Darjeeling Hill Region Education

A Christmas Thank You from St. Joseph's

2012-02-09T09:07:00.000Z

A Christmas Message from St. Joseph's

2012-02-08T20:52:00.000Z

Prologue for the Christmas Thank you in the following blog

2012-02-08T20:36:00.005Z

I apologise for not sending this Thank you Christmas greeting out before today. I was in Canada for 2 months from the 1 Dec 2011 until the beginning of February. My daughter who lives in Calgary gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. The letter from Gitdubling was waiting for me when I got home.

I am truly grateful to all who have supported the Himalayan Children Education Trust since it was set up in 2007.

I shall be visiting St. Joseph's and St. Mary's again later this year.

All money raised by HCET goes in total to Teachers' wages and since 2010, books and furnishing for St. Joseph's School Library.

Sorry the scans of the posters from St. Joseph's which I tried to post was not successful. Am posting them on Facebook.

More pictures of damage caused by Earthquake in the Kalimpong Hill Region in the Village of Gitdubling

2012-01-29T01:32:00.003Z

Pictures of the damage caused by the Earthquake in Sept 2011

2012-01-29T01:22:00.003Z

Earthquake in the Kalimpong Hill region Sept. 2011

2012-01-29T01:16:00.003Z

HIMALAYAN CHILDREN EDUCATION TRUST THANK YOU

2011-12-12T20:54:00.002Z

WISHING ALL OUR BENEFACTORS
A GREAT BIG THANK YOU

AND A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND

EVERY GOOD WISH FOR 2012

2011-12-12T20:25:00.004Z

THANKING ALL THE FRIENDS OF HCET.

WITH YOUR SUPPORT MANY CHILDREN

HAVE ENJOYED BEING ABLE TO GO TO SCHOOL

THE PUPILS AND CHILDREN OF

ST. JOSEPH's GITDUBLING & ST. MARY's NOK DARA

THANK YOU VERY MUCH &

WISHING YOU A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS

& EVERY GOOD WISH FOR 2011

WISHING ALL THE FRIENDS OF HCET A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS & EVERY GOOD WISH FOR 2011

2011-12-12T20:00:00.003Z

2011-10-26T18:42:00.002+01:00

Inside and Outside Our Homes in the Kalimpong Hill Region

2011-10-21T15:27:00.001+01:00

The Joy of Sharing a Meal

2011-10-15T15:12:00.001+01:00

The above photos show hostel pupils from St. Joseph's School enjoying their meal in Gitdubling.

Salma, a friend, organised a meal to raise funds for HCET.

We got a wonderful response, with nearly 60 people sitting down together to enjoy an excellent Indian meal prepared by Salma.

Her family supported her in serving the meal and in clearing up afterwards.

Some of the guests wore saris, which added to the flavour of the evening.

We made the marvellous sum of £1625.00.

A great big THANKYOU to all who helped to make this such a successful Fund raiser.

(please see the ff. blog entry)

THANK YOU TO EVERY ONE FOR THEIR SUPPORT ON THE 7th OCT.

2011-10-15T14:56:00.007+01:00

HIMALAYAN CHILDREN EDUCATION TRUST

SC038622

Thank you very much for your support for our fund raising event on Friday 7^th October.

We made the wonderful sum of £1625.00 after deductions for expenses.

HCET supports teachers’ wages in St. Joseph’s School, Gidubling and in St. Mary’s School, Nok Dara enabling every child in this Region the opportunity to get an education. In 2010 we also gave £1050 towards buying books for a School library. Prior to the setting up of this library the adults and children of this Region did not have access to any books other than their school text books. We were asked if we could help to support this project.

If you are interested in learning more about this Region you can visit our web site at http://sites.google.com/site/hcetproject/

Thank you again for your support it is very much appreciated. Yours gratefully Pauline

A Recent update on the Political situation in the Darjeeling Hill Region

2011-07-28T10:56:00.003+01:00

Looking out at the Himalayas from the village of Kaffer

▼This report has been sent to me by a friend

After 4 yrs Gokhaland agitation in Darjeeling The Gorkha leader and the people of Darjeeling has compromise with GTA (Gorkha Territorial Administration) for the time being. Though some people are not happy with this deal as we had fought for our own land GORKHALAND but still we are under the West bengal govt.

The press release was as follows:

"Termed as a "historic deal", a tripartite pact has been signed Monday between the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) and the West Bengal and central governments, agreeing to establish an autonomous elected Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) in Darjeeling.

As per the deal, GTA will be more powerful than the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council formed during the time of Rajiv Gandhi in 1988. It will have 45 elected members to be elected within the next six months, according to online edition of The Hindu.

The agreement was signed by West Bengal Home Secretary G.D Gautama, Union Home Ministry Joint Secretary K.K.Pathak and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha General Secretary Roshan Giri at the Pintail village, about 8 km from Siliguri, the report said.

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and GJM chief Bimal Gurung and the BJP MP from Darjeeling Jaswant Singh were present at the accord-signing ceremony, among others

The Indian home minister Chidambaram was quoted as saying, both the Government of West Bengal and the Government of India will stand by you and hold your hand.

"The task before you is stupendous. There will be many hurdles, but there is no hurdle that cannot be solved through dialogue, determination and spirit of give and take."

GTA will have jurisdiction in the three sub-divisions of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong as per the deal. However, the GJM has been demanding inclusion of the Gorkha-dominated areas of the Dooars and Terai under the GTA.

Activists of the GJM and Gorkha Nari Morcha, and thousands of Nepali residents of the hills took to the stage, dancing and singing to celebrate the occasion, various Indian media reports said.

Indian experts and analysts were quoted by different media as expressing their remarks that the Darjeeling agreement would end long-standing Gorkhaland imbroglio.

Lets hope this ends all the unrest experienced in the past couple of years and provides a secure base for economic growth and peaceful co-existence.

Great News from the Head Teacher of St. Joseph's Gitdubling

2011-07-25T17:55:00.005+01:00

The present Class X pupils

Results for the 31 pupils who sat their Board Examinations in Feb./March of this year.
(see previous post): 8 students got an A grade, 11 a 1st. Division and 12 a 2nd Division.

I am not able to go in January next year to work with the Class 10 pupils to help to prepare them for their Board Examinations, due to unexpected family commitments.
I do hope to arrive there by March 2012, but it would be very much appreciated, by the school staff and by the pupils, if a volunteer could travel to Gitdubling at the beginning of next year to help the present grade 10 pupils prepare for their Board examinations.

A Day Out in Pochet

2011-06-18T17:33:00.001+01:00

St. Joseph's Class 10

2011-04-12T09:32:00.009+01:00

The girls from class 10. They are staying in a Community hall owned by the Mother Theresa Sisters, in Kalimpong, during their Board Examinations

2010 This is the first Class 10 to be completed at St. Joseph's School Gitdubling. From this stage the pupils sit their Board Examinations. These are set by an external Examination Board and the pupils travel to a Central Examination Hall to sit the Exams.

Whilst I was in Gitdubling, in Jan/ Feb of this year, I worked with the pupils who were able to attend the holiday classes, helping them to prepare for their exams. Prior to their departure for Kalimpong, where their exam centre was, there was talk that the Exams would be cancelled due to the strike action., ( see previous entry of 6/4/2011). however the strike organisers relented and allowed the pupils to travel to Kalimpong and also allowed the examinations to take place, beginning on the 23/02/2011.

Thank heavens, as the pupils were geared up to preforming , as well as they possibly could, to say "thank you" to all who had helped to educate them to this stage. Prior to 2010, many of the pupils were unable to progress past Grade 9 in 2009, Grade8 in 2008 and Grade7 in 2007, as the school was expanding its grading year by year. When they move from St. Joseph's to a School which provides education to a higher grade, than at ST. Joseph's, the parent can often not afford to pay the school and hostel fees, which are necessary as the pupils would have too far to travel to commute daily. Leaving school at 15/16 yrs of age, often led to unplanned pregnancies and young marriages. Also unemployment is rife in the Hill Region and the family plots of land small and unable to sustain extra mouths to feed.

Expanding the School to accommodate pupils to Grade 10 has involved a lot of extra expense: the building of a new primary section. the employment of suitably qualified teachers and all the equipment and materials necessary to qualify as a School registered to educate pupils to Grade 10

This year , hopefully all the pupils from last year's Class 10 ,will progress to Classes 11 and 12 in other schools. Many of the pupils are being sponsored. There was only 23 pupils in Class 10 in 2010, there are many more this year.

HCET is now supporting 5 teachers in the Infant Department of St. Joseph's as well as the 7 teachers of St. Mary's Tribal School, Nok Dara.

We also gave £1050 towards purchasing books for a library in 2010. Prior to this the teachers and pupils had no access to any books other than their school text books.

Hopefully we will continue to be able to support St. Joseph's and St. Mary's for a few more years.

I am very grateful to all those who have helped in so many ways since HCET was set up in August 2007.

Yours Gratefully,

Pauline MacInnes

St. Mary's visits St. Joseph's Feb 2011

2011-04-09T16:27:00.005+01:00

Whilst I was in the Darjeeling/ Kalimpong Hill Region this year for 7 weeks in Jan/Feb there was a lot of political unrest , resulting in frequent prolonged Bundhas. ( see post "My Visit to Gitdubling Jan/Feb 2011")
The schools were not permitted to open on their planned date for the begining of the new school year and my visit was drawing to a close. About 7 days before I was due to leave the area, to set out for my flight home from Delhi, I fell going down a muddy slope and dislocated my left knee. This put paid to my being able to visit any more villages, as the terraine there is very rough and hilly.
Some of the pupils and 2 of their teachers from St. Mary's Tribal School walked from Nok Dara to Gitdubling, a 2.5 hour walk, to visit me and to collect letters sent by Dunbar Primary School to them.
They also wrote some letters and made a collage for Dunbar Primary.

