New Website ... Grass Roots Education Nepal

WEBSITE NEWS!  Read more about our story ...

See our new website at https://grassrootseducationnepal.com

Read how a random act of kindness on travel to Nepal 18 years ago created the spark to establish a school in rural Nepal that expanded from 48 students to now over 500 students, pre-kindergarten through Grade 8. 

From the start, about one-half of these students were desperately poor with very limited educational alternatives available to them. 18 years later, many of these students have met with success in local occupations, such as farm managers, computer technicians, office assistants and teachers. Many students continue education in high schools and colleges in Kathmandu, India, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and the USA. This life-changing success story has proven the meaning in our original proverb: “A child without education is like a bird without wings.” Mikey Medium English School students now have wings!

Read more at https://grassrootseducationnepal.com

Grassroots Education Nepal (GEN) Corporation is registered in the State of Maryland as a non-profit charitable organization, and also is registered with the US Internal Revenue Service as a 501(C)(3) not-for-profit charity. EIN 35-2383201. 100% of your gift is tax-deductible. Mikey Medium English School (MMES) has authority to use contributions made to Grass Roots Education Nepal (GEN) Corporation only as specified by and subject to the oversight of the GEN Board of Directors in support of the Mission, School Improvement Plan and school-related Goals and Objectives approved by the Board. There are two ways you can donate -- via PayPal or by check.

Donate through PayPal ...

You can use your credit card or PayPal account for your donation. Simply click here OR click on the "donate button", below. You do not need a PayPal account to use this method of payment in support of Grassroots Education Nepal.

You may also scan the following QR code with your phone to take you to the Grassroots Education Nepal PayPal DONATE page:
PayPal - The safer, easier way to donate online!

Include in your PayPal donation your name, email address, and mailing address.

Or Donate by Check ...
Make checks payable to Grassroots Education Nepal (GEN) Corporation and mail to:
Grassroots Education Nepal (GEN) Corporation
PO Box 131
Davidsonville, MD 21035

Please enclose a note with your name, mailing address, and email address.

IMPORTANT for all donations:
In addition to your credit card or mailed gift, could you kindly send an email to us at grass.roots.education.nepal@gmail.com and let us know that you've sent a gift, and include in the email: your name, mailing address, email address, and date, and amount of your gift. THANK YOU!!

Facebook Page for Grassroots Education Nepal

Contact Us! Connect with Us!

Contact us via email:  grass.roots.education.nepal@gmail.com

See Grassroots Education Nepal on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/GrassrootsEducationNepalgen

See also our new web page at:
https://grassrootseducationnepal.com/

How to Help -- Donations and Gifts Accepted

How to Help ...

Include in your PayPal donation your name, email address, and mailing address.

We appreciate your support. All gifts are applied directly to support grass roots education in rural Nepal, without reduction for overhead expenses. Grassroots Education Nepal (GEN) Corporation is registered in the State of Maryland as a non-profit charitable organization, and also is registered with the US Internal Revenue Service as a 501(C)(3) not-for-profit charity. EIN 35-2383201. 100% of your gift is tax-deductible. Mikey Medium English School (MMES) has authority to use contributions made to Grass Roots Education Nepal (GEN) Corporation only as specified by and subject to the oversight of the GEN Board of Directors in support of the Mission, School Improvement Plan and school-related Goals and Objectives approved by the Board.

Make checks payable to Grassroots Education Nepal (GEN) Corporation and mail to:
Grassroots Education Nepal (GEN) Corporation
PO Box 131
Davidsonville, MD 21035

Please enclose a note with your name, mailing address, and email address.

IMPORTANT: In addition to your mailed gift, could you kindly send an email to us at grass.roots.education.nepal@gmail.com and let us know that you've sent a gift, and include in the email: your name, mailing address, email address, and date, and amount of your gift. THANK YOU!!

You can also use your credit card or PayPal account for your donation. Simply click on the "donate button" at the top, or below.  You do not need a PayPal account to use this method of payment in support of Grassroots Education Nepal.

2011 Trip to Mikey Medium English School

In February 2011, Barbara and John Church returned from a month of working at the Mikey Medium English School in Bauniyan, Far Western Nepal. Although the weather was unseasonably cold, the hospitality and enthusiastic greetings were heartwarming.


