Nepal Govt. Regd. No. 1224/064, SWC Affiliation No. 22612
Local people of Ratmate village built Bhairabi Primary School in 1993 AD (2050 BS) running classes 1 and 2. After the civil war started in 1995, the government made no effort to show any financial or educational support to improve the current conditions. Bhairabi Primary School has remained open from the constant commitment of the local village people and the ever growing needs for a basic primary school to educate their children. If it was to close, it means that the locals of Ratmate would need to send their children from as young as 4 to 7 on a 50 minute walk to the closest school and then 50 minute walk back home. Keep in mind most parents are constantly working in the fields so these children would be walking alone.
Bhairabi Primary School is located in Ratmate village (Ward No 8) of Arughat Rural Municipality (previously Ward No 6 of Arupokhari Village Development Committee) in the northern part of Gorkha district. A local public bus from Kathmandu leaves everyday from morning 6.30am till 11.00am to Arughat.
Once you arrive in Arughat Bazar you travel towards the west by climbing the stairs at the top of Arughat Bazar and then cross the bridge of Stull Khola (river). Ascend up to reach the village. The hike will take you around 2 hours all the way up. At first you will reach Dharapani Secondary School at Dharapani village. From there it’s another 40 minutes walk to Ratmate where Bhairabi is located.
Though Bhairabi has seen a tremendous progress in the past few years, plenty of challenges still need to be addressed. It is the only public school in Gorkha where everything, from school uniforms to stationeries to monthly tuition fees, is free for the students. All possible because of Sambhav Nepal. We plan to provide continued support to Bhairabi because it is the first project we undertook. We plan to make Bhairabi an example school by transforming it into a modern one in a rural setting.
The school runs 2 pre-school classes (nursery and kindergarten) and primary classes from grade 1 to 5. It has a total of 80 students and employs 12 staff members.
Since everything is free of cost to the students, the school also needs ongoing funding every year until we can start income-generating projects that can make the school self-sufficient:
Of the most pressing issue is the quality of education provided: there aren’t many qualified teachers, the available teachers are underpaid and there are very few teaching materials for the teachers. It is difficult for the school to afford qualified teachers and education materials. Bhairabi welcomes both domestic and international volunteers to help teach at the school. That’s why, Sambhav Nepal has tied up with a trekking and tour operator Ace the Himalaya to bring in the volunteer teachers from countries like Australia, UK, USA, etc. These volunteers bring their modern teaching methods and help to widen the minds of the village kids. We are always in need of the qualified volunteer teachers and you sign up for this and get more information here: https://www.acethehimalaya.com/trip/arupokhari-school-volunteer-program-15-days/
The concept of entrepreneurship has only recently caught up in the village. Sambhav Nepal strives to provide entrepreneurial ideas and prospects to the Bhairabi school administration in creating a sustainable business to support the on-going cost of the school. The objective of this project would be to make the school self-sustainable. As a result, the school won’t have to look at external parties for funding of school supplies, teachers’ salaries, upgrade of facilities, renovation of classrooms and toilets, etc. Based on the resources available, agriculture (vegetables, coffee and many more), poultry farming and cattle farming are the most viable options. We are in the need for funding and expertise in creating long-term income-generating projects for the school. Your help, either via financial assistance or technical and business guidance, will be greatly appreciated.
After the earthquake, Sambhav Nepal visited many villages in Northern Gorkha to assess the extent of the damage and offer assistance to the communities with the immediate focus being on distributing food to the villages and providing temporary shelter to the schools. It was during these visits we identified that our long-term resources and assistance would be best utilized by rebuilding the schools and so we set about planning our school-rebuilding mission.
As per the requirement seen and request made by the locals and the school administration, Bhairabi Multi- purpose Indoor Hall and Volunteer House Project came into the plan. The school is situated in the Arughat Rural Municipality, Gorkha in the complex land structure.
