This from our local partners:

We are very pleased to see how the volunteering over the first season has made such a positive impact. Particular focus on the Primary School has raised the confidence and eagerness of the class teachers to improve their English speaking skills and the improvement is well underway. We thank all the pathfinder volunteers from September 2010 through to early 2011 and look forward to welcoming the next batch of volunteers in the autumn of this year, post monsoon.

The generous TravelPledge donations made by our volunteers have also proved significant in improving the school. The teachers are really happy with the new whiteboards in every classroom – no more chalk dust everywhere! Now work is starting to re-paint and brighten up the primary classrooms, providing them with electricity (many rural schools – indeed the majority – do not have lighting) and then we will convert the classes from benches and forms to small tables and chairs to encourage group work and partnering in learning. Sallie mentioned the enormous goodwill and generosity of people & places volunteers to me before we started – and it is true! I was overwhelmed with another wonderful donation recently from a former volunteer to augment the funds for the primary school improvements – thank you all.

We are also working on new assignments in Nawalparasi and Bardia districts to widen the scope of volunteering opportunities in rural Nepal. It takes time to get the outline right and ensure expectations are tallied with realistic and achievable outputs. So, I am afraid it is a case of “watch this space” but shortly there will be drafts for Sallie and Kate’s thorough vetting.

Marcus Cotton

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