“Himalayan Wild” Scent Tag – Update #2

We had really wished for our “Himalayan Wild” scent tag to reach you by the end of July. However, due to the disruptions to the global supply chain, the delivery of our order has been delayed.

Our production partner is striving for us to receive the tags by the end of August. We sincerely apologise for this delay and appreciate your patience.

We will continue to keep you updated. Should you have any queries, feel free to reach us at makelearningpossible@gmail.com.

Once again, thank you for purchasing our “Himalayan Wild” scent tag to make learning possible for Manjushree Singa Basic School in remote Nepal.

(TL;DR)

In our last email update to you, we had already shown you where Manjushree Singa Basic is located in the mountains. Hopefully that would have interested you to visit Namkheli one day!

For most of us, education is easily accessible, and we all know the importance of it. But that is not the case for children living in the remote villages in Nepal.

Back in 2011, we visited Namkheli Village to discuss with the community leaders and villagers on setting up a primary school to make learning possible for the village children there. While the community leaders were enthusiastic, the same cannot be said for most of the villagers. This is because if their older children go to school, then they will not be able to help out on the farms, do chores at home or help babysit their younger siblings. 

So when we were back in Singapore to raise funds to reconstruct a then-defunct school, Team Be Human Nepal was busy going door-to-door regularly to explain the benefits of education and the positive change it can bring about for them and their children. Their efforts finally paid off and Manjushree Singa Basic School was formed and built in 2012.

Fast forward to 2019 during a dialogue session we had with the parents, several actually shared that they wished school holidays can be shorter so that their children can attend school. This was a vastly different perspective the villagers had 8 years ago. In fact, one mother was so happy she could write her own name for the first time after her daughter taught her how to. 

And this is why we believe your support in this scent tag project will go a long way in making footprints of change for the villagers in Namkheli Village.

The Himalayan Scent Tag is made exclusively for Project Happy Feet x Make Learning Possible by Singapore’s premier artisanal perfumery Scent by SIX.

Nameste!

Project Happy Feet x Make Learning Possible

https://myshop.sg/himalayanwild

“Himalayan Wild” Scent Tag – Update #1

Thank you for purchasing our “Himalayan Wild” scent tag to make learning possible for Manjushree Singa Basic School in remote Nepal.

We are excited to share that we will start the production of the scent tags very soon! Our plan is to have your order delivered to you by end July 2022. 

We thank you for your patience and support!

(TL;DR)

While the scent tags are being made and on the way to you, we thought we’ll share interesting facts about the school you are supporting.

For a start, find out where Manjushree Singa Basic School is located. You can find it on Google Maps (link here or search “Manjushree Singa Basic School” on maps, but remember to set it as ‘Satellite’ view). Zoom in and out of the area to see how far it is from Kathmandu, where most of us land when we fly into Nepal.

Back in 2012 when we first partnered with Be Human Nepal (a Nepali NGO based in Kathmandu) to rebuild the school, we could only reach the school by foot after a 2.5 days trek into (and up) the remote mountains from the last town reachable by vehicles. With the local community pushing for development, roads were built to connect nearby towns into the remote villages. In 2018, the school is directly accessible by vehicles (On Google Maps, you will see the winding roads leading to the school).

These are tight single lane mountainous mud and gravel roads so expect (fun) bumpy ride, (exhilarating) cornering off the edge of the cliff and (surprising) road blockages due to landslides or obstructions from vehicles stuck deep in mud. This means you either wait for hours on end for the path to be cleared, or you hop off and hike up instead! Read more about the journey to Manjushree Singa Basic School.

In our next update, we will share about how the school’s development in the past 10 years. So stay tuned!

This tag is made exclusively for Project Happy Feet x Make Learning Possible by Singapore’s premier artisanal perfumery Scent by SIX. As Project Happy Feet x Make Learning Possible is 100% volunteer run with all operational costs underwritten by volunteers and sponsors, we are able to channel 100% of profits directly to support the operational needs of the school. Thank you for partnering with us in making learning possible! Please help share our story – we still need help with the sale of the scent tags. https://myshop.sg/himalayanwild

With warmest wishes,

Project Happy Feet x Make Learning Possible

Engaging Teachers of Manjushree Singa Basic School – A Reflection

The volunteers from Project Happy Feet – Make Learning Possible team visited the Manjushree Singa Basic School between 12 and 14 November 2019. One of the key objectives for the visit was to engage with the teachers of the school, to understand their current teaching methods, challenges faced, as well as to share knowledge on teaching techniques to augment learning.