Visiting Familes in their own Village Jan/Feb 2011

2011-04-09T16:00:00.005+01:00

My visit to Gitdubling in Jan/Feb 2011

2011-04-06T20:29:00.002+01:00

In December of 2010, I got an over whelming urge to visit our project in the Gitdubling area of the Kalimpong Hill Region. I felt that this was not really possible, as I help one of my daughters, by looking after her 2 children one day a week, to enable her to go to work. I was chatting to my youngest daughter on the phone when I mentioned my desire to go to Gitdubling. She immediately arranged baby sitting for my 2 charges and talked me into going; which wasn't hard.
I left for West Bengal early in January 2011, arriving in Gitdubling on the 12th.
During my visit I was kept busy coaching pupils from classes 8, 9 and 10 in English.
The pupils were in the school, St. Joseph's, for extra tuition during their long winter vocation. Class 10 pupils were preparing for their Board Examinations. This was the first time for a Class 10 from St. Joseph's School, to be presented for these Examinations. There was a lot of pressure on them to do well.
However all was not straight forward. There was a lot of political agitation going on in the months of Jan/ Feb 2011. The most prominent form agitation takes in this region is the calling of Bandhas ie. strikes, which must be strictly adhered to by all. Violence and retaliation are common if anyone dares to break a strike. The Gourka party who want independence for the Hill Region from West Bengal,becoming an in dependant state within India, rule the people by intimidation.
As there was no public transport permitted to run and all shops were closed, many of the pupils were unable to attend the classes as they were unable to get to the school and also were needed by their families to help forage for food in the jungle.
They eat lots of plant roots and plants to supplement their diet when necessary. The schools were not permitted to reopen until 2 weeks after their usual opening date. However the Board examinations did take place and results should be published in May.

The weather this year in This Region was much colder than any one could remember.
The people do not have adequate clothing; there is no heating of any kind and the majority of the houses do not have glass in their windows and buildings are not wind proof. They cook on wood burning stoves made from mud. The villagers are not allowed to cut down trees so have to forage for fallen wood in the jungle. I was very fortunate to have my sleeping bag with me and warm clothing, even so I was cold much of the time. Despite the inconveniences of the Bandhas and the cold, I was very happy to be there and hopefully was of some benefit to the pupils whom I tried to help in their studies.

Christmas messages from St. Joseph's, Gitdubling & St. Mary's Nok Dar the 2 School supported by the HCET

2010-11-09T12:16:00.001Z

Christmas messages from St. Joseph's, Gitdubling & St. Mary's, Nok Dara

2010-11-09T12:03:00.001Z

BAG PACKING AT MORRISONS ON 30-10-10

2010-11-09T11:47:00.006Z

Unfortunately Morrison's canceled HCET's Bag Packing on the 30-10-10 at very short notice. I did not find out about it until my return from a visit to my family in the USA on the evening of the 27-10-10.

I tried to inform as many of my possible helpers as I was able to.

If you turned up to help on the 30th, please accept my apologies and thank you very much to all those who had planned to participate in this fund raising venture.

I am really grateful to all those who help so willingly to raise funds for HCET. Pauline

A Date For Your Diary

2010-09-13T20:36:00.004+01:00

HCET has a BAG PACKING DAY at MORRISON'S Piershill on Saturday 30th October from 10.00-15.30

We had one in 2008 and raised £746.43 for Teachers' wages in St. Mary's Tribal School, Nok Dara in the Kalimpong Hill Region.

Can you spare even 1 hour to come along and help to pack customers' bags?

Any child under the age of 12 needs to have an adult to help them.

There will be some adults available to supervise.

I would be very grateful if you could come along and help, as without helpers, it will not be possible to make a success of this opportunity to raise funds for HCET

ALL MONEY RAISED BY HCET GOES IN TOTAL TO PAY TEACHERS' WAGES AND FOR OTHER EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF ST. MARY'S & ST. JOSEPH'S (Infant Department) Schools.

Please try and spare an hour or two to help ensure that all the children of Nok Dara and Gitdubling get the opportunity to go to school.

A Picture Parade of the Pupils and Teachers of St. Joseph's Gitdubling

2010-08-27T04:13:00.005+01:00

HIMALAYAN CHILDREN EDUCATION TRUST / CONTINUED

2010-08-23T03:14:00.007+01:00

In January 2009, the Trust decided to increase its fund raising to provide money for the teachers' wages in the 3 classes in the infant department of St. Joseph's School in Gitubling.

The pupils from St Mary's go to St. Joseph's School if they are able to continue in Education after Grade 4.

St. Joseph's School, has Hostel fascilities and takes in children who have no parental support and street children, it also caters for the children in and around the market village of Gitdubling

Over the past 3 years St. Joseph's has been extending its fascilities to educate pupils from grate 7 to Grade 10, at which stage the pupils can sit the State Leaving Examinations; this has entailed alot of extra expense.New class rooms have had to be built and more specialised teachers employed.

At present the school authorities are striving to raise money for a science room and a school libary. These 2 additions are essential for the school to be recognised as a Senior Secondary School by the State Government.

The inauguration of the new Primary School building for St. Joseph's, which took place during my last visit there in December 2009.

The HCET is helping to provide books for the school libary.

The people of this Region to not have any access to a libary, at present.

HIMALAYAN CHILDREN EDUCATION TRUST

2010-08-23T02:11:00.008+01:00

The Logo for the Trust was designed by Ram Krishna Shai,a resident of Kathmandu, Nepal in December. 2009

St. Mary's Tribal school was established in 1980, by the Diosese of the Darjeeling Hill Region, to provide education for the Lepcha tribal people who live in Nok Dara in the Kalimpong Hill Region. This is a very poor village with no vehicle access road and no electricity. The people of Nok Dara had asked the Diocese of Darjeeling to provide education for their children.

There are 116 pupils in the school and 7 teachers. St. Mary's provides education for it's pupils from Nursery (comrising of 3 separate stages) through to Grade 4. The teaching language is English.

There are very few teaching aids available in the schools in this region, and rote learning is still practised. However the teachers have been attending short teaching method courses over the past 3 years and their teaching practice has improved.

The children are keen to learn and attend school regulary. The teachers are also committed to their work and absenteeism is not a problem.The HCET was set up as a Scottish Registered Charity in Aug. 2007 to provide money for teachers for St. Mary's.

Life in St. Joseph's School Hostel

2010-08-21T17:40:00.004+01:00

The School Hostel caters for all the children who live too far away from Gitdubling, where St. Joseph's School is situated, to walk to school every day; it also provides a home for pupils who have no one to provide for them and street children from other areas. The children only go home during the school holidays, not at weekends.Some of the children are only 4 or 5 years old when they come to the hostel. The older children are very helpful and help to look after the younger ones.

Their accommodation is very basic and crowded. They do not have many personal belongings.

The boy's have a separate hostel for sleeping but all share the dining hall.

The cost of food has risen considerably over the past year: the food provided in the hostel is basic but sufficient usually, however at present Father Felix and Sr. Matida

are concerned that the children are not getting enough to eat to help them to grow healthily.

THE RESPONSE TO OUR FUND RAISING AUCTION WAS TREMENDOUS

2010-08-13T19:16:00.004+01:00

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO SUPPORTED OUR AUCTION ON FRIDAY 30th JULY

WE RAISED THE WONDERFUL SUM OF £1,600.

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HELPED TO ORGANISE IT

TO ALL WHO HELPED ON THE NIGHT TO MAKE IT SUCH A GREAT SUCCESS

TO ALL WHO DONATED THE ITEMS etc. FOR SALE

AND TO ALL WHO BIDDED FOR THESE ITEMS etc.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH

FUND RAISING AUCTION SALE FOR HCET

2010-07-02T21:33:00.006+01:00

We are holding a Fund Raising Auction Sale on Friday 30th July in St. John's Church Hall, Brighton Place, Porobello

Time 7.30-9.30pm

Tickets £5.00 include glass of wine, non alcoholic drinks and nibbles

A few of the items for auction:

self catering cottage in Barra for 1 week, B&B in Royal Terrace hotel in Edinburgh for 2, meal for 4, for 2 vouchers from various business, beauty products from Shapes in Portobello and many more.

Tickets available at the door, however it would be helpful if we had an idea of how many people were coming.

you can contact me by e-mail at HCETproject@hotmail.com

St Joseph's Band

2010-06-03T17:02:00.006+01:00

St Joseph's school in Gitdubling has expanded to accommodate pupils from grade 7 to Grade 10 at which stage they can sit the State Leaving Examinations. Prior to this year 2010, the pupils have had to transfer to another secondary school in either the town of Pedong or Kalimpong. Many could not continue in education after Grade 7 as they could not afford to financially.

The new primary school has been built to free up class rooms for the increasing numbers of secondary school pupils.

The New primary School was inaugurated during my visit last December It was a very happy and joyous occasion.

St Mary's Tribal School love singing

2010-06-03T15:23:00.004+01:00

The people of the Hill Region love to sing and dance. St Mary's Tribal school is in the village of Nok Dara. There is no vehicle access road to the village and no electricity.

St. Mary's School does not have access to any musical instruments, hence the children learn to sing via the sound of the human voice, making it very difficult to keep in perfect tune.

All celebrations: religious, social and educational involve much singing and dancing.The villagers also enjoy sharing food as a way of celebrating special occasions. Meat is only eaten on special occasions and is greatly prized. Main meats eaten are goat, pig, and chicken. For every day meals, no meat is eaten, it is considered a luxury.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR WONDERFUL SUPPORT

2010-05-14T08:36:00.008+01:00

On route to Nok Dara from Gitdubling 06.00 on a Monday morning in November 2009

Thank you to all who so generously supported our

MUSICA EVENING

held on Friday 23 April

to raise funds for Teachers' wages in St. Mary's Tribal School, Nok Dara and in the infant department of St. Joseph's, Gitdubling.

