Sambhav Nepal

History
The state-run Shanker Primary School was established in 1988 AD (2045 BS) and currently enrolls about 120 students in three one-storey buildings. The students who graduate from Shanker typically join the neighboring Dharapani Secondary School, which offers classes up to the tenth grade. The political conflict of recent years and the poor socio-economic condition of the community created a severe administrative vacuum in the school management. As a result, Shanker suffers from not only degraded quality of education in comparison to other schools in the district but the physical structure of the school also stands in a very precarious state.

Location
Shanker Primary School is located in the northern part of the Gorkha district in the Balaute Pokhari village within Arupokhari VDC. You can travel there only by road. A local public bus from Kathmandu leaves everyday from morning 6.30am till 11.00am to Arughat.

Once you arrive in Arughat Bazar you travel towards west  by climbing the stairs at the top Arughat Bazar and then across the bridge and Stull khola (Stull River) you will ascend up, to reach the village, the hike takes around 2 hours to reach Shanker Primary School.

The political conflict of recent years and the poor socio-economic condition of the community created a severe administrative vacuum in the school management. As a result, Shanker suffers from not only degraded quality of education in comparison to other schools in the district but the physical structure of the school also stands in a very precarious state.

There are three buildings in the school, two of which were constructed in 2009. The third building though stands in a very dilapidated condition. The roof is prone to leakage and the stone wall is chipping off. The doors and windows have withered in time. During inclement weather, the school is forced to shut down as the building provides little shelter from wind and rain. The building appears to be in an immediate need of repair. In winter, poor insulation makes the buildings unbearably cold and uncomfortable for the students; whereas, it has become a sad reality that students tend to faint on a regular basis due to heat in summer. Most of the desks, chairs and other amenities like blackboard are worn out beyond repair, which pose a safety hazard to the students, most of whom are toddlers in this primary-level school. The village only recently started receiving electricity but due to limited resources, the school has been unable to reap the benefits of this -- what would be considered in a village -- luxury. On the same note, the school also lacks modern facilities like a computer, a photocopy machine or even a basic library.

We are grateful to Clark University's Interfaith Action group for actively engaging in raising funds for Shanker School. Through their generous support, some 50 sets of furniture (desk cum chair) will be purchased to replace the old ones.

Sambhav Nepal has overseen the supplies of free stationeries to the students of Shanker. This has been possible through the donation of generous Australian donors, who have also made considerable contribution to other schools in the region.

In 2010, a group of students in U.S. universities (Clark University and Westminster College) helped construct a new building by tearing down an old one. Their project, called the Energy for Education (or Gorkha2010), was sponsored by the Davis Foundation. Sambhav Nepal collaborated in this project by providing logistical support to the Gorkha2010 team. Please visit Gorkha2010 website for detailed information.

The new building in Shanker School benefits more than 120 students currently enrolled and new-comers; whereas the community library has the potential of serving hundreds, if not thousands, of students and locals from several neighboring villages. Maintenance of the library and addition of more books are an on-going task. Although at its preliminary phases of operation, the library makes Dharapani the only school with such a facility in the entire Gorkha district. We expect the project to have an immediate and long-lasting impact of increasing the student turnout and enrollment rates – better facilities mean more incentives for the students to attend school. The long-run benefits would be an improvement in the quality of life in Arupokhari as a result of higher literacy rates.

The new building is complete
Despite much obstruction caused by the monsoon, the building was successfully completed. It is only the second building to have a rugged metal roof frame in entire Arupokhari village. The strong winds in the region have on many occasions have blown the roofs of schools and houses away. The metal roof frame will definitely help withstand such inclement weather.

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Construction of the two-roomed building 2010
In June 2010, with the collaboration of the Gorkha2010 team, the oldest and weakest of Shanker's three buildings was torn down to contruct a new one. The project was a part of the Davis Foundation's Projects for Peace program

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Before Sambhav Nepal's intervention
Sambhav's contribution to Shanker before 2010 was facilitating the distribution of free stationery to the students. The school lacked the budget to maintain the physical infrastructure of the school, which was evident from the cracks on the wall, the withered doors and windows, the messy flooring and damaged furniture.