FOOD KIT PROJECT UPDATES

Guest post by Ashley Matthews from Trek to Teach

​This time last year we were in the midst of rebuilding a Nepali school that had been destroyed in the 2015 earthquake. Our partnered school in Kliyu became unrecognizable, with a fallen building and large boulder rocks piled high where there used to be an outdoor play area. 

​With the generous help of MyTefl, we raised funds to finish building a multi – purpose hall used by both the local community and students alike. It’s been a blessing over the past three months to partner with the headmaster’s to use the schools as the host site for food and hygiene kit distributions for students. With understandable travel restrictions during the pandemic, certain food items have been limited for remote regions in Nepal. It’s also been difficult for our student’s families to find work which has affected their regular income during the pandemic. While we recognize that our efforts are a single, small action in the larger scope of the difficulties Nepali communities are currently facing, we hope that the meals will give families the space they need to continue focusing on maintaining their livelihood during the global pandemic. 

Our operations director, Sarala Shrestha coordinated with a vendor in Pokhara and Nayapol, near the beginning of the Poon Hill trek in order to transport food and hygiene supplies up to the mountain schools. We also hired donkeys to transport the goods to the village of Chrommong, a mere two days from Annapurna Base Camp.

So far we’ve donated kits to 181 families which includes the following:

Trek to Teach Kits
Rice- 15kg
Sugar – 1kg
Lentils – 2 kg
Potato- 2.5kg
Onion – 1kg
Salt- 1pac.of half kg
Beaten rice – 2kg
Soyabeans – 2kg
Oil-1ltr
Soap – 1pcs 
Toothbrush – 4pk
Toothpaste – 1pk

While we’ve been strategizing with the headmasters on approaches to curb the digital divide for our public school students, most of our schools have been operating on an odd / even schedule where students switch off attendance each day to have smaller focus groups. We’ve supplied school administration with jugs of hand sanitizer and face masks which have been used upon entry to the schools, along with mandatory temperature checks. With food and safety supplies now distributed amongst our highest need children, we are rolling up our sleeves to assist our public schools with keeping students engaged in their learning amidst the growing divide between private and public schools.