Under this project, through the coordination with Social Welfare Council, Nepal, Sambhav Nepal came up with an initiation to build a Multipurpose Indoor Hall and hostel with all the basic facilities. Since the school is in a complex land structure, the students get difficulties in performing various extracurricular activities. Not only this, but there was not any space to conduct any volunteering activities in the village. So, through the establishment of Multipurpose Indoor Hall the problem is expected to be solved. The hall will have two stories in it. The ground floor will consist two rooms one for the computer lab and another for the library. And in the first floor there will be the multipurpose hall. The hall can be used to conduct any trainings, meetings, seminars and so on. The multipurpose indoor hall can be used by the students to play indoor games such as Badminton, Martial Arts, Futsal and so on. And the villagers of the Arughat Rural Municipality can use this hall for any social rituals, ceremony or programs such as marriage and others paying some amount. The income generated from this hall can help in improving the financial condition of the school as well. Since this hall consists of moveable furniture in it, it will not create any difficulties in organizing any programs or events.
Similarly, Numbers of national as well as international volunteers come to participate in the projects of Sambhav Nepal. But the lack of Proper shelter to the volunteers was the major problem observed. So, in order to address the problem, the construction of the hostel came into plan. The volunteer house will consists of a kitchen, a dining hall, 2 toilets and three bedrooms with all needed basic requirements in it. Furthermore, the hostels can be used for the safe stay of the volunteers, teachers and the students in coming days after the completion.
The Multi-Purpose Indoor Hall is in the process of construction. In this present condition, the walls of the ground floor, the pillars, windows and doors has been built. Since, the construction process is going on, the second floor is in the process of construction. Similarly, the plastering of the building, painting and furnishing will also be done accordingly.
We are glad to announce that Phase III is completed and the new building is being used by the students and teachers of Bhairabi Primary School. On March 01, on the occasion of Zero Discrimination Day, the new building of Bhairabi Primary School at Ward No 8, Ratmate village of Arughat Rural Municipality was jointly inaugurated by Melanie Kreuzer (President of Sambhav Nepal Switzerland), Prem K Khatry (Founder President of Sambhav Nepal) and Purna Bahadur Dahal (Chairman of Arughat Rural Municipality).
In the Phase III, we built a two-storey building with 8 rooms and 4 toilets, fully furnished the rooms with all the necessary furniture and interior decorations, bought books and created a library, installed electronic devices, set up a computer lab, designed and made a medical ward and created gardens in the school compound.
The students, teachers and headmaster of Bhairabi are very happy with their new building and facilities. This has motivated them to study and work harder for a better future.
We are currently in the end part of the Phase III. More than 80% of the work is completed by now. Our goals for this phase are a two-story building which will accommodate 4 classrooms, 4 toilets, 1 computer lab plus library, 1 recreational room with medical ward and 1 staff room. We have completed the two-story building with all the necessary rooms and the toilets are under construction right now.
In the upcoming days, we will complete the following tasks:
As per the proposal, the estimated duration for the entire project was set at 18 months. That would be from May 10, 2019 to Oct 31, 2020. But, we had to stop the work due to monsoon and Covid-19 for three months. This added time and we had to change our project timeline. Now, the project will be completed by Jan 31, 2021.
In Phase III, we are constructing two-story building which will accommodate 4 classrooms, 4 toilets, 1 computer lab cum library, 1 recreational room and 1 staff room. We have already submitted the necessary proposal and other relevant documents to the concerned government authorities to obtain the approval. We are aiming to start the construction from May.
We are glad to announce that we have completed the construction of the new 5-room building along with 3 toilets. We have done the furnishing of the building: painted the rooms, carpeted the floor and added necessary furniture. We have also handed the new building to the school administration. The only thing left to do is purchasing the electronic stuff such as computer, printer, multi-plugs, etc. We are going to do this once the monsoon season is over.