Leading this charge was Deborah Chew, co-founder of Project Happy Feet (who was a former English teacher at a secondary school in Singapore). She was assisted by Michelle Tan (a Finance Manager by profession, and who also helps with financial reporting and audit for Project Happy Feet). Below is a reflection piece by the two volunteers:

On the first day, we observed two English teachers in action. During the observation, she identified that the teaching in the classroom was solely teacher-centred, where the teacher mostly got students to read from the textbook and copy what was written on the board. The students (in Class 5) could easily repeat what the teacher said or read out, but had trouble understanding questions they had never heard of, or in continuing a conversation. This could be a result of the rote-learning approach that has been taken.

We identified that the teacher-centred approach to teaching may be complemented with student-centred learning. This may include activities in the classroom that allow students to peer teach, share their learning, and practise what they have learnt. Further, to encourage the interest of the use of English, games could be used in classes to excite students and make them feel that learning English can be fun.

On the second day, we shared with teachers how to use teaching resources in the school’s library (these were donated previously). Whilst reviewing the resources in the library, we realised that there were numerous useful teaching aids that the teachers could use in the classroom. However, on closer consultation with the teachers, we realised that they hadn’t used the resources because they didn’t know how to. A large number of resources available in the library were for teaching of basic English (e.g. ABCs, Phonics) but lesser resources and teaching aids that could be used for teaching English at the higher levels.

To bridge this gap, we decided to focus on teaching the teachers how to use authentic materials (materials that can be accessed in the everyday) as well as to develop their own teaching materials.

We also highlighted to teachers how to scaffold learning and to vary the difficulty of activities, to cater to the different levels of learning of the students.

On the third day, we got teachers to try out at least one activity that was shared with them. This was to allow teachers to clarify any questions they may have, and to help them gain confidence in taking a student-centred approach to teaching.

The teachers and Principal were overall grateful and happy with the sharing sessions. They felt that the activities shared helped them think about other activities that they can use in the classroom to aid learning. The sessions also allowed them to ask questions, clarify their doubts and learn how to use some of the teaching resources in the school’s library.

Whilst the sessions provided the opportunity for the teachers to learn, they felt that the duration was too short and wished that they could experience more of such learning sessions.

During the sharing sessions, we also set aside time for the teachers and Principal to declutter and organise the school’s library. Getting them involved in the activity gave them a sense of ownership that made them want to ensure the library be kept organized.

We also realized that one of the reasons why the library had over time, become messy, was the lack of knowing what can be tossed out, how to categorise materials and receiving donations of items that may not be useful for the school. Further, the change in teachers over the years meant that systems used by previous teachers may either no longer be relevant or used by the preceding teachers.

To encourage further use of the English language in the school, the teachers agreed to take on the following suggested activities:

• English Board – A board would be placed in the school compound to allow students to learn a new word a day. Teachers will take on the role of introducing this new word in English, with Nepali translation. In the classroom, depending on the level, teachers can teach students to read, spell, and/or use the word. This board may also be used to introduce other new concepts for the other subjects. Over time, when students get better and more comfortable in using English, they may take over the board to introduce new words to fellow school mates.
• English Hour – We encouraged the teachers and Principal to practise speaking English to each other daily for an hour each day for a start. This will help them be more comfortable in using the language. When they become more comfortable in using the language, they may also begin speaking with students in English outside of classroom hours.
• Reading Time – Some time will be set aside on Fridays for students to read English books that have been stored in the library. To allow easy access to these books, we catalogued the books by level of difficulty, and put them into boxes. These boxes may be carried into the classroom during reading time, allowing students to take and read the books easily, and to return them at the end of the reading session.

