The Shree Ganga Jamuna Basic School runs classes from kindergarten to eighth grade and is located at an altitude of about 1,020 meters. Bhirkuna, the village where it was built, can be reached in a six to seven hour walk from Arughat. 200 students are enrolled, many of whom live a few hours’ walk from the school, yet travel this long distance every day. Due to the earthquake in April 2015, part of the school completely collapsed and had to be rebuilt. In addition, the students also received new toilets!

Such a large project needs to be well planned: In January 2017, the site for the new classrooms was first measured by tape measure and the damaged old classrooms were also approved for demolition. The material that was still good, such as stones and wood, was collected to be reused for the new building.

In May, the contract for the reconstruction of the school was signed by Santosh Silwal, project assistant of Chay Ya Nepal, and the representatives of the school committee. Afterwards the foundation stone was laid full of joy!

Every day the walls of the school grew by a few centimeters – even the pouring rain was welcome, as it helped to keep the cement moist and thus ensured stable walls. In just six months, the construction work was completed so that Santosh Silwal could be part of the opening ceremony as early as November! As a thank you, he was presented with flower necklaces and lucky scarves by the children and their mothers.

The new part of the school was thus the first completed new and solidly built building since the earthquake, most of the villagers were still living in emergency shelters made of corrugated iron two years after the earthquake. Not only could 200 children from the surrounding villages enjoy a school education in a new, clean and bright building, but the school was also a symbol of hope and reconstruction for the whole village. We rejoice with the children and their families!