Two more Nepalese projects to round off my visit

 As I prepare to fly to India in the morning, here are quick insights into two projects that I visited today, both of which are overseen by PSD - Nepal, the CRED Partner that I am visiting.

The first project was an urban primary school where they run a school garden project. The school is in a very poor area of the city, and on very sloping land, so not easy to find flat areas. But through the project, there is now lots of greenery everywhere. This includes a veg patch (although it was  currently looking empty as they had just harvested), and trees everywhere (for fruit, shade, and culinary uses), including in pots. The crops from the garden (including maize, onions, greens, carrots) are used in the school canteen, so fork to plate type approach. The children all play a role in looking after the shrubs and trees and they also get to be involved in tending to the garden, so they are learning skills to use at home, even if just about container growing if living in slums where no land to cultivate (which is the case for most of them).

 

The second project was the Learning Centre project which provides a learning space for 20 children whose parents work as waste pickers on the rubbish dumps. I've heard about this project before and it was good to visit and see it in person, as well as meet the kids and the staff. Solita is the teacher at the centre, and she and her husband are so passionate about it all. They really care for the kids, and clearly give lots of support over and above, despite both also having full time jobs that they work before going to the centre. The centre, which is open for the children to attend from 4.30pm - 6.30pm each weekday is in two ground floor rooms of the house of Solita's parents-in-law, and all the family live above. Her husband’s parents are also involved in the programme – dad gives general oversight and community liaison, and mum does cooking so that the children have a cooked meal every day. The children range from age 3 to 16, and between them come from 10 families. As well as the time at the learning centre, the children also get their school fees paid for, new clothes for the festival season, an annual health check up (including eyes and teeth), and other bits and pieces if needed. So, it really is a holistic project that is meeting a big need for a group of very marginalised families.