Bhumistan and Praja Basic School - Dhading
/February 11th, 2019
Moving Mountain Nepal started our 2019 donation program in Dhading. We joined the volunteers from Unatti Foundation outside Boudha gate in Kathmandu around 7:30 am, and headed out to Kalanki to join the road to Dhading.
The last time we donated here, the last three kilometers were on foot, with members of the community meeting us where the road finished, helping to carry the bags across the rice fields and up the mountain to the school. We stopped at a small shop for lunch - rice, dhal, chicken and pickle The new road is not complete, nor is it much of a road carved into the hill, but our vehicle managed to get all the way up to the school in 4.5 hours by noon.
Preparing for bag donation in the school grounds at Praja Basic School in Dhading.
The new two storey school building, constructed after the earthquake had not yet been occupied, and the rooms were without furniture or frames on the windows. It will be some time before the community can afford to complete the project.
There are beautiful paintings on the walls of the new school building at Praja Basic School.
Rewati Gurung - founder of Moving Mountain Nepal shows the latest school bag. Since the early days the bag has been developed by our bag maker in Kathmandu to be robust and waterproof capable of lasting the student for many years.
Moving Mountain Nepal has donated more than 4000 school bags to over 35 schools since the earthquakes of 2015, and still the excitement of the kids and pride in their new bags is inspiring.
Out of these 35 schools, MMN has selected 8 of the most needy communities to support annually with bags for the new students, sanitary pads for older girls and an interior decorating and mural painting program to brighten up the learning environment.
Children line up to receive their school bags with the help of donations and volunteers from Unatti Foundation in Bhaktapur.
Moving Mountain Nepal have a tradition of thanking individual sponsors since we began in 2015. Each get sent an image of the children their donation has sponsored.
A young school girl sits next to her mother, opens her bag to see what is inside.
St. Valentine’s Day - Feb 14th, 2019
On February 14th, MMN travelled again to Dhading. It was more than 2 years since we had donated here. The whole community gets involved in these celebrations, honouring guests with fresh flower garlands harvested from the surrounding hills. Today they put on a dance program with songs written to celebrate the work Moving Mountain Nepal is doing to improve the educational lives of their children.
As the ceremonies concluded, young families could be seen taking the long treks up into the hills to their homes, running past bright yellow mustard fields and disappearing into the jungle.
Parents and school children gather outside the school building at Bhumistan before the donation program begins. MMN donated bags to this school 3 and a half years ago and now the new children get their first school bags.
Children at Bhumistan wait for donations to start.
Anita Prajapati - Executive Director of Unatti Foundation in Bhaktapur and Rewati Gurung CEO of Moving Mountain Nepal with fresh garlands of local flowers as guests of honour.
A young student sits on a bench beside his mother as the bag donation program continues at Bhumistan Basic School in Dhading.
The principal of Bhumistan, Bishnu Thapa, gives an opening speech to the gathered community and students on Donation Day.
Group photo of school, parents, volunteers and a couple of dogs at the end of the donation program on Valentine’s day, February 14, 2019.
School children from Bhumistan basic school - Dadhing start their long walk home past bright yellow mustard fields.
School children from Bhumistan basic school - Dadhing walking home with a mother through the jungle after Moving Mountain Nepal NGO's Valentine's Day donation program.