We were able to visit with Lexi Suberi, our South River High School 2010 graduate, who has been teaching at the Mikey Medium English School since October. She is thriving and the children love her. Lexi will return to Maryland in June and continue her education at the University of Maryland in the fall.

The biggest news is that the school has grown to 82 students. We have hired three new teachers and now have a teaching assistant for the youngest students. We are still serving the underprivileged and underclass within the Bauniyan Community. There are now four classrooms filled with students who are eager to learn. At this time we are not expecting to grow larger because we want to maintain small class sizes. This creates a unique learning environment within the community. To assist with this effort, we will have the preschoolers begin half day sessions during the next school year. Additionally, we expect to order high quality reading, math, social studies and science textbooks in English which should increase student engagement and learning. We have initiated a focus on additional teacher planning and training for our staff as part of our effort to not only provide for basic education but to assure a level of quality.

During our visit, Barbara was able to do several art projects with the students. They preformed in English an original play: "The Roti Man" - which is a take off of the Gingerbread Man story. The older children painted and decorated masks of animals native to Nepal. The Roti Man was chased through the jungle by the "little old woman", "little old man", a lion, a cheeta, a giraffe, an elephant, a zebra and eventually by the tiger - who ultimately gobbled him up. It was a great experience for the actors and spectators alike.

A Crofton Girl Scout Troop made sock puppets (that only speak in English) which were delivered to the children. The younger students particularly enjoyed using the puppets and acting out the local farm animals when we sang "Old Mac Donald." For children that have no toys or books, these items are a really big treat.

We will be meeting with our Board of Directors on March 22, 2011 to share information, finalize our budget, consider fund raising initiatives and refine the School Improvement Plan. We expect to have our approval of Non Profit Status by that meeting. (It was submitted in August 2010.)

Do not hesitate to contact us with ideas for supporting the Mikey Medium English School in the future. We can use your help!

RESOURCES and IDEAS, by Mikey

Here is a lesson plan from the PBS program Frontline. Check it out:
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/educators/se_nepal.html

-- Mikey Church

What We Learned and Where We Are Going

We felt very positive and optimistic about the time we spent in Bauniyan and at our school. We went to learn what was happening and what was needed and we returned home with a real sense of direction and mission. We worked really hard with Ujjwal to produce the documents needed to register the school and also to apply for grants with NGO's both here and in Nepal. Our 10 day trip to Kathmandu was a mixture of great sight seeing and “cold calling” a number of international agencies. We were determined to tell them about the school and find out what is available to help us. Everyone that we spoke to admitted that Kailali District is one of the poorest in the country with minimal services to families. As a result of our efforts we hope to get support from Room to Read, The Woman's Foundation of Nepal, Save the Children, USAID and Nepal Children's Education Fund.

MEDIA CENTER PROPOSAL
The Rotary Club of Kathmandu (at the Radisson Hotel) warmly welcomed us and asked us to develop a proposal for a Media Center, since there is an incredible lack of learning materials in the Bauniyan. We had discussed this idea with the Parent Advisory Committee of our school before we left. Our families wanted to be able to share any media materials with members of the Bauniyan community. Since there are no libraries for any of the area schools, this endeavor could have far reaching effects. The good news is that we have an appropriate space in the lower level of Ujjwal's house to establish our Media Center. There is electricity and security. In addition to acquiring English and Nepali texts and resource materials, we would like to obtain computers.

FORMING A 501 3C
Any of these activities necessitates us forming a 501 3C – and obtaining non-profit status. On May 4, 2010, our Grassroots Education Nepal Board met and authorized John to work with Mary and Pat Morris on the documents needed to file with the IRS. Pat, who is a retired lawyer, had graciously offered his assistance in this endeavor.

SUPPORT CONTINUES FROM SCHOOLS
Barbara has continued to speaks to school groups about our trip and our school efforts. Sharing the wonderful pictures of our Nepali students using the materials provided by local school donations has been exciting and heart warming. Davidsonville Elementary, Central Middle, South River High and the Independence School (Wilmington, Delaware) have all held fund raisers to support the Mikey Medium English School. Without their help we would not be able to keep the school in operation.

SUPPORT FROM THE ANNE ARUNDEL COMMUNITY GROWS
Organizations throughout Anne Arundel County continue to show interest and support for our school. John has shared photos and tales of Nepali life with the Rotary Clubs of Parole and Towsontowne Center. The Bike Doctorand the Annapolis Bicycle Racing Team continue their support. It is pretty amazing how our local community is so willing to share their resources with a tiny village in Far Western Nepal.

