Dharapani Secondary School

History and Location
Needs and Target
Progress Details
Photo Gallery

History

Dharapani Secondary School was established in 1974 AD (2031 BS) in the middle of the Dharapani village. At the beginning it had only 10 students attending the school. After six years the school was relocated from Abire Chautare, at which time there were 65 students. In 1987 the school was destroyed by a landslide leaving all the buildings damaged, and some irreparable. The school was rebuilt in 1988 in its current location. Over the years the Dharapani School has experienced many critical situations and the locals get very anxious as to how they can improve the schools conditions resources and educational needs for their child’s educational development. As the older generation never had an opportunity for quality education, basically they had to work in fields or do labor work for living. The earning wasn’t enough to educate their children.

Dharapani Secondary School is an important school. Once the students of Bhairabi Primary School complete their primary education, they get enrolled in Dharapani. Not only the students of Bhairabi but the students of other schools also join Dharapani.

Location

Dharapani Secondary school, with 400 students, is located in Ward No 8 Dharapani Village of Arughat Rural Municipality (previously Ward No 7 Dharapani village of Arupokhari Village Development Committee) in the northern part of the Gorkha district. You can travel there only by road. 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 west by climbing the stairs at the top Arughat Bazar and then across the bridge and Stull khola (Stull River) you will ascend up, to reach the village, the hike will take you around 2 hours all the way up to Dharapani Secondary School at Dharapani Village.

What the school need after the destruction brought by the earthquake is new buildings and furniture.

Prior to the earthquake there were six school buildings with one under construction. Of the six school buildings, four were completely destroyed as a result of the earthquake in addition to the computer lab and library, which was also completely damaged.

As per the number of students and staff members, the requirement of the school is 14 rooms, which will be used as classrooms, library, reading room and office. Since 1 building with 4 rooms is being constructed by the Government of Nepal, we will add 10 other rooms. In total, we will construct 3 buildings. 2 will consist of 4 rooms and 1 will consist of 2 rooms.

And the toilets will be repaired and used again.

In the earthquake, the school lost furniture which included desks and benches of students, blackboards, library and office racks, chairs and tables, computers and computer lab tables and chairs. So, through this project, we will be providing the school with necessary furniture and office stationeries.

Below you can see the 3D design of the new school buildings.

UPDATE: We had planned to rebuild 4 rooms for Dharapani Secondary School in the first-phase reconstruction. We had done engineering survey, prepared the designs and had already taken the approval for the construction from the concerned government authorities. But, we were later informed that the school will be fully rebuilt by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). We cancelled our project for Dharapani as a complete reconstruction at once is better than remaking four rooms. We have therefore shifted the donation for this school to other projects.

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 relief 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.

Foundation Stone Laying (Cornerstone) Ceremony – April 2016

On 25th April 2016, stone laying (cornerstone) ceremony of Dhrapani Secondary School – Arupokhari, was successfully inaugurated by Prem K Khatry founder of Ace the Himalaya. This means, we have started a construction of school, where we will at irst rebuild four classrooms in a block, and then once this block is completed, we will make another one. Meeting was held among the Building Construction Committee and Sambhav Nepal volunteer, where strict instruction was given not to compromise with quality of raw materials used for the sustainable development of our project.

Teacher Training Program – 2015

Australian Rotary Volunteer TeamTeachers need to be trained on how to make classroom learning interactive and fun and therefore effective. With this motto, Dr. Anne Prescott and her friend Jane Cameron, both of whom are the supporters of Sambhav Nepal, conducted Teacher Training Program at Bhairabi Primary School, Arupokhari, Gorkha from 9th to 12th January and at Gandaki Higher Secondary School of the same district from 15th to 18th of January 2015. The two trainers are from the Australian Rotary Volunteer Team.

Teaching the Teachers in Gorkha – 2014

Australian Rotary Volunteer TeamThe Australian Rotary Volunteer Team conducted the third consecutive “Teacher Training Program: at Bhairabi Primary School, Arupokhari – 6, Ratmate, Gorkha, from 6 Jan to 11 January 2014. The program was of six days and was a huge success. Dr. Anne Prescott, the main supporter of the ‘Sambhav Nepal’ and Mr. Prem K Khatry, president of Sambhav Nepal also attended the program. Ace the Himalaya, the trek and tour operator, based in Kathmandu facilitated the Australian Rotary Volunteer Team in Gorkha by managing the logistics.

Construction of the new toilet facility in 2011

Rotary Australia World Community Service and Rotary Club of Wahroonga (Australia)

A new 5-stalled toilet in Dharapani Secondary School was completed in January, 2012. This latest project in Dharapani was made possible by the support of Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS) and Rotary Club of Wahroonga (Australia). The previous toilet had serious sanitation issues, mainly due to the poor design, a lack of water access and cleanliness. In fact, there was no proper lock system, but now the toilet will be comparable to the one in Bhairabi. The new toilet will serve hundreds students and the teachers in the Dharapani School and also the donors and volunteers who visit Arupokhari.

Teacher Training Program 2010

Australian Rotary Volunteer Team

A one-week Teacher Training program was held in Dharapani secondary school from 31st December 2010 to 8th January 2011. The traning was conducted by a team of Australian Rotary volunteers, sponsored by Rotary Overseas Aid Fun, and facilitated by Ace the Himalaya. About fifty-five teachers from twenty-two schools in Gorkha benefited with new teaching techniques from the program. The innovative techniques using advanced education materials, were unheard of in a village like Arupokhari. Moreover, the books, puzzles and other studying materials donated to the Dharapani Community Library by the trainers will go a long way in attaining intellectual prosperity in the village.

Dharapani Community Library Project 2010

Nepal School Project and Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS)

The Dharapani Community Library was established in May, 2010, in Dharapani School (Arupokhari, Gorkha) through the aid provided by a group of Australian nationals and the field coordination of Sambhav Nepal. The building is made of above-standard materials, and is well furnished with tables, chairs and shelves. Gorkha2010 has helped bring the library into operation — making Dharapani library the only school with such a facility in entire Gorkha. There are currently some 3,000 books in the library, but the library is designed to hold up to 15,000 books.

Teacher Training Program 2009

Nepal School Project and Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS)

From the end of November to the beginning of December 2009, Sambhav Nepal organized a one-week Teacher Training Program in Dharapani school. Sixty teachers from ten different schools participated in the program, which was funded by the Nepal School Project (Sydney, Australia) and the Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS).