Publishing a report for our winter school project is challenging. Since there is hardly any telephone or internet available in the very remote mountain villages, we have to wait for the report from our school coordinator, who only returns to Kathmandu once a year (in November / December). A trip from Saldang or Nyisal to Kathmandu also takes at least 9 days for locals (7 days hiking, 2 days by bus). We hope that a mobile connection to the school will be available in the foreseeable future. At least that was the prospect of the telephone company.
With this report we give a first overview of the winter school year 2018/2019 (November to April). The period started on November 17, 2018 and ended on April 16, 2019. The winter school period went smoothly and without obstacles. And we got good results from our students in collaboration with the dedicated teachers and staff. In total, we trained 68 students this year; 30 boys and 38 girls attended the winter session from kindergarten to sixth grade.
No students from neighboring villages such as Namdo, Karang and Komang attended this winter school as the respective schools have recently started to hold their own winter session.
During the Losar festival, the students were given a week-long vacation. A new approach during this winter session was that the teachers gave adults in the village of Saldang several introductory courses in reading and writing as well as Nepalese and English.
Here you can find the daily schedule of the winter school in Saldang.
8 a.m. – 8.30 a.m. morning prayer
8:30 a.m. – 9 a.m. breakfast
9 a.m. – 12 p.m. morning classes
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. lunch break
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. afternoon classes
4:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. tea time
This winter we only had two teachers as one teacher attended intensive teacher training in Kathmandu for some time. Dawa Dhondup served as a Tibetan teacher, where students were taught Dolpo cultures, language, and reciting prayers in addition to revising summer session topics. Mr. Gyaltsen Lama largely repeated the rest of the subjects that were taught during the summer session. In addition, both teachers worked on development activities for the personality and external knowledge of our students. In addition to the teachers, we employed a cook and a helper.
In the next report, I will tell you more details on activities and exams. Since the classrooms have no heating and it is very cold inside, children learn as much as possible outside to enjoy the sunshine.