Challenges:

• While we shared other ways of teaching in the classroom, the onus is eventually up to the teacher on how he/she plans to teach after we leave. There is little, if no incentive to encourage them to put in more time in preparing and planning for lessons, nor in creating new teaching resources and aids.
• Teachers’ schedules are extremely tight. They move from one class to another and teach across all levels (e.g. an English teacher would be teaching across all 5 levels). This makes for lesson preparation a heavy task, especially when there are no breaks between lessons for teachers to plan for their lessons
• The teachers lack exposure, training and knowledge in pedagogy, child development psychology and classroom management techniques, all of which are needed to significantly improve teaching quality. For example, the teachers we spoke with were not able to identify differing learning abilities within their classroom nor identify students that may need more help. While teacher training is provided, these mostly focus on content, rather than in pedagogy or child development psychology
• Keeping teachers. Once experienced and more confident, the school risks losing its teachers to better schools that may offer better career prospects and pay.

What we learnt

Whilst engaging with the teachers, we noticed and learnt the following key points:

• When donating teaching resources and aids, a session should be run with the teachers to give them hands-on practice. This will allow them to know how to use the resources. The more practise time with the teachers, the better they can learn and apply.
• Before donating anything, we need to be sure to know if there is a need for it in the school. Be sure to know that the items will be used. Otherwise, we only add clutter to their space.
• We need to seek first to understand the current systems in the school before suggesting any change. This ensures that the change can be sustained and makes sense for them.
• We need to ensure sustainability in efforts. For anything that is suggested, we need to ensure that the teachers and community are able to sustain the efforts in the long run, using their own resources.
• We are responsible for not disrupting their ecosystem. This includes being responsible in disposing our waste, and providing students with activity materials that are bio-degradable (e.g. using paper material instead of plastics, latex (e.g. balloons))

We observed how one of the English teachers conducted her lesson.

Deborah and Michelle giving feedback to the teachers how what she observed in the classroom, and seeking to understand how they plan for their lessons, as well as challenges they may face.

Michelle cutting coloured paper to categorise and catalogue the story books for students to read.

Deborah working with the teachers to declutter and clean the library, tossing out old stationery and giving away resources that are not useful for the school.

Deborah working with the teachers to declutter and clean the library, tossing out old stationery and giving away resources that are not useful for the school.

Deborah teaching the teachers how to use the teaching aids and resources available in the library.

Deborah providing feedback to one of the English teachers in the classroom.

And while we were working with the English teachers, our other 8 volunteers (Terence Quek, Alynn Teo, Esther Sim, Ng Lay Peng, Laura Low, Audris Liang, Wai Teng, Lester Leong) were busy standing in for the English teachers to keep the students engaged.

Arts and Craft sessions with Alynn and Terence

Audris and Lay Peng making reading interactive!

Captivating the attention of Class 1 is very tough and Esther does it with great ease

The crowd started to grow around Laura, interested to learn as she engaged the students

Wai Teng taking to the the board to reinforce the “prepositions” that the students had learnt earlier in the day

Lay Peng using card games to spark conversations with the students in English, which is something the students are shy about

Terence getting the students excited with his read-a-book segment

Lester playing a game with the Class 5 students, while waiting for their class teacher to take over the class

Updates from Manjushree Singa Basic School Management Committee

The volunteers from Project Happy Feet Make Learning Possible team and Be Human Nepal met with Manjushree Singa Basic School Management Committee at the school on Thursday 14 November 2019. A total of 5 out of the 7 committee members attended the meeting.

The meeting revisited the Vision statement for the school established in 2017.

Using the vision statement (which was transcribed into a mind map by the Headmaster), the committee reviewed the progress made by the school since 2017 and also identified areas for improvement in the near future.

In particular, the committee noted several progress made since 2018:

A 2.3m (H) x 10m (W ) wall was put up to hold the soil up along the slope near the assembly ground.

The road linking the school to Bhandar that was dug by the local government (and was subsequently destroyed by flash floods in 2018) was restored and now small vehicles can drive up to about 500m away from the school.

A computer, projector, and printer was provided by the regional government after the school made requests. The school was also provided a modem for internet access, but the school would have to pay for internet access (1,000 NPR per month). The only issue is that there is no constant supply of electricity.