The construction work of 5 roomed building with 3 toilets that started on November 2017 is on the verge of completion. The building contains two classrooms, one teacher’s room, one computer lab and one Montessori room. The rooms are almost ready as only few final tasks such as furnishing and the interiors are remaining. The school will be ready and successfully handed over and inaugurated by early June 2018.
After completion of Phase I, we started the construction of 5 roomed building from November 2017. We are on the process of building a five-room block with two classrooms, one teachers’ room, one computer lab, and one Montessori room. There are three toilets for this block. The school building is located at 2 minutes distance.
The work for Phase II started in November 2017 and has been ongoing. The objectives that we had set prior to the beginning of the project are coming into fruition. 70% of the total work that we had aimed for has been completed. We are very hopeful that the project will be completed by the end of March 2018.
After months of hard work and overcoming various obstacles, the Phase I of the Bhairabi Rebuild Project was successfully completed in April, 2017. In Phase I, we constructed 3 new classrooms and repaired 3 old classrooms and 5 toilets. On April 25, 2017, we held an inauguration ceremony in the school. The ceremony was organized in the presennce of the school’s Headmaster and the Chief of School Management Commitee.
In the Phase II, we will rebuild a five-room block and three toilets.
After the stone lying ceremony, Bhairabi Primary School Rebuilding
Committee was formed. We took approval from Social Welfare Council, Kathmandu and agreement letter from District Education Office, Gorkha. Raw materials like sand, stone, iron rod were freighted to the construction site. Transportation for such raw materials were given to a local transport company on a contract basis. We had decided that we would be rebuilding two classrooms but after the site inspection by engineers and public demand by local people, instead of two rooms, three rooms were finalized to be rebuilt.The rebuilding activity is nearly finished. Three rooms are ready but the tin roof is yet to be put in its place. Please go to the Gallery section for the recent photos.
On April 25, on the first anniversary of the Nepal Earthquake, we organized a foundation stone (cornerstone) laying ceremony of Bhairabi Primary School. As per Hindu traditions, Prem K Khatry, the founder of Sambhav Nepal, laid foundation stone in the premises of the school. The ceremony was attended by the Building Construction Committee for the school and the founder instructed the committee not to compromise on the quality of the construction materials and work. The ceremony marks the start of the construction phase of this project. The objective of the project is to rebuild 1 two-room block and repair 6 classrooms. Once all this is built, the students of Bhairabi Primary School will have adequate space to acquire education.
Since the major earthquake of 7.8-magnitude struck Nepal on April 25 followed by 7.3-magnitude aftershock, Sambhav Nepal formed an earthquake relief team to support the victims of Gorkha. During our visit in Bhairabi Primary School we distributed corrugated aluminum sheets to the schools destroyed by the earthquake so that they can make temporary classrooms to teach students. Beside that we have made two visits to distribute relief food supplies to the families of the students. We also distributed 120 blankets, pencils, volleyball, toothpaste and toothbrush to the students and teachers of Bhairabi Primary School.
St Augustine’s Volunteer Team
The most needed work of building a proper playground for the school is completed recently by the volunteers of St Augustine’s college, Sydney . The playground is Safe and modern where the students can play and school program and competitions can be held easily.Read full story….
St Augustine’s Volunteer Team
The most needed work of fencing and compounding of the school for security purpose completed recently which was done by the generous volunteers of St Augustine’s college, Sydney. The fencing and compounding of the school was done by the use of metal wire for high durability and ease of construction.Read full Story..
UNSW Global Village Volunteer Team
The computer lab built for the local government/ community school was inaugurated in 9th August 2013 by Chief District Officer Mr. Krishna Bahadur Karki along with the District Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Gorkha district. The computer lab built in Bhairabi Primary School will be used by both the students of Bhairabi and the students from the nearby schools of the area. Read full Story..
