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Our volunteers do tremendous work in the field monitoring our students, speaking with parents and teachers, and getting updates on the progress of our program’s beneficiaries. The lack of Infrastructure in Nepal makes some of these visits more of an adventure than others. In December of 2014, Omprakash (NCEF’s President) and Shyam, and two local volunteers in Nepalgunj, Kainlai and Shanti visited several schools where NCEF-supported students study to get a first-hand look at our progress thus far. You asked – so we tell. Here is the journey in Om’s words…
"On a winter morning in December at 11am, we arrived in Nepalgunj to meet up with the area coordinator in Nepalgunj, Kainai and volunteer Shanti in order to visit the students together. In Nepalgunj, where eight students receive financial assistance from NCEF, our goal was to meet as many students as possible in a single day. Because of the weather and traffic, Mr. Rana was delayed by 30 minutes despite taking a taxi and leaving on time. A taxi was the only way for this trip to be possible; public transportation is simply too slow for multiple meetings. Motorcycles are very common in Nepalgunj but would not permit group travel. After a friendly greeting and handshakes, the four of us hopped in the taxi and rode northbound on the highway towards Kohalpur.
Our first stop was Shining Star School, not far from the highway. Lack of signage caused us to get a bit lost, but this is the norm. After a short conversation with Trishna, one of our vibrant students, and the headmaster, we took some pictures and got to know Trishna’s story. To our delight, she informed us that she is doing well both at home and school. We said goodbye and hit the road again…there were more schools and little time.
Student Trishna, in between volunteers Shanti and Rana, at her school
Our next stop was Golden Future English School. To get there, we headed back towards Nepalgunj and then west, a route that literally took us off the beaten path and had many kilometers of simply dirt roads. The supposed luxury cab still left us all exhausted as the car navigated through large potholes and puddles on the road. Upon arrival, we spotted a huge hay pile directly in front of the school. This is not an uncommon sight. In rural Nepal, nearby farmers may use any space available to pile their hay, and we happened to come upon their pile.
Golden Future English School
Finally entering the school, we were welcomed with open arms. One of our NCEF students, Bhaskar, spoke to us about his life at school, fully funded by NCEF, and his life at home. His father is blind, but joined us in the chat and is thankful that his son is able to attend school. After enjoying chatting with Bhaskar and his father, we walked a short distance across the road to the office of the headmaster to say hello. Just a few short minutes later, we said goodbye and hit the road again.
NCEF supported student Bhaskar and his father, at his school
It was past two in the afternoon by this point and time for lunch. But, no lunch for us! Next up to visit was Citizen Namuna Boarding School. Schools in Nepal use the word "boarding" in their name to imply higher quality education. The word "boarding" rarely implies a residential school. We were warned that the drive to the next school was going to be much worse than the one we just endured. We made our way back to the main Nepalgunj-Kohalpur highway, went further South into Nepalgunj, then took another road to the west through Gulariya. After driving only a few kilometers on paved road, we turned into a dirt road with even bigger potholes and puddles. Our taxi driver seemed very skillful navigating these roads even though he mentioned that he does not come to these areas often. Apparently, people in these areas do not take cabs. Bicycles seem the most common method for transportation, followed by motorcycles for those who can afford them. They also use rickshaws for short distances and infrequent buses and microbuses for longer distances. During the rainy season, the mud and puddles would have made this path almost impassable. It was a good thing that it was winter, which is the dry season in this part of the world.
Despite the bumpy road, we were enjoying looking out the window at the Terai countryside -- rice fields, canals, markets, and people of all ages riding their bicycles. One could sense a different kind of life in this part. Just as we were patting our backs for scheduling this trip in winter, we came to a puddle that halted our trip abruptly. Our driver stepped out of the taxi and walked around, looking for any sign that we could pass. He decided that it was not worth taking the risk. We turned around, feeling defeated."
Stay tuned for April’s newsletter to find out what happened next!
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