Quality Education: Supporting the Global Goals
As we approach our trip to Nepal, we’d like to let you know about the extraordinary programmes and projects you are supporting in Nepal, in this case in support of Goal 4 of the UN Global Goals: Quality Education. Who will you be working with? Where does the money go? How exactly does your involvement change lives? In this blog we aim to answer these questions and more.
So, why this goal? Goal 4 aims to increase the number of children completing free primary and secondary education by 2030, as well as tackling literacy and numeracy, equality of access and increased teacher training. Education is key to bringing about wider social change such as improving infrastructure, eradicating poverty and creating gender equality. Sadly, there are still more than 1.1 million children in Nepal who have never attended school and many children who begin school have to drop out, meaning retention is a major challenge. Only 35% of children who begin primary school actually complete it. On top of this, countless schools were devastated by the 2015 earthquake. Education will be key to rebuilding Nepal and by taking action to support this goal you will truly have a positive impact.
If you are fundraising and supporting the Quality Education goal these are the 3 charities your funds will be split between.
Childreach Nepal
This important charity has been integral in the push for education in Nepal. Driven by the brilliant Dr. Tshering Llama- a force of nature, the team is immensely talented. Child trafficking is massively prevalent in Nepal, particularly in rural communities, with an estimated 20,000 children being trafficked out of Nepal each year. The charity has been at the forefront of this battle with their #TaughtNotTrafficked campaign. The key fight against trafficking starts at school, a quality education lowers the number of children who are vulnerable to trafficking. The sad truth is that the damage to infrastructure caused by the earthquake has doubled the number of at-risk children. The Childreach Nepal campaign to prevent trafficking at the earliest possible stage, and increase classroom retention, is incredibly powerful and we are proud to be supporting them.
Childreach Nepal was one of the first charities in Nepal to be given permission to build permanent structures post earthquake and are approaching 100 classrooms rebuilt during the most challenging of circumstances. We will be funding their sports programmes which they are rolling out across their schools in order to use sport as a means of boosting confidence, learning life skills and helping the children to further enjoy their time in school.
Additionally, they will be recruiting Nepali students to volunteer as IMS staff for the week to work on the projects with our international runners. We love this organisation!!
Global Action Nepal
A UK-based charity run by an incredibly focused man called Babu Kaji Shrestha in Nepal. When you ask anyone who the bastions of education charities in Nepal are, it is always GAN.
Working in Nepal for twenty years, they are a small organisation dedicated to implementing “education for all”. They run a range of projects such as “Sisters for Sisters” a programme which helps girls complete a full school school education by pairing younger girls with older girls, providing a network of emotional and educational support. Additionally they provide education and training to uneducated members of the community, which in turn means children have more educational support in their home lives, ensuring they are more likely to stay in school and thrive.
They will be using the funds for constructing and equipping training centres to train young graduates who want to become teachers, providing life skills for adults who have not finished school, disaster preparedness, and supporting marginalised women’s groups with income generating activities. Of all the organisations we are working with, Global Action Nepal have one of the most forward thinking and all-round considered approaches we have come across.
Cerebral Palsy Nepal
Probably our most pioneering project. Sadly there is still a huge taboo around Disability in Nepal, with many families believing they are being punished for previous sins. There is simply not nearly enough support for families of disabled children in Nepal. Cerebral Palsy Nepal run a disabled school just south of Kathmandu, it is a brilliant setup hampered by the needs of their grants to be largely results based. They are unable to build in sustainable programmes as the demands of raising funds consistently takes great resources.
They have a talented carpenter working with them, capable of making custom made wheelchairs, crutches and accessories needed for the children to live more normal lives. They will be expanding the carpentry, bringing in apprentices and increasing the manufacturing levels of these fundamental pieces of equipment. This kit can be sold to other disability charities in the country as well as to families able to afford them. Over 2–3 years this should become a profitable enterprise and we will spend time with them in October locking down the business plan. It’s a very exciting project and one we are proud to support.
Come November you will have the opportunity to work with these amazing projects on the ground.
Remember, this is your chance to actually see the impact of your marathon fundraising, it’s what makes the experience so special. So, get over to our fundraising site and set up your bespoke page. Start making history!
