In a mountain village three days drive from Kathmandu, Nepal, hundreds of boys and girls and a dozen teachers pile into three school buildings every morning.
Less than three years ago, prospects of a quality education for these Nepalese kids were as remote as the village. But dogged, determined fundraising by a Belmont secondary teacher has left a legacy at the roof of the world.
After a Himalayan trek in 2005, Troy Harris, a physical education and leadership teacher at Belmont, spearheaded the effort to build a school B次元官网网址� any school B次元官网网址� in the village of Sanitar, population 1,000.
Harris founded the Canadian World Education Society (CanWES), and four years later the Everest English School has 17 classrooms in a three-building campus, employing a staff of 14. The third building was opened just a few months ago, giving the village education from nursery to Grade 12.
B次元官网网址淣o one has to leave the village for a quality education, or leave to get trained teachers,B次元官网网址� Harris said. B次元官网网址淚f the kids have to walk an hour each way to school, they canB次元官网网址檛 do their chores, so parents will say its not an option to go to school. Now itB次元官网网址檚 a 10 minute walk.B次元官网网址�
Harris, fellow teacher Kevin Harrington, and 10 Belmont students plan to travel to Sanitar in December for three weeks. Harris will get to check up on the results of CanWES fundraising. The students will help teach conversational English to their Nepalese counterparts.
B次元官网网址淚t will be an experience of a lifetime for these kids, as it was for me when I went years ago,B次元官网网址� Harris said. B次元官网网址淚 want them to see how lucky they are to live in the world we live in, and that they can make a difference in the world. ItB次元官网网址檚 a tough concept to grasp at their age.B次元官网网址�
The Belmont students will also get a first hand look at a traditional society that was extremely reluctant to allow girls to receive an education. When Harris opened his first school building, it was a fight to get girls in the classroom. Now he wants to start getting special needs kids into school.
B次元官网网址淕iving opportunities to women allows society to improve. It wasn't easy, but that became a focus for me,B次元官网网址� Harris said. B次元官网网址淚 wanted to educate girls and encourage education for girls.B次元官网网址�
Grayson Kerr and Marie Schamhart learned about the Everest school two years ago in HarrisB次元官网网址檚 Grade 10 social studies class.
B次元官网网址淛ust seeing the videos of the kids, it seemed like a really good thing,B次元官网网址� said Schamhart, 17. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e been working all summer to save for this.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 looking forward to seeing something different,B次元官网网址� Kerr said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檒l get to see what life is like if we lived there.B次元官网网址�
ItB次元官网网址檚 not a Sooke School District sanctioned trip, but Harris said the district supports the goals of the CanWES society, which as a volunteer board of Belmont grads and past and current teachers.
Harris plans to focus funds on improving the schoolB次元官网网址檚 infrastructure and to buy a few computers. The village is unlikely to get the Internet, but being familiar with what a computer is will help those students who go on to university in Kathmandu.
Fundraising for the school project is relentless B次元官网网址� CanWES must come up with about $9,000 every three months to pay teacher salaries. On top of that, the third and largest building came in at about $25,000, a drop in the bucket for construction in Canada, but plenty for the small volunteer group.
B次元官网网址淭he school would dissolve if the society was not there. The entire school relies solely on CanWES,B次元官网网址� Harris said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 lucky IB次元官网网址檝e had the support of family and friends, and great connections.B次元官网网址�
For more see www.canwes.org.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com