“World Class School with World Class Education”

Plants – The school will plant more bamboo plants between existing one on the school perimeter so that collectively, the bamboo trees will act as a fence at the assembly area (which is also the playground).

Radio and Telephone – The committee evaluated and deemed that there is no need for a radio or a telephone – the headmaster’s phone can be used.

Electricity – Following conversations with the local government, there could be electricity to the school within 5 months. The provision of electrical lines would be free but the school would need to pay about 300-500 NPR a month.

Discipline – The committee feels that the students are well-behaved and are better disciplined.

Technology – The headmaster suggested have an “E-library” once internet is more stable. This is to allow teachers to have access to up-to-date material instead of relying on the resources in the library.

Management – The committee would be renewed with new members by end of December 2019. The committee highlighted the issue of rostering parents coming to the school each day to monitor the progress of the school and also support the Teachers. The reason why this roster didn’t work in the past was because some of the parents live too far from the school and coming to school on a regular basis was disruptive of their own livelihood. The new committee will brainstorm how to overcome this and put in place a set of rules to facilitate this roster.

Good Teachers – The committee assessed that the Teachers at the school are performing well.

Music – Currently, every Friday, the students will be given time for music session. The committee thought it would be a good idea to look for opportunities for the students to perform, or compete in, so they showcase their talents.

Debate – Currently, students in Class 5 are given the opportunity to do a debate once every month as part of enrichment.

Sports – The school has allocated time for sports. The boys enjoy playing Football while the girls prefer to play “Tu Tu” (a local game)

Character – The committee deemed that the students are of good discipline. Currently, there are 45 students enrolled at the school. Most of the absentees come from lower grade classes, many of whom are very young, and parents sometimes keep them at home due concerns for their safety in inclement weather or because of floods.

Good English – The committee deem that the standard of English at the school is improving.

First aid – There is basic first aid available at the school.

Subject – In the past, agriculture was offered as one of two optional subjects but for reasons unspecified, it was stopped. The committee decided the subject will be reintroduced in the new school season (from April 2020), and made optional for all class levels

Plants – New plants will be planted in May. Some of these plants will also provide resource as local teaching material

Camera – The school received a digital camera as a gift.

Safe drinking water – The water from the taps at the school come from the mountains and is deemed safe for drinking. When the weather is cold, the school will provide hot water. The firewood used to boil the water is donated by a villager, who has been donating for two years.

Compound – The committee plans to make improvements to the compound. They plan to level the ground at the assembly area and build a wall along its perimeter to hold up the soil. They also plan to build a low wall along the perimeter to act as a fence. The actual building would be subject to the availability of funds from the local government. Be Human Nepal will also assess how it can support with funding.

Reflection

The school management committee was satisfied with the progress made at the school and is grateful to the many organisations, donors, supporters and friends for their support.

Manjushree Singa Basic School Committee met to discuss on school’s progress

The school committee met on Saturday, 24 November 2018. A total of 13 representatives showed up, including Dawa, the Leader of the committee, 4 Teachers, and Furba Sherpa from Be Human Nepal. Volunteers from Project Happy Feet (PHF) and Make Learning Possible (MLP) were present to facilitate and note-take.

The meeting revisited the Vision of the school that was chartered by the committee in November 2017. They then evaluated the progress made by the school in terms of achieving “World Class School” and “World Class Education”.

The following progress were noted during the meeting:

Accessibility: a road was built with financial support from the local government. The road linked the school to Bandar, which provided access for logistics and people to be transported to and from the school, linking it by road to not just Bandar, the nearest town, but also further to Kathmandu.

It was unfortunate that the monsoon flash floods destroyed some parts of the road in the middle of 2018.

Compound: the stretch of open space next to the school building which functioned as assembly area and playground was extended and leveled, providing more space for the students to run around and play ball games.

The area surrounding the school was also fenced up with barb wire to keep animals away.

The original toilet was also reconstructed as the older one was too open to the elements and the doors were falling apart.

A new gate at the end of the open stretch was also constructed so the school compound could be closed up properly.