We raised the fantastic sum of £1000.

THANK YOU

I would be very grateful if you would now visit my last 2 entries:

13 May and 18 March

BOOKS URGENTLY REQUIRED FOR LIBARY FOR ST. JOSEPH'S SCHOOL GITDUBLING

2010-05-13T16:43:00.009+01:00

T This class was divided into 2 classes for Grade 7 in 2009. Pupils are wearing House uniform.

St. Joseph School Pupils Pupils are wearing everyday school uniform

Uniforms are very important and greatly valued in all schools in India. They are a source of pride for the children as they show that they are at school. Education is much appreciated and valued.

With reference to my blog entry of Thurs. March 18 "Urgently needed a Libary for St. Joseph's School"

What is required? MONEY to be sent to the school, so that books for a libary can be purchased in India. It is not practical and it is too expensive to send books from the UK to India, especially as the Region the School is situated in, is in the Kalimpong Hill Region and is not easily accessible.

The Director of St. Joseph's has been given an assurance that books for the libary can be purchased at a discount price.

I have many second hand books and am available to hold sales to sell these books at a very reasonable price. I would very much appreciate venues at which I could hold a book sale.

All money raised by sales organised through this appeal, will be used for books for St. Joe's libary.

Also my suggestion of individuals donating £1, see blog entry of March 18, and any other fund raising suggestions which you may have, would be very much appreciate: all money raised to go towards books for the libary.

I apologise for making this additional appeal, as many of my contacts have been so generous in supporting the HCET, since it was set up in August 2007, and which is at present an ongoing appeal.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

I am trying at present to get a charity Paypal account for my web site which is still being finalised

address of web site http://sites.google.com/site/hcetproject/

URGENTLY NEEDED A LIBRARY FOR ST. JOSEPH'S SCHOOL

2010-03-18T12:45:00.008Z

Pupils of St. Joseph's School Gitdubling

WHY DOES ST. JOSEPH'S SCHOOL URGENTLY NEED BOOKS FOR A SCHOOL LIBARY?

Over the past 3 years St. Joseph's has been expanding to provide education for the pupils from grade 7 to Grade 10. This year 2010 will be the first class of Grade 10 pupils.

On the completion of Grade 10 the pupils can sit the State leaving examinations.

Prior to this , the majority of the pupils could not continue ther education beyond Grade 7.

Many left school, got married and started having a family at 15/16 years of age.

There is very little paid employment in this Hill Region. There is very little money in this Hill Region. Most parents can not afford to send their children to continue their education in schools available in the towns in the Kalimpong Hill Region.

Because St. Joseph's is now providing education to Grade 10, it is possible for ever child who wishes to continue in education to Grade 10 to do so.

However To gain State recognition as a school providing education to Grade 10 their are certain criterior to be met; one of which is A SCHOOL LIBARY

Money is tight. Many new fully qualifed teachers have had to be employed and a new primary school constructed to accommodate the increase in pupil numbers.

Books can be purchased in India at a more reasonable cost, than trying to send books from the UK.

An idea came to me, that if everone to whom I send this, donated £1 and if they got 9 friends to donate £1 also we could very quickly provide sufficient books for a libary to be up and running fairly soon.

If you feel that you would like to join in with this fund raising venture, you can contact me via my blog or by e-mail at pauline_macinnes@hotmail.com

This is separate from Funds collected for HCET which uses all funds, collected through it, to support teachers' wages in St. Mary's Nok Dara and 6 teachers from the infant dept. of St. Joseph's School.

Newsletter-St. Joseph's School Gitdubling

2010-03-12T21:22:00.007Z

MAP OF KALIMPONG HILL REGION

2010-03-09T18:08:00.008Z

Walking in the forest in the Mungsung Valley

Walking in the Hill in around Cashyem

Kangen Junga mountain from the road to Kalimpong

MUSICAL EVENING ON 23rd APRIL

2010-03-08T18:07:00.005Z

The Ceilidh Caleerie

Our fund raising Musical Evening is on Friday 23rd of April in the Old parish Church Hall,

Bellfield Street, Portobello, Edinburgh at 7.30pm - 10.00pm. Tickets are £5.00 BYOB and a light snack is inc.

We have several entertainment items on offer, singing, playing musical instruments and monologues. The Ceilidh Caleerie have also offered to come along and play for us.

I hope you will be able to join us. Tickets are available at the door or by contacting me via my blog.

All money raised through the HCET goes to pay local teachers' wages.

Please come along and join us. If you would like to contribute to the entertainment, or a gift for the raffel or tom bola, these will be gratefully received.

HIMALAYAN CHILDREN EDUCATION TRUST

2010-01-28T15:54:00.004Z

The Himalayan Children Education Trust

Was set up in August 2007 to Support Education of the Nepali children living in the Kalimpong Hill Region of West Bengal

Initially we supported 7 teachers, for a small primary School called St. Mary's Tribal School, in a village called Nok Dara
.
We now also support 6 teachers, for St. Joseph's School in the infant Department, in the village of GitDubling

Paying teachers' wages enables all the children in this Region to receive an education.

This is a very poor region, due to the lack of roads, electricity and industry.

The terraine is mountainous and heavily forested. The forests are protected,hence the people
can not cut down the trees, to clear land for growing more crops.

There is no paid industry in this region, hence money is very scarce and paid employment
practically unavailable.

Education is neccessary, if the people of this region hope to compete for jobs in other Regions of India .

The pupils work hard and are very keen to do well in their studies. like children all over the world,
they have their own dreams for a better future.

The HCET depends on voluntary contributions, to fulfill it's remit to pay "Teachers' Wages"
All money raised through the Trust goes to pay the Teachers wages.
No money raised through the Trust is used for expenses.

I, Pauline MacInnes, visit the schools and work in them for 3months every 2 years, at my own expense.

In 2012, I am hoping to go for a year's visit. It would be really good if any retired teacher or
unemployed teacher or someone with a TEFEL qualification, could come over to West Bengal and work in the schools as a volunteer. It is very rewarding work and the schools are very appreciative of all help offered.

If you are interested in supporting the Trust or offering your services, I can be contacted by e-mail at pauline_macinnes@hotmail.com

I am available to give talks and very appreciative of ideas to raise money for the Trust.

St. Mary's Tribal School Nok Dara

2010-01-18T16:39:00.002Z

Pictures of the children taken in Nov. 2009 during my stay with them.

The photo of the children, in "fancy dress", is the cast of "Three Important Words"
The first English language playto be performed, by the pupils of St. Mary's
This play was put on for their Annual Concert in November '09
They all did very well.I was so proud of them.

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE GIVEN US THEIR SUPPORT

2010-01-18T15:04:00.007Z

I returned from spending 3 months in GitDubling and Nok Dara on the 9th Dec. 2009.

During this visit I spent most of my teaching time in St. Mary's Tribal school in Nok Dara.

Bernadette a aquaintance from Edinburgh came with me for the 3 months.

For the first part of her stay she worked in St. Stephen's School in Kaffer and then transfered to Nok Dara where we worked together in St. Mary's.

The teachers and pupils there, need alot of help. Their grasp of English is not very proficient and they feel awakard using it for conversation.

Because the Nepali people of this Hill region, use English as their Educalion medium, it is essential that English is used all the time during the school day.

I am thinking about returning to work in St. Mary's for 1 year in 2012,so will be trying to recruit teachers, on a voluntary basis, to come and help me in the school during this year.

It is very rewarding work and the area is very beautiful, board and lodgings would be free, but the Himalayan Children Education Trust, which was set up to provide teachers for this school, uses all money raised to pay the teachers wages, so volunteers would have to fund their own travel costs.

Do you know any teachers? Especially anyone due to retire in the next 2 years or maybe a young teacher who has not managed to secure a permanent position?

Could you please forward this on to anyone whom you think may be interested in volunteering to go there,now or in 2012, whilst I'm there.

Or I would be grateful if you could forward this on to any contact whom you know in the Educational setup.

I do need your help, my contacts are limited.

Pauline MacInnes

SANAN PICTURES OF DUBLING- A VERY PICTURESQUE VILLAGE

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Village of Dubling in the Kalimpong Hill Region

2010-01-16T17:35:00.004Z

Pictures of Dubling Village and School for Sanan. I enjoyed my visit to the village very much.

The people were friendly and wecoming. Hope some day you might manage to go there yourself.

St. Joseph's Hostel Children

2010-01-11T21:02:00.003Z

Many of the Children who live in St. Joseph's Hostel are street children, orphans and children from very poor families who would not otherwise get an opportunity to be educated.

After Class IV children from other villages must come to St. Joseph's if they wish to continue their education. Some of them also stay in the hostel as their home village is too far from St. Joseph's to make the journey daily on foot.

ST. MARY'S TRIBAL SCHOOL NOK DARA

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A 2 HOUR WALK TO START SCHOOL IN NOK DARA ON A MONDAY MORNING

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Bernadette came with me to India as a volunteer in 2009.

For part of her stay she worked along side me in St. Mary's Tribal School.

We stayed in Gitdubling for the weekend and then set out at 06.00 on a Monday morning for Nok Dara and returned back to Gitdubling on the Friday afternoon.

In Nok Dara we stayed in the small school hostel along with 2 local teachers and 3 pupils.

HAPPY BELATED CHRISTMAS TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS

2010-01-06T10:45:00.004Z

WISHING YOU A BELATED HAPPY CHRISTMAS & EVERY BEST WISH FOR 2010

2010-01-06T10:34:00.004Z

THANKYOU TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS

2010-01-06T10:16:00.001Z

NEW Primary Sch. & PC's at St Joseph's Sch. GitDubling partly funded by St. David's primary School Pilton Edinburgh 2009

2009-12-28T14:08:00.002Z

New primary School Building St. Joseph's GitDubling 2009

2009-12-28T13:36:00.002Z

Article from Summer'09 "The Portobello Reporter"

2009-06-13T14:38:00.007+01:00

Would you like to help to educate Nermith

2009-05-01T02:52:00.003+01:00

Nermith's photo and details in previous blog entered on March 11 2009

Nermith still needs someone to help her.

