Taking technology into Nepal’s rural schools

Earlier this Spring non-executive director and dedicated Rotarian Barry Pollard travelled to Nepal as the culmination of a two year project to bring IT skills to rural schools in the world’s fourth poorest country. Here Barry describes his adventures.

‘This project was a joint venture between, Harrogate Brigantes Rotary Club, and the Rotary Club of Himalayan Gurkhas, which has a long term goal of introducing IT teaching to secondary schools in rural Nepal to help improve the prospects of village children.

‘In addition to being an incredibly worthwhile experience, the project also helped me fulfil a long-held personal ambition to undertake an overseas vocational project which would allow me to pass my skills on to others.

‘After months of planning eight of us headed out to Nepal, half the team went to Rithenpani and half to Panchamul, both incredibly remote villages which have close links with the Gurkhas.

My team headed to Panchamul a six hour bus journey plus a five hour climb into the mountains – (it was like climbing Cat Bells in the Lake District three to four times in one day!)

A warm welcome

‘The welcome we received when we got to the village made every step of that climb worthwhile – the only way to describe it is overwhelming. The entire village, including the village elders and the local band turned out to greet us.

‘We were decked with garlands, scarves and showered with flowers before seemingly every village official made their welcome speech! Although the speeches were numerous there was one overriding theme – how grateful they were for the arrival of technology.

‘The warmth from the villagers continued throughout our 11 day stay, with greetings of ‘namaste’ (welcome) ringing out wherever we went and dancing and music laid on for evening entertainment.

Introducing technology

‘The school had no electricity when we arrived and a blackboard was the main teaching aid. The introduction of solar power, along with eight netbooks, a teacher’s laptop, a digital projector, a camera, plus the all important back up batteries was a major step forward.

‘We spent 10 days training six teachers from the school to use the equipment and introduced them to the main Microsoft programmes. These teachers were incredibly receptive and keen to absorb the skills and knowledge they needed in order to pass on their new skills to other teachers and pupils.

‘We also worked with the school to agree an action plan which sets out a formal structure on how IT skills will be taught at the start of the new term this summer. The course will take three years leading to a formal qualification for successful pupils. We have also taken steps to enhance the teachers’ skills by arranging further IT training at the local university in Pokhara.

Expansion of the scheme

‘These are just the exciting first steps and reaffirmed our commitment to this project. We’re now looking to purchase textbooks to support the IT course, and we’re also aiming to expand the scheme to other schools in the area. We’re currently researching the possibility of bringing internet access to the region, which will ultimately bring another range of benefits to these remote areas.

‘We’re planning to keep in touch with both schools over the next few years and we’re really looking forward to seeing the progress made. Of course the only way to get a true understanding of how the project is working is to go back to Nepal – and that’s exactly what I’ll be doing in about six months. I simply can’t wait!’