(Barbara and John Church and Matt Hill visited the Mikey Medium English School in Far Western Nepal for 5 weeks in Feb. and March.)

Nepal Log #3

March 20, 2010

Dear Friends and Family,

Wow. It is hard to believe that we are back in India. We are taking a much needed rest day before we head off for a 9 day exploration of the Rajasthan area, north west of Delhi. this should include a 2 + day trek in the desert on camels. Wheeeee.

We just endured a 17+ hour overnight Indian bus trip (24 hours of travel) from Bauniyan - our Nepali town- to Delhi. It was grueling and hopefully fills the "adventure before dementia" category for this week.

It is hard to reflect on our experience in Nepal. I think I need a little space, but I am almost brought to tears when I think of the many kindnesses shown to us by the people in the village. During our last week, I taught a class for about 20 teachers from the schools in the area. "5 No Cost Strategies for Increasing Student Engagement". It had to be no cost because they have nothing to teach with. I had brought some large chart paper and I had hoarded 5 pieces so that I could do the workshop. NO HANDOUTS. Several of the teachers taught English - and I was the first native speaker that they had ever met/heard.

The next afternoon< i bought some notebooks and taught several teachers - including our own - how to plan lessons for a week. Very simple format. It was a new concept.

The last afternoon, we had a "Committee" meeting with parents of the school. Many adults showed up. They were so gracious in offering their thanks and blessings. Many of the parents are VERY poor and uneducated but realize that the opportunity that their children have at our school is really special. They of course want to know when we are returning and they would b more than willing to host Americans. I told them that we would see what we could do - but did not make any promises.

On Saturday afternoon - which is sort of the holiday of the week (there is school and work on Sunday) I decided to take a walk through the market area all by myself. I wore my straw hat and my big "Paris Hilton" sun glasses _ which was nothing new. I wandered down one side of the barely paved main road and started up the next side - with many stares following me. This was nothing new. I encountered three cute 15 year old girls who spoke to me in English. I had visited every classroom in the public school a couple of weeks ago and they remembered me. We chatted a few minutes and then they invited me to sit down on a bench in front of one of their father's shop. They were shy = like all Nepali's -but managed to talk with me. I used a few of my Nepali phrases, which made them giggle. Much to my surprise we were soon surrounded - in our close personal space- by probably 30 adults of all ages staring at me. They were fascinated. I met some of the girl's relatives and friends. Then the girls asked me if I would like to visit their homes. I said "sure " and we paraded off through the back streets of the village - among the mud huts, thatched roofs, cows and dogs and goats. We gathered children like mad. Two little boys that were students at our school arrived and I took their hands and continued on with our adventure. The first courtyard was behind a shop belonged to one of the girls families. Her house, which the girls told me was "very nice" ,was probably 18-20 feet long and 15 feet wide with a well swept dirt floor. The mud cooking stove and water pump were under a thatched roof in the court yard not far from the family cow and goats. After peeking inside, our entourage - which was growing with children headed out across the rice paddies. Now that takes some balancing - especially because the two little boys did not want to let go of my hand. We moved on to a very rural compound of mud huts and the next girl's home. The family was all waiting to greet me. I stayed only a few minutes because at least 50 children had now accompanied me into the courtyard. No one but me seemed to mind. At this point it was beginning to get dark and the electricity was not working in the village, so I told the girls that I needed to get home. The whole group escorted me home, much to the amazement of Ujjwal, our host. Some of the boys even wanted to come in our house. I said no - to no avail. But luckily one of the neighbors rescued me and shooed off my remaining boy companions. It was quite a day.

Our last evening we rode on the back of motor cycles to the thatched and mud sided home of one of the teachers in our school. We were going to be guests at his mother's home ( a sort of compound) for dinner. They had killed the local chicken to feed us. The family is part of the lower caste and live a very simple existence on land that has been part of their family village for many generations. We sat on the mud floor and drank the local rice brew - which was surprisingly good. We had our chicken, a heap of family grown rice, dahl (like green pea soup) and some very spicy pickles. The family was so curious - but also gracious and generous. They were honored that we had come - but we were really the people that were honored.

There are many more stories of simple pleasures and delights to come. Thanks for your patience and prayers as we opened ourselves to a new and different life for the last 7 weeks. Take care and see you soon. Love and hugs, Barbara