For further information you can contact me through the comment section of this blog.

Returning to the Kalimpong Hill Region 2009

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I set off for Gitdubling in September of this year. I wonder what changes I will find when I get there. Communication with contacts there has been quite problematic this year, as there has been a lot of political unrest, resulting in electricity strikes and forced all out strikes, curtailing all movement by motorised vehicles. The Darjeeling/Kalimpong Hill Region want Independence from the state of West Bengal as there is much corruption in local government in this region.
In 2008 they held their first election for a local representative to the federal government in 19 years. A member of the Gurkha party won this election to represent the people of the Darjeeling/Kalimpong Hill Region. His power to represent his people is very limited, due to the political set up in West Bengal.
The people of the hill region want to be directly under the auspices of the Federal government in Delhi. The State government of West Bengal are opposed to this; they want to retain control of the hill region.

St. Joseph's School Gitdubling
The building of a new class room to accomodate Class 1x, which was newly started at the begining of this academic year 2009, has been completed. This was done during the winter vocation; the villagers having donated many of the building materials and their labour.
Christine the volunteer who worked in St. Joseph's whilst I was there last year, had a fund raising social night at the Children and Family Centre in which she works and managed to raise funds for furniture for a new classroom, which has also been constructed. to accommodate half the pupils of Class v1 in which there were 72 pupils last year.

The Himalayan Children Education Trust,
has managed to raise sufficient funds to continue paying the wages of the 7 teachers in St. Mary's Tribal School ,Nok Dara and 6 teachers in the infant classes of St. Joisseph's, Gitdubling.

I have 3 more fun raising events before returning to the Region in September: 2 secondhand book sales and bag packing at Sainsbury's, Meadowbank in Edinburgh.

I am still trying to make contact with schools, but am not having much success . I really would appreciate help with this. I also need some one to help me with publicity and fund raising ventures.
If you think you would like to become involved, you can contact me through the comments option on this blog.

BAG PACKING SAINSBURY'S MEADOWBANK

2009-04-01T07:59:00.004+01:00

REALLY REALLY NEEDED

HELP WITH BAG PACKING AT SAINSBURY'S MEADOWBANK ON SATURDAY 30th MAY

ANY TIME BETWEEN 10.00 and 15.00 HOURS

EVEN 1 HOUR WOULD BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED

ALL HELPERS MUST BE 12 OR OVER

ALL PROCEEDS TO THE HIMALAYAN CHILDREN EDUCATION TRUST

ALL MONEY FROM TRUST GOES TO SUPPORT TEACHERS' WAGES

IN ST MARY's TRIBAL SCHOOL, NOK DARA and

ST. JOSEPH'S SCHOOL, GITDUBLING

EDUCATING NEPALI CHILDREN IN THE KALIMPONG HILL REGION OF

WEST BENGAL, INDIA

Would you like to help to educate Nermith?

2009-03-11T09:04:00.005Z

Dear Pauline
I am sending you the details of Nermith for sponsorship. Kindly go through it and let me know if you need more details.
Thanks
Father Felix

Name : Nermith Lepcha
Father's Name: Lt. Karna Lepcha
Mother's Name: Neomith Lepcha
Family Details: 9 members in the family
Number of children : Seven
Number of Brothers: Four
Number of Sisters: Three
School studying at Present:
St. Mary's School,
Nok Dara, Kalimpong
Class studying in: Class LKG
Yealy income of the family Rs. 9000 ; approx £14
Family Description
The family economic condition is very poor. They don't have any land of their own. They have no fixed income source. Howeer, recently the mother has a small job which brings in Rs.800 per month. the amount is not even sufficient for the food of the entire family. The mother alone works. She has no one to help her. All children are small and unable to work now. they need finacial support for the education of the children. Nermith is studying well at St. Mary's school. She has walk a long distance to the school. It will be a great help if she could stay along with the teachers near the school. The family will be very grateful if they get some finacial help for the childrens' education.

The father is unable to work due to ill health.

Fund Raising Beetle Drive

2009-03-11T08:56:00.005Z

The Beetle Drive on the 20th February went very well. We raised £471 and a great turn out to support us, for which I am very grateful.

SCHOOL CONTACT DESIRED

2009-02-02T10:36:00.005Z

Pictures of some of the teachers supported by : THE HIMALAYAN CHILDREN EDUCATION TRUST

To enable every child from the Hill Region, helped by the Himalayan Children Education Trust, to be able to get an education, up to the age of 12, we need to raise £3920 per annum to support 13 teachers. The teachers earn £25 per month.

Because there is very little paid work in this deprived region, the teacher is probably the only wage earner in their extended family.

Some of the children are sponsored from other sources, which enables them to pay for their education, however many of the families have very little money and are unable to pay for education for their children.

St. Joseph's, the largest of the 5 schools in this Hill Region, also takes in street, work and abandonded children from other regions in West Bengal. These children require total financial support.

I had hoped that a few of the schools in Edinburh and the Lothians would have permitted me to come and give a talk to, perhaps one class in the school, say Primary 6 or 7, and that they may

have agreed to sponsor 1 teacher for a year.

I have written to many schools and sent an information pack, however the response has been minimal. One school in Midlothian has been very supportive, for which I am very grateful.

If you visit my blog and have a contact with a school, I would very much appreciate your help in making contact with that school.

I can be contacted through my blog on the comments page.

FUND RAISING BETTLE DRIVE

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Himalayan Children Education Trust
Charity no SC 038622

Fund Raising Beetle Drive
St. John’s Church Hall Brighton Pl.
On Friday 22 Feb.
6.30pm for 7.00 pm

Refreshments included in Ticket price
Tickets…..£3.00
Family…...£7.00 - 2 adults+2 children

Donations for tom bola or raffle gratefully received
Contact Pauline through the comments post on this blog.

This could be a fun event for adults & children
Your support will be gratefully appreciated.

THANKING YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT DURING 2008

2008-12-15T22:14:00.010Z

Grade 6, St. Joseph's School Gitdubling

WISHING YOU A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND EVERY GOOD WISH FOR 2009
The staff & pupils of St. Mary’s & St. Joseph’s Schools wish to thank all those who have enabled them to receive an education during 2008 by helping to provide teachers for their schools.
I also wish to thank you all for you generous support of
The Himalayan Children Education Trust

Yours gratefully,

Pauline

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS

2008-12-15T17:24:00.010Z

St. Mary's School Nok Dara : morning assembly

Teachers from St. Mary's Sch. Nok Dara

THE HIMALAYAN CHILDREN EDUCATION TRUST,
FATHER FELIX, THE DIRECTOR AND ALL THE STAFF & PUPILS OF:
ST MARY'S NOK DARA & ST. JOSEPH'S GITDUBLING EXTEND THEIR GRATITUDE FOR YOUR SUPPORT THROUGH OUT 2008 AND WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS & EVERY GOOD WISH FOR THE NEW YEAR

I also wish to thank you and join in their wishing you a

Very Happy Christmas and Every Good Wish for2009

NEWS LETTER NO. 1

2008-11-14T21:29:00.009Z

page 2

St. Mary’s Tribal School, Nok Dara
Nok dara is a beautiful hill village approximately 2&1/2 hours walk from Gitdubling, the small market town in this area of the kalimpong Hill Region. There is no hard surfaced road into Nok Dara, so no vehicle access.
The people are very poor financially, however they practise subsistence farming and work together as a community, using the barter system to share their produce and skills.
St. Mary’s Tribal School was set up in 1990 to provide a quality education for the village children up to age 12, grade 4. The school was built and is maintained by the people of the village. However they are unable to pay the teachers’ wages, hence the reason why the HCET was set up to provide 7 teachers for the school.
Their has been 2 hopeful money making ventures set up in Nok Dara: a charity in France provided funding for the villagers to purchase animals on a free loan basis. This is working well and the animals can be walked to Gitdubling and sold at the weekly market.
A community milk collection point is also in the process of being set up , funded by a group from Luxemburg.
Father felix D’Souza, the Director of the 5 schools in this region, is very hopeful that all the schools will be financially independent by 2013 at the latest.

Picking tea leaves from the tea bushes planted by the students at Nok Dar

Pictures from Nok Dara

News Letter no.1

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page 1

HIMALAYAN CHILDREN EDUCATION TRUST

Charity No. SCO38622

St. Joseph’s School Gitdubling
Another academic year is drawing to a close for the pupils in the Darjeeling/ Kalimpong Hill Region This is their long vocation. The
winter months in the mountains are very cold, there is no heating in the schools. At home the children will be able to move around to keep warm and open fires are used for cooking; burning, fallen trees and brush wood, collected in the surrounding forests.
They have had a busy year academically and culturally.
Whilst I was with them from February - April, they had their bi-annual concert. I have a tape of this, which I would love to share with you. St Joseph’s, the Secondary School in this region, extended their facilities to accommodate their pupils to grade 8, previously the pupils had to transfer to another school in Pedong. However many of the pupils could not afford to continue in schooling. In 2009 the school will accommodate the pupils to grade 9 and by 2010 to grade 10, when they will be able to sit their State leaving examinations. This will entail a lot of extra expense for the school, but we are hopeful that sufficient money can be raised to enable this. It will be of tremendous advantage to the pupils of the 5 schools in this Hill Region.

