people’s lives.
“At the end of a visit to check on projects, I can confirm that thanks to your amazing support, donations and fundraising you have made a real difference to so many people in some of the worst affected areas,” he said.
“I have spent time in their homes and heard their moving stories of loss, sacrifice and devastation. The fact that people throughout the UK have supported them is so gratefully acknowledged by all those families and communities we are funding.
“It’s humbling to think the fundraising is still going on and we can continue to identify projects and people to support.”
