ROKPA Times March 2019
Our magazine, the "ROKPA Times", appears several times per year and reports in detail on current and planned ROKPA Projects in Nepal, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Our magazine, the "ROKPA Times", appears several times per year and reports in detail on current and planned ROKPA Projects in Nepal, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
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EDUCATION<br />
A kindergarten for Samagaun<br />
My name is Dawa<br />
Norbu and I come<br />
from the Nepalese<br />
mountain village<br />
Samagaun. After<br />
completing my<br />
studies in Sociology<br />
in the city, I<br />
returned to my village in order to help out<br />
the locals. The empowerment of children<br />
and women is a cause particularly dear to<br />
my heart. Today, I volunteer as a coordinator<br />
for the kindergarten project that is<br />
supported by <strong>ROKPA</strong>.<br />
My village is in desperate need of a<br />
kindergarten. People here marry at a<br />
young age and do not know about family<br />
planning. Due to this, large numbers of<br />
children are born. The parents think that<br />
more children means more working<br />
hands. But they don’t realize that more<br />
children also means having more mouths<br />
to feed. While parents work, the children<br />
are exposed to risks – such as being<br />
injured by yaks or cows or falling off<br />
ladders. Some children fall ill and suffer<br />
from pneumonia for example, because<br />
they play outside in the wind, rain and<br />
cold. There is a primary school in the<br />
area, but it only admits pupils aged 7 and<br />
above and it’s a 45-minute walk away<br />
from the village. Moreover, it’s a dangerous<br />
way to school that has unfortunately<br />
already led to the death of two children<br />
who were taken by the fast-flowing<br />
stream while they were coming back<br />
home.<br />
With the new kindergarten there will be<br />
fewer accidents, as the children will<br />
receive all-day care. The parents can<br />
concentrate on their work without having<br />
to be worried. The kindergarten is being<br />
built in the heart of the village and will<br />
offer space for 60-75 children. The small<br />
ones will be supported in their cognitive<br />
development and will be prepared for<br />
primary school.<br />
The construction of the kindergarten is<br />
challenging as we have to bear the high<br />
transportation costs and the workers are<br />
only available from May to September<br />
when it is a little warmer in the village.<br />
The construction is supervised by a<br />
Russian architect who is also a volunteer.<br />
Samagaun is prone to earthquakes.<br />
Therefore, solid materials are used in the<br />
construction of the kindergarten. Meanwhile,<br />
we have finished the foundations,<br />
the most difficult part of the construction,<br />
and the whole building should be finished<br />
by the end of <strong>2019</strong>.<br />
In Nepalese Samagaun, there are frequently accidents of unattended<br />
children because of the lack of childcare services.<br />
<strong>ROKPA</strong>s Help<br />
■ In Samagaun, Nepal, <strong>ROKPA</strong> is<br />
supporting the reconstruction of a<br />
house destroyed by the 2015<br />
earthquake, which will be used as a<br />
kindergarten. Almost 3,000 people<br />
live in the remote village that lies<br />
close to the border of the Tibetan<br />
areas of China at an altitude of over<br />
3,500 meters above sea level.<br />
Samagaun can only be reached by<br />
foot (7 days to Kathmandu) or by<br />
air. There are no roads.<br />
Photos: © Marjo Jenniskens, Dawa Norbu<br />
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