During the Winter vocation, the local community are going to be very busy, they are building 3 extra classrooms to accommodate the new class 9 and to split up of the present classes which have over 70 pupils.
This is all being done due to the generosity of well wishers and the generosity of the parents and guardians of the pupils, who work for minimum wages and provide many of the materials needed for the building.
Father Felix, the director of the 5 schools in this Region extends a Very grateful thank you to all who have helped make this possible.
All who have contributed to the Himalayan Children Education Trust, have helped considerably by supplying teachers for the 2 schools we are helping at present St.Joseph’s, 6 teachers in the lower end of the school and St.Mary’s, 7 teachers.
Thank you very much for your continued support.
Without your help it would be very difficult for the schools to have made the progress they have, since my previous visit in “2006.

Beginning of the School day- lining up for Assembly

Copy of article in the Scotland on Sunday Spectrum Magazine

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Click on individual pages to enlarge to read text.

INFORMATION

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Teachers St. Mary's School

St. Mary's Tribal School
Nok Dara, Kalimpong
A brief History of the School
Nok Dara is situated in Kalimpong Sub-division of Darjeeling District, in the state of West Bengal. It is approximately 60 km. away from Kalimpong town. There is no road or transportation facility to Nok Dara. The inhabitants of Nok Dara are simple, poor and uneducated. They practise subsistence farming on the terraced sides of the mountains, their individual plots of land are small. They have no mechanised machinery.
There is no outside employment in the area, hence the people have very little money. They practise a barter system, using excess produce and personal labour.
St. Mary's Tribal School was started in the year 1980 to educate the Christian community and the Lepcha Tribal students of the locality. However, the school extends its services to all members of the community. The School is under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Darjeeling. The day to day administration of the School is carried out by the local Managing Committee headed by the Diocesan Representative appointed by the Bishop.
St. Mary's Tribal School educates the children from Infants to Class IV. The school aims to provide a quality primary education for the less privileged children of the locality. It strives for academic excellence; development of human skills and the formation of character of the Individual.
There are 102 pupils in St. Mary’s, 55 boys and 47 girls: 40 Hindus, 35 Buddhists and 27 Christians, and 7 members of staff.
The School always involves the guardians of the students in the educational process. Hence, regular consultation meetings are held between the School management team and the guardians.
The syllabus includes: sports, games, manual work and cultural activities, as these are considered to be inseparable parts of the pupil‘s holistic development.
The School Motto is: (To Be Sincere to God and Country).

St Joseph's Sch. Younger Classes Morning Assembly

The Himalayan Education Trust
Helps to fund Teachers Wages, so that every child can receive an education. The school we are supporting, is St. Mary’s Tribal School, in the village of Nok Dara.
This is the most isolated of the 5 schools. There is no other school within 2 & 1/2 hours walking distance of St.Mary's
Class 1's new benches and desks were funded by associates here in Edinburgh. Since my last visit at the beginning of this year we are also supporting 6 teachers in the 3 lower classes in St Joseph's School Gitdubling. They are extending their school to continue their pupils education to Class X when they can sit the State Leaving Examination Certificate.

CAN I SHARE SOME MORE PHOTOES WITH YOU?

2008-08-12T08:31:00.015+01:00

On the way to School. Saturday morning.

Play time St Mary's Tribal School Nok Dara

St. Joseph's church Gitdubling Easter 2008

Sharing lunch Bitten Rice St. Mary's Tribal Sch.

Play time at St Mary's

Class VI St. Joseph's Gitdubling 15 yr. olds

UPDATE ON FUND RAISING

2008-08-12T08:11:00.006+01:00

Baskets of Love. It is an American idea to invite those who
may wish to help those less fortunate than themselves to get the opportunity to go to school. The Children of the Kalimpong Hill region come from very poor families. There is no industry in this region, the infrastructure is very inadequate, most of the villages do not have electricity many are only accessible on foot and land is scarce as it is very mountainous and heavily forested. The forests are protected so land can not be cleared for cultivation.
The majority of the older population are illiterate. Although the people do have sufficient to eat their diet is inadequate to support a long and healthy life. The average age of the population is approx. 47.
The State government of West Bengal is not interested in the Nepali people in the Hill Region. They do not pay taxes as there is very little paid employment in the region. They practice a barter system of excess produce and individual skills.
The parents are very anxious for their children, both boys and girls to be educated. They feel that this is the way forward for them.

How Does A Love Basket Work?

1 When you receive the basket please accept the gifts in the basket (leaving the
towel and paper work in the basket)
2 The Himalayan Children Education Trust would be very grateful if you could
put a donation into the envelope provided and sign your name and write
address over the closing at the back of the envelope or send or enclose a
cheque made payable to: Himalayan Children Education Trust .
If you are a tax payer can you please fill in a tax donation form.
3 Can you now put some gifts ( home baking, home cooking, flowers, trivialities etc )
in the basket and give it to a friend?
4 I have given out 6 baskets, if each basket was given out to 6 people, it would
be wonderful.
5 Name and Add. + Phone no. + E-mail add., supplied for any one who receives a basket to
contact me if they wish to.
THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE TAKEN PART IN THE LOVE BASKET FUND
RAISING VENTURE YOURS GRATEFULLY PAULINE MACINNES

What's been happening since my return from India in April'08

2008-06-09T21:19:00.007+01:00

The front of St. Joseph's Church. This photo was taken on a Sunday morning in April'08.

St. Joseph's Church in Gitdubling in the Kalimponh Hill Region.

The land this church is built on is very close to St. Joseph's School. There are approximately 500 pupils in this school. Because of the mountainous and forested nature of the terrain in this Region, there is very limited flat ground for a play and sports area for the school.

It has been agreed that if funding can be found to help rebuild the Church further up the mountain, as much as possible of the materials of the present building and local labour would be used in the construction of the new church, the school could have the ground the present church is built on.

The plans drawn up for the new church building have been devised to include a library and hall for the school in the basement of the church. None of the schools in the Region have library facilities.

I have been busy contacting different International Charity Organisations to try and get funding for the Church Building and have contacted "Room to Read" to enquire about the possibility of getting funding for the Library ie shelving, books and training for a couple of local people to manage the library.

I have also been in touch with Mary's Meals to tell them of the needs of the children of St. Mary's Tribal School in Nox Dara with reference to the provision of a mid day meal.

The final new inititive has been to contact the VSO with the request for volunteers to be sent into the schools in this Region and the possibility of a Teacher Training program being set up.

The time flies: so much to do ---Any one out there interested in helping?

MEET ANITA AND SAMJUTA

2008-05-25T21:09:00.003+01:00

Anita is on the left of Belinda, the convent cook, & Samjuta on the right

Anita was brought to the convent when she was7 years old by her mother who was on her own, her husband having deserted her and their 2 children Anita and her older brother who was 10. Anita was a very ill child, her mother left her with the sisters in the convent in Gitdubling and asked them to keep her and attend to her whether she lived or died as she could not afford to keep her.
Anita is still with the sisters, she has severe learning difficulties but is a happy and contended little 10 year old, who loves to help in the kitchen preparing vegetables and she loves to sweep and work in the garden. The sisters are genuinely fond of Anita and look after her really well.
Sr. Matilda the superior of St. Joseph’s convent in Gitdubling takes her home to her village when she gets her 2 weeks vocation each year. Anita will be able to stay with the sisters for as long as she wants to.

Samjuta Age 11 Arrived at St. Joseph’s convent whilst I was there this year in March 2008,
Her mother is a stone breaker and is also on her own. Samjuta had been rescued from the street on 2 other occasions, but had run away from the school she had been sent to and had returned to the streets. Samjuta was being abused by men, but was being given presents which made her happy. Her mother agreed to her being taken to Gitdubling and put under the care of Father Felix at St Joseph’s school and hostel. She had been there for 4 weeks by the time I left to return home and seemed to be settling down. She has made friends with some of the other children.
,

Class VI St,. Joseph's School Gitdubling 72 pupils

2008-05-14T21:07:00.005+01:00

Dear Friends

Class VI in St. Joseph's School Gitdubling has 72 pupils. The classroom is small and the teachers are "toiling".

Some of the other classes have over 50 pupils. Can you imagine setting homework and CORRECTING it for classes of 72, 54 and 52 all on the same day?

You may have a 2 hour walk to school and a 2 hour home from school.. When you reach home you may have had to collect wood for the cooking fire, fodder for the goat and water from the village tap. Then you have to cook a meal from scratch.

Nobody has a fridge, very few have brought anything to eat at lunch time and many have had a very basic breakfast, maybe chapati bread or millet porridge.

This is a very real picture of the life of many of the teachers in the Kalimpong Hill Region.

At present a fully trained subject teacher earns £32 per month. This amount probably has to support at least 4 family members.

The teachers are hard working, conscientious and keen to educate all the pupils under their care.

Christine, a volunteer from Edinburgh, who joined me in Gitdubling during my visit there this year, is planning to organise a Race night to raise funds to fund: desks, benches, teacher's table and chair and blackboard for an additional classroom, so that class VI can be divided into 2 classes. Hopefully we will get alot of support for this fund raising venture.

Attached picture of Class VI.

WANT TO SHARE SOME MORE PHOTOS WITH YOU TAKEN IN FEB/APRIL2008

2008-04-29T16:50:00.016+01:00

Got Home from India on Sat.12th April

2008-04-19T08:40:00.008+01:00

Hi Bloggers

Home again. 2 months is definitely not long enough. Have decided that on my next trip to the Darjeeling/ Kalimpong hill region I will go without travel insurance if I can't get 3 mts minimum at an affordable cost. Have never claimed on a holiday insurance!

Lots going on in the region. The enthusiasm for the holistic development and education of the youth and general population of the villagers, especially the parents and guardians of the school children is tangable. There is a really special feeling whilst one is there. I'm so fortunate to be able to go and live with them occassionally.

I'll be posting new blogs weekly for the next wee while to let you know all about my recent visit, so please keep logging in.

Will attach a few of my recent photoes. Thanks for visiting my blog. Pauline

My 65th Birthday Celebration

2008-01-11T08:07:00.001Z

On November 24th 2007, The Big Day had arrived. My 65th Birthday fund raising Birthday party.

