Sambhav Nepal

On behalf of the Dharapani Secondary School, the community of teachers and the humble well-wishers of the Arupokhari village, Sambhav Nepal would like to express our heartfelt appreciation and gratitude towards the Australian Rotary Volunteer Team for its significant contribution to enhancing the educational infrastructure of the region through the Teacher Training Program 2011. The advanced and powerful pedagogical methods and materials that have been presented with such great generosity will invariably embellish the future of the children. We will ensure what you have professed will achieve its purpose. Arupokhari is forever indebted to your gratefulness that has had a tremendous impact in the progress of this otherwise forgotten village.

A one-week Teacher Training Program was conducted in Dharapani Secondary School of the Gorkha district Nepal from December 31, 2010 to January 7, 2011. The team of 4 trainers and 2 organizers, all of whom have extended expertise in the educational field, are members of the Rotary International Club, Australia. It was a great honor for the entire village to have celebrated the New Year's eve with the generous and selfless volunteer team. There was a turnout of more than 60 participating teachers (of 21 schools) from Arupokhari and nearby villages. Some travelled as long as 5 hours each day, to and from the training venue, which in itself is an indicator of how valued and successful the training program was.

Following are the Aussie experts who spent their precious time, far from their family and in the remote village of Nepal, professing their knowledge and experiences on teaching:





Mary Brell ( Rotary Club of Orange Daybreak ) BEd, DipEd, GradCert in Mgt, Certificate IV in Workplace Assessment, is a free lance learning and development consultant and trainer.

Denise Flockton ( President of the Rotary Club of Wagga Wagga Sunrise ) BA, DipEd, GradDipCompEd, MEd is Head Teacher of Social Sciences at Wagga Wagga High School.

Richard Jackson is the Chair of International Service at the Rotary Club of Wahroonga, District 9680. He is one of the main supporters of Sambhav Nepal's projects and also a member of the organization's team.

Dr Anne Prescott ( Rotary Club of Wahroonga ) BA, MSc, MEd, PhD, DipEd is Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Education in the Centre for Research in Learning and Change at the University of Technology Sydney.

Dr Graham Tyson ( Rotary Club of Bathurst Daybreak ) BSc(Hons) MSc, PhD, FAPS, is Associate Professor of Psychology  and Sub-Dean for Graduate Studies, Faculty of Arts, Charles Sturt University, Bathurst.

Judy Tyson BEd(Hons), Dip Ed teaches at La Salle Academy in Lithgow.


Mr. Sridhar Chettri (the Sports Department Head of St. Xavier's School - Jawalakhel, Lalitpur, Nepal), Mr. Amit Gurung (a teacher at Bhimodaya Campus - Arughat, Gorkha, Nepal) and Mr. Prakash Aryal (Ace the Himalaya staff) were the prime translators who ensured that the lessons were well heeded by the participants (teachers), and that the trainers were aware of any issues the participants might have had.

The teachers were divded into groups based on the level they taught: Primary, Secondary or High school; and on a couple of occassions by the subject matter they taught. This method proved very effective as the trainers needn't be redundant, in addition to not having any trainee get left out. All the trainees unanimously maintained that the training program was immensely helpful in their careers. The innovative and advanced techniques, using appropriate education materials, were unheard of in a village like Arupokhari. Moreover, the books, puzzles and other studying materials donated to the Dharapani Community Library by the trainers will go a long way in attaining intellectual prosperity in the village.

Welcome Ceremony






Training Session






Closing Ceremony





The program was facilitated by Ace the Himalaya which was responsible primarily for providing the camping, food and transportation services to the trainers as well as arranging translators for the event.