We can Kathmandu this!

Over the last few days we have done a bit of exploring in Kathmandu and had our Nepal volunteering induction from VIN (Volunteer Initiative Nepal). Most importantly, we've visited 10 Nepalese schools, seen 40 lessons, and observed the teaching of over 1000 students.

 

On Thursday we took a taxi to the hills surrounding Kathmandu, to find a landscape free of mopeds, anti-pollution face masks, and the constant chaotic stream of traffic which often defies all logic with its cavalier attitude to safety. Our first stop was a Hindu temple in Gokarna, dedicated to Shiva, and perched elegantly on the curve of a meandering river. Walking past beautiful views of Kathmandu, a working monastery balanced on a hilltop, we saw prayer flags hanging from pines across the route. Through the monsoon rain we reached Bodhnath, the most important site for Tibetan Buddhists in Nepal; a hugely impressive structure with an elegant white dome, larger than life painted eyes; an unexpected serenity in a bustling part of the city.

 

On Friday and Saturday we had our introduction to Volunteering in Nepal at VIN. This included more health advice, and an introduction to the charity. We were inspired by the impact VIN is having on local communities in Nepal. The organisation focuses in on one community and provides support in four key areas: education, women’s empowerment, health, and finance. Although our aim is to support schools by giving them access to alternative teaching strategies, we are now far more aware of the importance of the other areas of development required for progress in these communities. Our Nepali lessons generated a lot of laughter and should hopefully be useful during our stay – derrai ramro chha! As always, there were plenty of discussions to be had on education and teaching and it was fantastic to be able to learn so much from Bhupi (Founder of VIN), Dinesh (a local Principal and volunteer manager at VIN), and Professor Ganga (an all round Nepalese education expert).

VIN organised a two-day school observation experience for us, which included visiting 10 different schools to learn as much as we could about Nepalese education and meet some of the teachers that will be attending our course.

 

It was both a fascinating and humbling experience to visit the Nepalese schools. Both pupils and teachers all wore the sunny Nepalese smile, and it was great to share experiences of teaching with staff at the schools. The outside differences were the ones we noticed first: balconies not corridors, teachers moving from classroom to classroom and not the pupils, two languages are used to teach depending on subject and grade, and views from the classrooms stretch across a stunning vista of paddy fields and cloud shrouded hills with a spectacular view across the city of Kathmandu. A Grade 3 English class was treated to a special guest...none other than an inquisitive local goat! She was dead set against leaving the classroom – in Nepal, even the goats want to learn!  In conversations with pupils and teachers, and through observations, we realised just how many similarities our two education systems share. Teachers want children to learn and children want to succeed. In debrief discussions, excitement is building around the impact our training could have and there is a real sense of purpose in the group; how can we use our experience to aid teachers to build learning power for such a motivated and engaging group of young people?