Until almost the last 3 days prior to the 24th I was not sure how many people were planning to come, even though I had requested replies by the 16th Nov. as I had to book and prepay the buffet meal one week prior to the party.
Lots of last minute phone calls, worry worry worry, how ever all turned out much better than I had ever dared hope for.

Over 100 friends arrived on the night, to the venue in the Queen Charlotte Halls, in Leith Edinburgh, bringing lots of gifts for the Tombola and raffle. The invitation stated "no personal gifts or cards please, but donations gratefully accepted for the tombola and raffle."

I had also been very busy prior to the 24th spreading publicity re. the The Fund raising birthday Party and asking for donations towards the tombola and raffle from all my local shops and businesses. The response had been very generous for which I am very grateful.

The Henry Hall Quartet, a jazz band gave their services free of charge. They were very good, many of my guests commented favourably on their performance, also a ceilidh band from a night class in Burghmuir secondary school, came along at the beginning of the night and with their very lively music got the dance floor filled right from the start. I was attending a learners country dance class and had met their teacher, 2 weeks prior to my party and had asked her to ask her students whether they would be willing to come and play for us on the 24th for one hour at the start of the evening, their music was also very good.

The party was a GREAT SUCCESS We made £2000 for food for the children who live in St. Joseph's Hostel in GitDubling in the Kalimpong Hill region of West Bengal. Many of these children come from very poor homes and many are street children from the towns of West Bengal.

I go back to India to work in the Kalimpong Hill Region in February, and am really looking forward to meeting all the children again and finding out the progress made since my last visit in 2006.

THE HIMALAYAN CHILDREN EDUCATION TRUST has managed to meet the educational expenses of St Mary's tribal School in Nok Dara in this region over the past 18 months. Thanks to the generosity of all those who have supported us.

I will update my blog on my return from India at the end of April. Pauline

Latest poster for display in universities and Colleges

2007-11-16T21:12:00.001Z

Teachers of St Mary's Tribal School Nok Dara

It is quieter out here. Sound proofing between class rooms is minimal.

Himalayan Children Education Trust
Charity no. SCO38622

The Himalayan Children Education Trust was set up to help to educate Nepali children who live in the Kalimpong Hill Region of West Bengal in India.
The education provided by state schools up in the Kalimpong Hill Region is very inadequate. Corruption is rife in India and there is no supervision of the services supposedly available. English is not used in State schools.

The language of the people in this Region is Nepali. There is no state examination system in India in the Nepali Language.

There are 5 schools in the GitDubling area of the Kalimpong Hill Region, set up and run by the Diocese of Darjeeling for Nepali Children. The teaching language is English.

This is a very poor region as there is minimal paid employment and the people practice subsistence farming and use a barter system, when possible. The infrastructure is practically non existent and the electricity supply non reliable.
The land is heavily forested and very hilly. Terraced farming is practiced and the only help aid available, a pair of oxen and a wooden plough which belong to the villagers.

The Himalayan Education Trust helps to fund Teachers Wages, so that every child can receive an education at least up to the age of 12, as many of the parents can not pay even a minimal fee for their children’s schooling.

The school we are supporting is called St. Mary’s Tribal School, it is in a village called Nok Dara, this is the most isolated of the schools and there is no other school within 3 hours walking distance.

What is needed?
Money for teachers wages and Volunteers to go and work in the Region.

WORK AND PLAY IN KAFER VILLAGE IN THE KALIMPONH HILL REGION

2007-11-06T23:02:00.001Z

Life in The Kalimpong Hill Region.

2007-11-06T22:23:00.001Z

A pair of oxen and the wooden plough is shared by all the people of the village.

The Kalimpong Hill region has a very underdeveloped infrastructure; it is mountainous and heavily forested.
The land has to be terraced for growing crops; this is done manually and with the help of oxen. The main crops grown are rice, potatoes, corn, dhal, maize, and several varieties of root and green vegetables. Also bananas, guavas, mangos, grapefruit and pineapple.
They also grow a few cash crops: ginger, broom, cardamom, arrowroot and tea, however tea is not grown in the region I was working in as the land is too heavily forested.
The villagers are hard working, their plot of land is often far from their homestead, water has to be carried to the fields and to the home, there are no mod cons.
Fodder has to be gathered in the forest for their animals and wood for their clay cooking ovens.
Their furniture is very basic and made in the village. They do not have chests of drawers or wardrobes or televisions. A few of the villagers have a wireless, but the reception is poor.
However they love music and have their own local musical instruments. They also love to sing. They are a very hospitable people and very generous, even though they have so little.
Education is very important to them as they realise that unless their children get an education the conditions in the villages will not improve. Their plots of land are small and it is not possible for them to acquire more land. In order for their children to gain paid employment outside of the area, they need an education. Many oif the adults are illiterate.

PUBLICITY FOR HIMALAYAN EDUCATION TRUST

2007-10-21T21:08:00.001+01:00

The pupils of St. Mary’s Tribal School taking part in their morning assembly at the start of a new school day.
There are 106 pupils in St. Mary’s, 56 boys and 50 girls.
Their grades are from Nursery to Class 4.
If they are able to continue their education after Class 4, they have to go to St. Joseph’s in GitDubling, where they will live in the hostel during term time.
The children study using English, as their own language is Nepali and there is no state examination system in India
using the Nepali language.
The Himalayan Children Education Trust was set up to help to provide teachers for the schools in this Region, so that every child would be able to receive an education, at least up to grade 4. The parents are very anxious for their children to be educated, both boys and girls; many of the parents are illiterate.
All money raised is used for the education of the children. No expenses are taken from donations or from money raised from organised fund raising events.

THE HIMALAYAN CHILDREN EDUCATION TRUST

2007-10-21T20:54:00.001+01:00

Teachers of St. Mary’s Tribal School
St. Mary’s is a small tribal school situated in the hill village of Nok Dara in the Kalimpong Hill Region of West Bengal in India.

Nok Dara is a very isolated village; there is no hard surfaced road into the village, so no vehicular access. There is also no industry in the hill villages of this Region. The people are poor financially. They practice subsistence farming and exchange excess produce for other products which they need. Saleable produce eg eggs, bananas and some vegetables will be taken to the weekly market in GitDubling, which is a two to three hour walk over very rough, hilly terrain, they carry their goods in a cloth bag strapped around their foreheads. The money paid for this produce will be used to buy items like: salt, oil for cooking, soap and cloth for making clothes.
The children also have to wear school uniforms, this is very important to them.
Nearly all children in India wear school uniforms. The parents will do without many necessities to provide a school uniform for their children.

Some of the teachers and children have to walk a long distance to school every day.
They have school on a Saturday morning as well.
When the children go home from school, they have to help with many chores eg. collecting wood for the clay stove to cook the evening meal, clean the rice, prepare the vegetable and fetch water. These are just a few of the chores they have to do every day.
They work hard and have no time for play.

THE HIMALAYAN CHILDREN EDUCATION TRUST

2007-09-21T20:10:00.001+01:00

Children from St. Mary's Tribal School Nok Dara

THE HIMALAYAN CHILDREN EDUCATION TRUST

Charity no. SCO 38622

This Charity was set up to aid the education of all children in the GitDubling Hill Region of Darjeeling, West Bengal.
The people of this mountainous region are of Nepali origin. Their language and customs are from Nepal. The people are tribal and come mainly from the Lepcha, Sherpa, Butia and Tamang casts. Their faiths: Hindu, Buddhist and Christian
The area is very poor financially as there is a very poor road structure, no industry; the land is hilly and terraced cultivation is used to plant crops. There is no mechanical machinery available to help with the cultivation; it is all done manually and with the help of oxen where possible. The people practise subsistence farming and use a barter system, exchanging excess produce within the villages.
GitDubling is the market village in this region where the people can sell any additional excess produce for cash in order to purchase items like cloth for clothing, soap, kerosene, candles etc.
Nok Dara the village in which St. Mary’s Tribal School is situated, has no road access and the people have a three hour walk over very rough, hilly terrain to reach Gitdubling.
Their cash income is minimal and they can not afford to educate their children.
The adults are mostly illiterate, but are anxious for their children, both boys and girls, to receive an education.
St. Mary’s Tribal School was opened in 1980, by the archdiocese of Darjeeling, for the purpose of educating the less privileged children of the locality.
Initially, grants from the international communities were forth coming, however for the past, about 10 years, no international funds have been paid to this area of West Bengal, and the State Government of India contributes minimal resources to the region as they only have one representative in the Parliament and the people of the region do not pay income tax as their earnings are negligible.
There are 102 pupils in St. Mary’s school and 7 teachers. There are 55 boys and 47 girls and classes are from Infants to class 4; age range 3 or 4 to about 10 or 11.
If the children are bright, Father Felix the director of the 5 schools in this region tries to get sponsors for them, so that they can continue their education in St Joseph’s School GitDubling. Living in the Hostel in GitDubling during term time.
After consultation with Fr. Felix and Bishop Steven Lepcha, while I was working in the schools in this region in 2006, for 3 months, it was decided that the best way to assist the children of Nok Dara was to try and raise funds for their teachers’ wages. By doing this it would enable every child in St. Mary’s Tribal School to be able to receive an education up to standard grade 4.
Now that I have been able, with the help of two acquaintances, to register on the Scottish Charities register, I am hoping to be able to extend my fund raising to assist the other 4 schools in this Hill region.
I return to the region next February, once again to work in the schools and to see what progress has been made. I have managed to recruit one volunteer so far to travel to GitDubling and to work in one of the schools for one month. Hopefully I shall be able to encourage many more in the future.
All donations are forwarded on to Fr. Felix, the director of the 5 schools, in their entirety. No monies donated are used for person expenses.

