Delivering SchoolBags in Nepal

Ever striving to help more of the thousands of poor and disadvantaged children that exist worldwide, Blake are thrilled to announce that we were able to provide a further 114 children with SchoolBags in Nepal this month!

Filled with all the materials needed for them to receive a good education and, subsequently, change their lives, these SchoolBags are something which we believe could be the passport out of a life of hardship and poverty for each of these children.

This exciting new project was carried out with the continued help of our partners at School In A Bag, as well as the support of the Helambu Education and Livelihood Partnership (HELP), which was invaluable in delivering each bag to its intended recipient.

Getting the SchoolBags to the Shree Ganesh School

The Shree Ganesh Basic School which we chose to donate to is located in the Paanch Pokhari village, within the Helambu region of Nepal. We worked closely with Jimmy Lama, Executive Director of HELP, to organise the packing and distribution of these bags.

No mean feat, the completion of this project wasn’t without its fair share of drama! Our chosen destination is nestled in the heart of the mountain region of Nepal, and unfortunately the first attempt at delivering the SchoolBags ended in disaster – the van was loaded and everything ready to go, and the team left at 5am to begin the long drive to the village of Paanch Pokhari, only to encounter a huge landslide which completely blocked their route. Despite valiantly waiting 5 hours whilst a digger set to work clearing a passage, they were eventually forced to admit defeat, turn around and make their way back…

In the following weeks, the religious Nepalese holiday of Dasain took place, further delaying all possibility of the bags reaching the children of Shree Ganesh until 7th November, when the team finally succeeded in visiting the school and handing the bags we sponsored to each child personally.

An eventful project to say the least, but with a final outcome that made all the hard work and commitment well worth it. The photographs capture the joy and excitement of the children as they receive their new learning equipment – a memory that will certainly always stay with us, and something which we hope will also change their lives forever!

Feedback from the Locals

A student at Shree Ganesh Basic School tells us about the need for the SchoolBags in his school:

“These bags are useful for our younger students and for me and my classmates too. At the lack of school bags, younger students here come to school holding their books and copies in hand, which causes difficulty for them.

“Parents do want to pay for bags if they could and some do too but it is not financially easy for all the parents due to their financial reasons. You know, each have their own problems.

“The situation here is that the parents cannot afford to provide items like bags, copies and pencils when they need them.”

Prakash Gurung, a local villager and social worker also shared his thoughts on the benefits the SchoolBags will have on the children, their education, parents and the community as a whole:

“The first thing to say is, as the children have expressed themselves, it has now ended the problem for children without bags who were otherwise forced to come to school carrying books and stationery in their hands. Now it can be ensured that the books and copies can be carried safely.

“For this matter, I would like to express my thanks to the team and the organisation involved in delivering these school bags including Jimmy Lama.

“Alongside this, we are grateful that a representative from the distribution team has explained the history behind this initiative and the importance of school bag in children’s education. I am hopeful that this has left inspiration for our children who have received the bags together with a variety of educational resources to put them to maximum use. And, I can read in the face of the children that they are extremely happy for receiving new bags and resources.”

This project has been yet another success for us here at Blake, as we continue to pursue our aim of “Giving Hope Through Education”.