The Partners Nepal Supports the School

The Partners Nepal supports Shree Balkanya Adharbhut School in the remote Hoyengla village of Silichung Rural Municipality – 1 of Sankhuwasabha District. Ang Rita Sherpa, chairman of TPN, and Bheem Raj Rai, Secretary of TPN, made a short visit to Hoyengla village to make direct observations and meet the local school representatives & government authorities to discuss the school rebuild project. The Shree Balkanya Adharbhut School was severely damaged due to the 2015 earthquake.

Hoyengla village in Silichung Rural Municipality-1 is in the Sankhuwasba district of the Koshi zone of Provincial No -1, East of Nepal. Geographically, it is located in the mountain region of Nepal. There are approximately 67 households in “Hoyengla Village” of Silichung Rural Municipality-1. The people here are mainly the Kulung Rai community. Their primary sources are Millet, Maize, and cash crops like Cardamom. The Kulung Rai maintained a rich culture of customs, festivals, architecture, dress, and social values.

Despite rich natural and cultural resources, most of the Kulung Rai of this village are economically poor, unlike the other areas where the community could make money from agriculture and tourism. According to local people, their savings from crops last only for a maximum of 6-7 months, and they have to work for others to earn money for the remaining periods. The climate of Hoyengla Village is dominated by temperate to alpine due to its location in the high land area.

The Shree Balkanya Adharbhut School is located in “Hoyengla Village,” approximately 2 hours steep hills from the main road. This school was built in 1992 with financial support from local people and later small help from District Education Office in Khandbari. From 1992 till now, there has been no renovation or restoration of this building except for minor maintenance of the roof and walls. The original building built by local people’s contribution was never restored nor maintained since it was built in 1993 and has not been repaired since its inception, almost 28 years after it was rebuilt. The building was built with a stone wall in a mud mortar joint, and it didn’t have any prevalent features and techniques that support it to withstand against quake.

Most of the wood used has started to decay and loosen from its original state; the CGI roofing is also affected by rusting, causing water to pass through during rain. On top of that, the 2015 earthquake made it worse. As a result, with this situation in mind, the school management committee and the parents of Shree Balkanya Adharbhut School in Sisuwatar are very concerned about the school conditions and worry about their children’s safety. The people of Hoyenla village were much concerned about their children going to Shree Balkanya Adharbhut School. It was severely collapsed or damaged from the 2015 earthquake, and the roof leaked during the rainy season.