Holy Angels School

2007-08-11T20:39:00.001+01:00

Three of these children are now being educated in Bethany School through Sponsorship, and doing very well in their studies.

Betany School Children in school uniform

2007-08-11T20:25:00.001+01:00

Bethany School Sponsorship for Carmela Rai Uggently needed

2007-08-11T19:22:00.001+01:00

Dear All,

Carmela Rai is a girl of 14 years old. She studies in a village school in Standard 8. She comes from a very poor family. Her father is a carpenter. He is self employed, lives in an isolated small village in the Darjeeling Hill Region so does not get regular work, his maximum income is Rs 1500/-, there are Rs 86 to £1. Mrs Rai is a heart patient under long term medication. There is no free medication in India. Carmela has a brother who is also in school.

Last year due to heavy rain, their house was very badly damaged by a landslide. They have had to rebuild their house, this has cost alot of money. Her parents are finding it very difficult to educated both Carmela and her brother at present.

Sr Carmella Chamling, the head teacher of the school, whom I know personally, has begged me to ask my friends and aquaintances, if they would consider either sponsoring her individually or as a group.

Carmela's Details

Name Carmela Rai
Age 14 years
Father's name Bom Bh. Rai
Mother's name Sheila Rai
Address Mission compound, P.O. Kalimpong 734301
Dt. Darjeeling

If you are interested in sponoring Carmel can you contact me at pauline_macinnes@hotmail.com and I will give Sr. Carmella's e-mail address

Bethany School helps to educate the many street children and very poor children in their sister school called Holy Angels School. I have visited both these schools and two of my friends and I sponsor 4 children in Bethany school. I hope you will consider this as these children have no hope of improving their future prospects, of gaining paid employment, if they do not receive an education. Their is no religious discrimination, the pupils and teaching staff are Hindi, Bhuddist and Christain.

HIMALAYAN CHILDREN EDUCATION TRUST

2007-07-05T16:08:00.001+01:00

St Joseph's Hostel children queing up for their evening meal steamed rice and curried veg.

Nearly finished Wonder if there will be any seconds?

NO doesn't look like it! Not tonight.

HIMALAYAN CHILDREN EDUCATION TRUST

2007-07-05T15:55:00.001+01:00

This is a photo of the children who stay in St. Joseph's Hostel

A photo of one of the hostel buildings

Washing their plate and spoon after a meal. The older children help the younger ones.

All done! Ready for the next meal.

HIMALAYAN CHILDREN EDUCATION TRUST

2007-07-05T15:25:00.001+01:00

Dear Friends

At present I am in the process, with the help of a friend, in applying for Charity status on the register.

I have been doing quite well in my fund raising ventures and have lately embarked on holding sales of second hand books. Every time I have a sale I seem to end up with more books!

I have quite a small flat so fear, that a nightmare about books, over running the house, may soon begin to dominate my sleeping hours.

However I am very greatful to all those who buy and those who bring me more books, so keep the books coming.

At the end of November I am going to celebrate my 65th Birthday by holding a fund raising party for the Childrens' Hostel in GitDubling, as I have been told that they are having difficulty in giving the children sufficient nourisment due to shortage of funds. They have taken in more children this year who are unable to pay any money towards their keep.

This fund raising is separate from my main fund raising, which is helping to pay Teachers' wages in St Mary's School Nok Dara.

I will attach some photoes received last week from Father Felik in GitDubling of the Hostel Children.

Once again any ideas for raising money for either the main aim, teachers' wages or for the Hostel children will be greatfully received also any offers of help will be much appreciated.

Some Welcomed Publicity

2007-05-15T09:04:00.002+01:00

Can I share my two articles inserted in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Herold and Post for me, by Jane Bradley, with you.
I am really grateful to Jane for this publicity and have made a few useful contacts through it.

I'm still working hard to try and raise money for Teachers' wages in St. Mary's Tribal School, Nok Dara in the Kalimpong Hill Region and to tell people about the region and it's people, with the hope that volunteers will want to travel to this very beautiful region to work for a few weeks or a few months or even better for longer.

April 2007---- What's been happening?

2007-04-27T12:45:00.001+01:00

A School bench in St. Joseph's School, GitDubling ,

3 pupils would sit at this bench. Class rooms are small and very crowded.

Approx. 50 pupils per class, in lower classes and about 35-40 in the upper classes.

St Stephen's School, in Kafer, was opened in Nov 2004. The building was paid for, partly by volunteers from Luxemburg and from the Luxemburg Government. This is the School I taught in whilst I was in West Bengal in 2006.

St. joseph's School GitDubling. Home work time.

Dear Friends and fellow bloggers

It's April 26th 2007 . How the weeks have flown past since the begining of this year.

At the begining of March, I managed to send a cheque for £1,200 to Father Felix for teachers'
wages and for any other needs, of Saint Mary's Tribal School, Nok Dara.

Father Felix, the Director of the 5 schools in this Hill Region, e-mailed me to let me know that with this money, he had managed to pay the teachers' wages, employ two more teachers on a temporary contact, and get the village carpenters to make a few tables and benches for the pupils. I can imagin the new class room furniture was much appreciated ,as all the class rooms in all 5 of the schools in this Hill region, are very sparsly furnished.

At present, I don't have any photoes of the new furniture but will add it to this blog asp.

I am still trying to raise money, so that I can send off sufficient, to cover the teachers',of St. Mary's tribal School, wages for this present term. Any ideas or contributions will be gratefully accepted and truely appreciated by the pupils,parents and teachers of Nok Dara Village, Kalimpong Hill Region, West Bengal.

The New School Year begins in The Kalimpong Hill Region Schools

2007-02-16T21:45:00.001Z

Photo time in the village. This is Komalika. She is 7 years old.

Taken from further up the hill looking down on a typical hill village.

Taken on Easter Sunday. Time to relax.

Grandad. I spent the 4 day Easter school holiday with this family in a village called Merik.

Hello Friend Bloggers

Once again another academic year is commencing for the pupils of the schools in the Hill regions of West Bengal.
I think that perhaps many of the children will be happy, to be back at school and even back to living in the hostels again.
The winters in the Hill region are chilly and the majority of the children live in fairly flimsy accomodation, with toilet shed situated quite a distance from their house,no heating and just 1 electric light in their kitchen/eating room building, a one room building, which is also separate from their house.
The house itself usually consists of a front room into which you enter the house, this is the largest room and has 1 or 2 beds in it, which are used as seating during the day and for sleeping at least 3 or 4 members of the family at night. There are often, 1 or 2 small rooms ,curtained off from this main room, one for the parents or a very elderly member of the family, and if they have a second one, this will be kept for any visitor.
Most of the homes do not have any other furniture. Their few extra clothes are hung on the wall on nails. and they will use cardboard boxes to store their bits and pieces in.
The parents do not get holidays, as field work,transporting, on foot, any excess produce to Git Dubling the small market village,to sell it, or around the neighbouring villages to exchange it for other items required, still has to be done.
The children will be kept very busy looking after the younger siblings, collecting water, sticks for the cooking stove and fodder, from the surrounding woods, for the animals in the village.
They will be very unlikely to receive any food during the day, with the the meal of the day being prepared, when their mother comes home from where ever she has been working, during the day. Breakfast, which may have been eaten at 6am or even earlier, will have been a chipatti or any food left over from the evening meal.
The children will not have had much time for play or chatting to their friends during their holidays, especially the older ones.
Their life seems hard in comparison to many of our lives in the Western World,but I never heard them complaining.
However, you can maybe see why coming back to school after the 2 months Winter holiday, is quite an attractive alternative for some of the children.

Looking for money raising ideas !!!!!!!

2007-02-04T20:46:00.001Z

Pupils of St. Mary's Tribal School Nok Dara taken in Feb. 2006

The boys of St. Mary's Tribal School They wanted a picture of JUST the boys.

What for? Teachers,wages in St. Marys, Tribal School, Nok Dara.

Why Teachers. wages and not rather "sponsor a child in the school"?

On occasions some parents become jealous of others who have a child sponsored, if their child is not sponsored. So Fr. Felix, who is the director of the 5 schools in this area of the Kalimpong Hill Region, decided it would be better to try and raise money for teachers' wages and then if any child could not pay minimum fees, they would not be denied an education.
Hence every child in the area would be able to receive a primary
The village this school is in is a very poor area. There is no hard surfaced road to the village. The villagers have a 2 1/2 hour walk to the nearest small market town.There is no industry and the adult population is about 90% illiterate. However the parents of the children are very anxious for their children, both boys and girls, to receive an education.

Education in the Darjeeling/Kalimpong Hill Region

2007-01-11T17:11:00.001Z

The Staff of Saint Joseph's School Gitdubling along with Father Felix.

The Staff of Saint Mary's Tribal School NokDara outside St. Joseph's Convent in Gitdubling.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today January 11th January I had an E-mail from Father Felix D'Souza, the Director of the

5 schools in the GitDubling Hill Region letting me know that he had received finance to provide

a 5 day in service course for all the Teachers of:

St. Joseph's, St. Stephen's St. Mary's, St. Maurice's and St.Francis', the 5 schools in this Hill

Region. He sounded so excited about the prospect of being able to get all the teachers

together for 5 days for in service training.

In Britain we take Teacher Training for granted. In the Hill Regions of India many of the

teachers have no training prior to starting teaching in a school. They will have completed their

Education to Grade 10 and have gained a Certificate, from the Indian Examination Board.

WISHING YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS NO.2

2006-12-19T21:53:00.001Z

Christmas Wishes

From Hostel Children of St. Joseph's
Computer classes are on
a Saturday morning.

Only possible when the village has
an electricity supply.

They have many power cuts in the Hill Regions.

WISHING YOU A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS

2006-12-14T11:46:00.001Z

Hello everyone,

I am going to try and share with you, some of the greeting cards I got from the children of St Joseph's School Hostel Git Dubling.