The green house of the school saw improvements with the height of the tent raised for easier farming work to be done inside.

Equipment: More study desks and benches were added to Class 5 to accommodate the students and provide a more conducive learning environment for the older students.

Good education: The teachers received training provided by Read Nepal and First Steps Himalaya to provide them with foundation and techniques in Montessori methodology for use in the classroom.

The committee also discussed plans for 2019 and allocated roles to various members to be responsible in overseeing specific aspects of the school’s development. The future plans include:

Plants: planting more bamboos in front of the school facade. The bamboo plants serve to block strong winds that would otherwise have an impact on the school facade.

Safety: The monsoon flash floods of 2018 caused several ditches in the open stretch / playground area of the school. The committee plans to patch up the ditches which pose a safety hazard to the children.

Electricity: The committee discussed that the local government has confirmed plans to lay an electricity main line to the school area by April 2019.

Technology: Once the school has a consistent source of electricity, the committee plans to purchase a computer and a printer. These equipment will help the teachers generate worksheets and exam papers, which they are currently doing by hand and carbon copy now.

Accessibility: The committee discussed the plans of a road construction committee in the village to repair the destroyed road by end 2018. They will monitor the progress of this.

Safety: The committee plans to patch up the ditches caused by monsoon floods. They also plan to build a fence along the latch outside the school to prevent children from falling over the side.

Good education: The committee received good feedback from the teachers on the training courses they attended. The Teachers also gave positive feedback that they were able to apply what they learnt in their lessons, and observed that the students learnt better with the new techniques and classroom activities. The committee plans to send the teachers for more training – and hope to send them for both Read Nepal and Advanced Montessori courses.

Toilets: The committee plans to make further improvements to the toilet, namely to install grills to the glass panels of the windows in the toilet to prevent breakages by kids kicking balls into the windows by accident during play, and also build up the floor, and patch up the wall

Equipment: For the classroom for Class 0, as this is meant to be a nursery where children do more play than studying, the committee plans to remove the hard desks and benches, and place floor mat so that the classroom is more conducive for early childhood education.

The teachers were then asked to share their experience of the last one year. Collectively, the Teachers reported that they benefited from the training they received and that they were able to apply the new techniques and activities to make classroom learning more effective.

At the end of the meeting, everyone in the committee shared their thoughts and feelings about the school and also what they thought about this facilitated meeting. All of them felt very positive about the progress they saw in the school. They thought the kids were doing well, and saw positive impact in terms of their growth and character-building. They felt that the school is performing well. One parent commented that it is only when there is monsoon that parents may fear sending their kids to school because of safety in walking the distance on the uneven and slippery terrain.

The committee expressed gratitude to the teachers for their good work as well as sponsors and donors and volunteers from Singapore and beyond for their gifts, efforts and concern. One committee member said he was very moved by the goodwill of so many people outside the community he will continue to contribute to the school even after his child graduates because he felt that as someone from within the community, he should play a part.

Collectively, they felt the meeting was very meaningful and would like to see more of such meetings in the future to mark progress and chart the future.

Action Item: Som, one of the Teachers was assigned to discuss with the committee a list of items that the school needs (with estimated cost per item) and to seek support for sponsorship of these items through Be Human Nepal. This list would be submitted to Furba in mid December 2018.

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

…this is the awesome view we see from the school everyday!

An awesome volunteer trip in November!

And so we are back from Nepal for over a month! You would have seen many of our photos if you are following our Facebook page.

Here’s a summary of what our Project Bean Sprout 2017 team had achieved during our 7 full days in Namkheli village:

1. Conducted an informal dialogue session with the parents of the former and current students of the school and members of the wider Namkheli community to assess the impact the school which we helped built has on their children, their families and their community.  With that we facilitated a visioning activity, getting the school management committee to work together to create a vision statement for the school to chart the development over the next five years – “World-Class School” and “World-Class Education”.
2. Engaged the students to learn English in a fun an enjoyable manner – through songs, games, handicraft and active participation. The objective was to introduce different teaching methods to the teachers and to encourage the students to speak up in English – something which they are very shy about.
3. Painted wall murals covering different animals that can be found in and outside Nepal.

