Solace Projects

Kathmandu school (Alpine Valley) construction and renovation project.

Alpine Valley School is located in Chandol, Kathmandu and is established in an area of approximately 25,000 sq ft. Currently, there are 150 students ranging from lower kindergarten till Class VI. It is anticipated by next school session (2008) there will 250+ students.

Alpine Valley School was established with goal of providing quality education to the poorest and the most disadvantaged children in cooperation with Belgium based INGO – Cunina Nepal scholarship programme for poor and marginalized group. Its is our believe through quality education these children will get opportunity to enhances their capacity to compete for a better future which they might not have otherwise if they were to study in Government run school.

The following are the objectives of the Alpine Valley School:

• Provide high quality and affordable education for economically and socially disadvantaged children.
• Increase the net enrollment rate of underprivileged children and contribute to the global education for all campaign.
• Guarantee continuity of education by attempting for a zero drop out rate.
• Ensure an elite corps of students capable of competing with students from expensive private school background in the School Leaving Certificate examination.

To fulfill the above mentioned objectives Alpine Valley School were in need of significant reconstruction of school and building of new annexes as the school infrastructure were in very poor and non-existence conditions.

Following construction and up renovation were needed:

• Building of five class room
• Building one central auditorium
• Building of three proper toilet facilities
• A wall to demarcate the boundaries of the school
• Better play ground
• Painting and renovation of main building
• Others (desk, cupboard, chair, table, stationery etc)

The Solace International decided to support for the above construction and renovation, and provided the fund for it. The construction work began on early May 2007 and was completed end of July 2007.

Attached herewith please find before and after construction and renovation pictures of the school.

Nepal
Nepal’s economy and infrastructure have suffered during the last decade from fighting between a Maoist insurgency and the Royal Nepal Army. Many rural villages outside Nepal’s major cities have been caught in the crossfire. Currently, the Nepalese monarchy is weak, and all sides are entering into negotiations.

Phaplu Village School

Cost: $45,000
Number of students: 150
Completion Date: September 2005

Project Description:
In 2005, Solace began work on schools in an area crippled by the conflict.

Child waits for playmates. 2005

Solace employed local labor and also shopped locally for building materials. The walls of the six-classroom school were built from hand-hewn stones, and the windows, doors, desks, and benches are from hand-milled lumber.

Paphlu village is a three-day's walk from the nearest road.

It was chosen as the site for the Dorothy Byrne Nepal School for two primary reasons:

Youngsters watch foot traffic on narrow trail. 2005

1. The village desperately needed a community-based school that functioned outside of the Nepal public school system. Phaplu’s only public school was overcrowded (over 50 students per classroom), an hour by foot from the village, understaffed, and plagued by complaints about the quality of its teachers. The newly built school will focus on smaller class sizes (20-25 students) and will be staffed with highly educated teachers from Nepal’s capitol city, Kathmandu. The new school's location near the center of Phaplu will allow smaller children to attend and serve the needs of several surrounding villages.

Students gather for school supplies. 2005

2. Solace is inspired by the tireless leadership of Dr. Mingma Lama. Phaplu's head physician and administrator of the local hospital. He has invested family land, personal time, and oversight to improving both the education and health of Phaplu citizens. Dr. Mingma will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operation of the school. Lama’s family will monitored the construction when he is traveling. There is significant community for the school support in village.

Solace will begin construction of a second school in Nepal in early 2007.

Nate York, Dr. Lama, and Byrne Foundation representatives check on construction. 2005