A large brown envelop arrive yesterday morning with letters and cards made on the computer, Their Computer teacher, Mr. Suman must have very busy helping them to make the cards etc for me.

I feel so priveledged to have got to know all the children and stafff of St. Joseph's School.
My eyes were full of tears as I read their fond greetings and looked at the pictures attached to their cards. Tears of happines. I am so so lucky to have been able to work with them earlier on this year. I hope to visit them again in 2008

I am going to try to scan some of their greeting and share them with you. Hopefully I will succeed, I am not very clever on the PC yet!!!

Some Pictures taken in and around GitDubling

2006-12-02T09:17:00.001Z

Here are a few of the pictures I took whilst I was in this area in February 2006, teaching in a primary school, as a volunteer, for 3 months.

It was a wonderful experience and I plan to go back to the same region in 2008 for a further period of 3 months.

This area gets very few volunteers. If you are interested in going there, as a volunteer you can contact me via the comment section of my blog.

PORTRAIT OF A CHILD'S DAY IN GITDUBLING

2006-11-20T16:27:00.001Z

Today I am going to write about,a normal day, in the life, of any child, who lives in a school hostel in the Hill region,during term time.

The children stay in the hostel for the full term,only going home for school vocations 3x in the year. Their long holiday from school is over the winter months, from the middle of December until the first week in February.
It can be very cold up in the hill region during this period and there is no form of heating available.

The day start for the children at 6am. Some of them :Christan's,Hindus and Buddhists attend mass in the nearby church building.They do not have to attend.
The remainder of the children, will start doing their household chores eg.getting water for the kitchen,collecting firewood, tidying the dormitories and helping the younger children with their chores.
Church only lasts for about 30mins. Then these children also have to assist with chores,The cow has to be milked, eggs from the hens collected, rice or burger wheat, for the mid-day meal, sieved. No outside person is employed to carry out all these tasks, as it is essential, to the villagers way of life, that all children learn how to run a household, along with having to do outside work,eg. attending to the animals and working on their plots of land. Preparing meals is a very time consuming task. One member of each household must also give one day a week to work on the plants, which are grown to generate money for the villagers,eg.Cardamon,brush and the ginger plant. Many of these small plantations were started whilst the British were in India. The villagers from all the villages around this area have introduced other plants also. Every household receives a very small income from this work. This enables them to purchase: material,bedding,cooking oil,salt etc.

After the children have had breakfast,usually a chappati,they then have a study period for about 40mins, before washing hands and faces,cleaning their teeth and putting on school uniforms for school. Once again the older children assist the little ones.

School starts at 8.45am. They work until 12noon and then have an hour's break for lunch. Some of the older children will have been detailed to help prepare the midday meal.The person in charge of the hostel is also chief cook and bottle washer. In Saint Joseph's Hostel there were 78 children whilst I was there in Feb.-May of this year. The children and staff nearly always have wheatburger or steamed rice with a little dal for their lunch. Dal is a bit like a watery lentil soup without the vegetables. They drink water.

After lunch, at 13.00 hours they return to class and work until 15.30 hours. They then have an hour's supervised homework time, and some children,who may be having difficulty with some aspect of their work will get an extra 1/2 hour's help from one of the older children. After ,homework time ,they must hurry to complete outdoor tasks as darkness falls very suddenly, by about 18.30.

Once again some of the children will have been detailed to help prepare the evening meal. In the evening the meal is very similar to the mid day meal, with the addition of a curried or chillied portion, of which ever, vegetable is in season. Once again water is drunk.

After the evening meal, they have another hour's study time,and then prepare for bed. There is often no electricity in the later part of the evening, it's termed "power sharing", and candles and parafim are expensive so the children and many of the adults are in bed by 21.00hours at the latest.

Their life is hard and repetitive,but I never heard them complain. They make the most of any special occassions, eg festivals, of which there are quite a number, as all the villagers celebrate the various festivals of the different faiths ie:Bddhists,Hindus and Christans. They love to sing and dance.

Life in the Darjeeling/Kalimpong Hill Region

2006-10-23T20:40:00.003+01:00

A village view, the houses are spread out down the hillside.

Don't know where the smiles have gone? They don't always have serious faces.

The villagers are a tribal people,of Nepali origin from the Lepcha,Bhulia and Sherpa tribes. Their common language is Nepali,however they also converse in their individual tribal dialects. Their facial features and physical build vary ,depending on from which tribe they originate.
Their main occupation is farming,however the region is very hilly and thickly forested,and individual family plots of land are small.They practise terraced farming and some own a few animals, usually cows,goats, pigs or chickens.
A pair of oxen and a wooden plough will be shared by several neighbouring families.
The main crops grown are:rice,potatoes and a variety of green leaf vegetables.
Cash crops cultivated are:broom,ginger and excess vegetables not required for home consumption. Excess meat-mainly chicken,goat and pork is used for bartering for other commodities within the individual village communities.
Similarly with milk and eggs.
The people are hard working and the children also have to help with household tasks, like fetching water,fodder for the animals and firewood for cooking etc. before and after school. Many have a long walk to and from school each day.
Their day starts at first light,between 4.30 and 5am. Darkness fall early between 6 and 6.30pm and as there is often no electricity supply, most people retire for the night by 9pm. Life is hard for the villagers,however they love celebrating special occasions and religious festivals with song,dance and shared meals. They are a generous people and look on a visitor as a gift from God regardless of their religious belief.

Lots of Happy Faces

St. Mary's Nok Dara Tribal School

2006-10-14T06:16:00.001+01:00

The Girls of St. Mary's beside their school.

Younger children are often brought to school.

The Boys. School uniforms are very important.

The children have one uniform and wear it all week.

They attend school for 5 and 1/2 days in the week.

It's Story time in the play ground.

St Mary's School was established in 1990. Nok Dara is a remote village, in the Kalimpong Hill Region. It is reached by a foot path and the villagers have a 3 to 4 hour walk to the nearest town, Kalimpong.
There are approx. 200 families living in this village and the people belong to the Lepcha Tribe. This is a very backward village, as prior to St. Mary's School being established in 1990, there was no education available for the people. There are approx. 106 students in the school at present, ranging in age from 3 to 12. The school has 7 teachers,who work on a voluntary basis much of the time, as the villagers are poor financially and many are unable to pay even minimum fees for their children.
This is the school in the Darjeeling/ Kalimpong Hill Region which I am hoping to raise money for, to ensure that the teachers receive a salary on a regular basis.
Teachers in this area of West Bengal receive a salary of £20 per month,when possible.
If any one has any honest, money raising ideas, they will be gratefully received.

In and Around Saint Stephen's School , Loly Goon

2006-10-06T17:34:00.001+01:00

Out for a Walk

Goats are used for Milk,Cheese and Meat.

Meat is only eaten on Special Occasions.

Photo taken on the Forest path leading

down from the Village of Loly Goon

to St. Stephen's School.

Bud ah Statute situated in the Village Square in Loly Goon
Many of the Hill People are Buddhist.

Oxen used to plough the fields for planting
prior to the start of the Monsoon season.

The terrain is very hilly.

A beautiful view of Kanchenjunga, at 6am,

from the front of St Stephen's School.

A Sunday Outing in Git Dubling

2006-10-01T20:37:00.001+01:00

In the school playground playing Basket Ball

Out and About in Git Dubling

How many of us can fit in this picture?

Down by the River in Git Dubling

I spent most of my weekends whilst I was in West Bengal in Git Dubling. This being the village town of the Hill Region I was working in and the parish centre for this area.

I stayed with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny, in the Convent beside St. Joseph's School and the Hostel for the pupils of St. Joseph's school, who live too far from the school to travel there daily.

The roads in this area are very poor, the only public transport is byJeep, of which there are 2 or 3 daily travelling between Git Dubling and Kalimpong the nearest Town.

The jeeps transport passengers,produce for the market in Kalimpong and animals. They also transport any excess milk, from any villager who has milk to sell, to the cooling plant in a village situated between Git Dubling and Kalimpong.

On a Sunday, after the morning sevice, I used to enjoy spending time with the residents of the hostel.

A Saturday Nature Ramble in Loly Goon

2006-09-29T21:17:00.001+01:00

Outside the Hostel

Posing for my Picture

What have I found?

The children, of one of the hostels for St. stephen's School in Loly Goon, and I decided to have an outing to a nearby forest which had been developed to attract visitors.

We set out for the forest about 10am on a Saturday morning , taking along with us, a plastic bag to collect different spieces of leaves and wild flowers in. We also had a big bottle of water, 2 apples cut up into small pieces, a few plain saltine biscuits,some raisins and 2 sweeties each, for our lunch.

We had a wonderful day out,and the children and I had learned many new words, the children English words and me the Nepali word for many of the different trees, plants and insects we had seen.

In the evening we made a collage with the leaves and flowers and Miss Susan, the teacher who ran the hostel told us the names of some of the flowers and from which tree some of the leaves had come.

St. Stephen's School Concert Loly Goon

2006-09-19T18:28:00.001+01:00

Getting ready for a Nepali Dance Routine

Infants ready to go on stage "Fruits of The Earth"

I want to share a few photos with you from St Stephen's School Concert.

St. Stephen's concert took place a few days after the one at St. Joseph's, Git Dubling.

The staging was built and erected by the parents of the pupils who live in the village, two days prior to the date of the concert, so that the children could have a full rehearsal on the day before the concert. All went well at the rehearsal.

That night, the night prior to the big day, we had a terrible storm and the stage and the tarpaulin covered in area for the visitors, was completely demolished.

The villagers turned out in mass at 5am, first light, to start building again. All was ready for the first visitors arriving at 10am. The concert did not get started until 11.30am as many of the visitors coming from further afield, had had to walk along very wet and muddy pathways.

The concert went well ,much to the relief of the staff and pupils of St. Stephen's. And the visitors all appeared to enjoy their day out.