Allan Wolden / Nepal School Project
Sambhav Nepal have finally completed the construciton of volunteer house in bhairabhi. The house with basic facility can easily accomodate 5 volunteers. We believe that mobilizing qualified volunteers is a viable option for the schools and the community; the new ideas and methods that the volunteers share with the school administration will definitely help to improve the learning environment for the children.
Allan Wolden / Nepal School Project
The Montessori system of teaching has gained significant popularity in Nepal. The creative pedagogical methods of this system have proven tremendously successful. We deem that such a method would create a very suitable environment for the children for personal, physical and intellectual growth. By hiring trained staff, in addition to new furniture and required amenities to an existing room in the school for Montessori, Sambhav Nepal have introduced advanced methods of teaching to Bhairabi.
St Augustine’s College, Sydney, Australia
Volounteers from St. Augustine college, sydney recently completed the rendering of the building.The plastering of building which besides its aesthetic purpose, is direly needed for insulation. The buildings tend to get extremely hot during the summer time, to the point that the cases of students losing consciousness has become a common occurrence. Much to dismay, this has been accepted as a norm in the village. Hence the process of cement plastering and painting of the building will help in mitigating the problem.
Allan Wolden / Nepal School Project
It has been completed recently. Now the school is facilitated with total eight rooms including an administration and a volunteers’ room.
The Australian Embassy in Nepal Australian eyes to this school was great and the true mission of Sambhav Nepal as well. Despite the increasing number of students, unfortunately, there was no any toilet. Australian embassy Nepal peeped here and finally granted aid for five toilets’ project, including one western style. This fulfilled the school with five toilets which was lacked since the establishment. The western design toilet facilitating the volunteers is the central attraction.
Allan Wolden / Nepal School Project
The number of students increased from 50 to 150 in this year since Allan J. Waldon was extending his helping hands. In fact he was in deep love with the students, teachers and whole community. After the completion of the project, it was a huge achievement in Ratemate village.
Allan Wolden / Nepal School Project
Allan visited the school in January 2008 and got back with the rough estimation of replacing the old school building which was in fact and finally occurred in 2008. It provided the better places for the then existing students. The project was completed within six months. It was grand success on behalf of the school and also provided at least temporary job for the local people.
Allan Wolden / Nepal School Project
It was the first maintenance effort of Sambhav Nepal under the financial aid of Allan J Waldon, opened the door for massive development of the school. This project concluded with repair and maintenance of the roof, walls, desks, bench, chairs of the school. The school was facilitated with the required stationeries both for the administration and students for entire year.
The completed school building is yellow in color which is different than what’s in the 3D designs because, as per the rules, all government school buildings must be painted in yellow.
The school has undergone a series of transformations that have significantly improved its physical outlook along with the education standards provided.
Cement Plastering/Painting of the Building – St Augustine’s College, Sydney, Australia ( 2012 )
The fourth building block was constructed in 2010 and 2011. More work on the fencing and creating a wall to stop the flow of mud into the compound will be the forthcoming activities this year.
Following the completion of the construction, the Australian Ambassador to Nepal Hon. Susan Grace formally inaugurated the toilet facility on May 20, 2010, in a lively ceremony organized by Bhairabi School, Sambhav Nepal and the locals .
Funded by the Direct Aid Program grant issued by the Australian Embassy, the Bhairabi Toilet Project commenced in early 2010. The toilet has helped improve the sanitation situation of the school at a time when the student population has seen a sharp increase.
A two-roomed block was constructed during this year with the Australian national Allan Waldon’s and Nepal School Project’s support.
The prime focus of Sambhav Nepal during this year was the contruction of a new building that would house two classrooms and the administration room.
The first of Sambhav Nepal’s task included complete refurbishment of Bhairabi’s only classroom. The walls and the furniture were repaired, while the corrugated roof was replaced. More of such reconstruction activities followed. Thanks to the success of this project.
The following pictures depict the meager resources of Bhairabi Primary School before Sambhav Nepal’s first project.
Swiss Version
