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dronfield EYE
Visitors from Dronfield with their grateful hosts in Pokhara
School rebuilding complete
Deborah Wain tells how Dronfield has helped a poor, earthquake-struck community get back on its feet
T HREE years after Nepal was devastated by an earthquake, Dronfield has played a major role in
putting a little bit of the country back together - with the rebuilding of a school.
The £48,000 project was led by the Rotary Club of Dronfield, supported by numerous other clubs, members of the Dronfield community and several schools including Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School and Dronfield Junior School.
Some of those involved, including schoolchildren, recently travelled to Nepal to mark the school opening its doors to pupils.
In 2015 a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and a series of aftershocks struck Nepal – one of the poorest countries in south-east Asia. Around 8,700 deaths and injuries to 22,000 people were reported, with hundreds of thousands of homes destroyed or damaged.
In the weeks following the disaster, urgently needed supplies filtered through to the affected areas - many of them remote - and later began the painstaking task of rebuilding.
From the outset, the community of Dronfield held out a hand of support via links between the town’s Rotary Club with counterparts in Pokhara, Nepal’s second largest city – 45 miles east of the epicentre of the quake.
Ties between the two organisations go back over a decade and were initially forged over the Fishtail Fund which helps bright students from Pokhara to stay in school.
After an initial £8,000 of relief, the focus was later put on rebuilding Prithivi Rupa Secondary School, away from its dangerous site directly below a landslide slope.
A significant step forward in the project came with the building of the roof, which was paid for thanks to the efforts of pupils at Henry Fanshawe School and Dronfield Junior School.
Eighteen students and three staff from Henry Fanshawe travelled to Nepal to celebrate the school’s opening, along with Rotarians.
The school, for 350 pupils aged from five to 18, has eight classrooms, along with clean toilets for boys and girls which is a rarity in Nepal.
There is also a drinking fountain built in memory of the late Chris Burke, former Henry Fanshawe headteacher, who was a supporter of the Fishtail Fund.
Henry Fanshawe School pupils are welcomed to Nepal
land, the bamboo for the scaffolding, and the windows and doors made in the village.
A letter of appreciation has been sent to Dronfield from Nepal Rotarians.
It reads: “Thank you to Dronfield Rotary Club and town as the main international partner to reconstruct a new school building of Secondary School, Nepal. Your financial support and encouragement were the main key factors of this successful Rotary project. Your support was also well recognised by the students, teachers and community of Prithvi Rupa.”
A grant has recently been secured for fencing, water supply, desks and other fittings.
Meanwhile, some of the student success stories of the Fishtail Fund have been celebrated too.
Ashik Pun Magar received a laptop to help him in his aspiration. Four years ago, Ashik was helping his family break stones on the riverbed to sell to make roads. Spotted by his headteacher as very bright, he has been supported by the charity to the stage where he has completed a catch-up course to prepare him for university. He is about to seek a place to train as an electrical engineer.
Samikshya Kandel, also from a poor background, is one year from completing a six-year course to qualify as a doctor. She has been supported by an anonymous donor in Dronfield for many years.
Now Samikshya has a stethoscope, donated by a local doctor who remembers working as a visiting doctor in Nepal during her period of qualification. This arrived with a letter of encouragement from her in the UK.
Finally, Sanju Thapa, who has been a Fishtail Fund student since the age of 12, is now working as a local government nurse in Pokhara.
The village community contributed much themselves, including the
To support the Fishtail Fund, email info@fishtailfund.com
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