May thanks to our volunteer team – Terence Quek (also the co-founder of Project Happy Feet, which had been providing us support and mentorship), Alynn Teo, Esther Sim, Chung Wai Teng, Yong Wee Hong. This trip was led by Lester Leong.

To view our photos visit this Facebook link.

We are getting ready to go Nepal in November!

Project Bean Sprout 2017 volunteers – Alynn Teo, Esther Sim, Lester Leong, Terence Quek, Wai Teng Chung and Wei Hong Yong, 

Our six volunteers are counting down to our November trip to Namkheli village! Similar to our previous trips, we will be working alongside Manjushree Singa Primary school teachers to conduct engaging and interesting lessons for the 6 different classes, which includes pre-primary students.

Unfortunately, we were not able to find a doctor to help us continue our healthcare initiative started by volunteer Dr Ginny Quek. Instead, we will be embarking on a community development research programme with the intent to chart out sustainable development strategies for the school for the next 5 years. This will be driven by Terence Quek, who has been our mentor from Project Happy Feet.

Since the formation of the team, our volunteers had been training at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve in preparation of the trek into the remote mountains to reach Namkheli village. But lucky us! As we are travelling after the monsoon season, we will be able to take the bus to the furthest point, allowing us to shorten our trek from 2.5 days to just 1 day. And after each training session, we will settle down for lunch and plan out what we need to do for our education and community development programmes.

Skype call with Ang Furba Sherpa from Nepal NGO Be Human Nepal to discuss our plans. (From left: Terence Quek, Lester Leong, Sox Tok, Wei Hong, Esther Sim and Wai Teng)

Regular training at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve (From left: Lester Leong, Alynn Teo, Wai Teng, Esther Sim and Wei Hong)

 

 

Looking forward to 2017!

Merry Christmas and happy holiday to everyone, especially our friends and supporters! 

2016 had been a fairly quiet year for us as we temporarily shifted focus to help raise funds to rebuild homes damaged by the major Nepal earthquake in 2015. It was a humble effort but a massive undertaking behind the scenes by Be Human Nepal, our partner in Nepal. They had to gather the know-how and resources to bring Earthbag construction method into the remote village of Namkheli at short notice.

It was a pity that we could not arrange a suitable timeslot to make a trip up to Manjushri Singa Primary School in Namkheli this year. But for sure we will be heading up in 2017 with our volunteers to resume our education outreach with the teachers and students!

So stay tuned!!

Rebuild Namkheli – 6 houses completed

“25th April 2015 is my 2nd birthday”, said Ang Furba Sherpa, our partner from Be Human Nepal. And it is so true for many Nepalese who had experienced the devastating earthquake which tore Nepal apart exactly year ago. The homes of our students at Manjushree Singa Primary School in Namkheli village were also not spared.

On their behalf, we will like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to all our donors and supporters for making “Rebuild Namkheli” project possible. It was a humble effort but without the enormous help from everyone, we would not have been able to raise SGD27,078 to give 6 families in Namkheli Village a safe home.

Special thanks to Swee Hoon Khoo and Janice Lim of 10,000 Miles for being so forthcoming to partner us in our fundraising application with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY).

And to the big hearted (and excellent chef) Jeremy Cheok and Justin Cheong of Slake Bar & Restaurant for hosting our charity lunch and whipping up sumptuous meals for our donors.

Also a big shoutout to Alicia Wong who had stationed herself in the remote mountains of Namkheli to oversee the logistical operations and the delivery of our first of the 6 Earthbag house.

Kanchhi Sherpa, parent of Uti Sherpa

Chandra Bhadur Basnet, parent of Parbin Basnet

Chitra Bhadur Bhujel, parent of the Bhujel Family

Gelge Sherpa – Furba Sherpa

Danuru Sherpa, parent of Namdu Sherpa

Dendi Sherpa, parent of Doma Sherpa

Team Rebuild Namkheli – Alynn Teo, Esther Sim, Swee Hoon, Agnes Kok, Sox Tok, Lester Leong, Ang Furba Sherpa