A Day in the Life of St.Joseph's High School (before the Earthquake of 2015)
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Temporary Classrooms from the Earthquake of 2015
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St. Joseph’s school is located 4-5 kilometers outside of the capital city of Kathmandu , on the way to Raniban, in a village called Goldhunga. Amith Singh is the founder, and his wife, Indrani Pradhan, is the principal. The area’s inhabitants are dependent on either agriculture or agricultural labors. The average annual income is low, and most families live below the poverty level. The school was established in 2000 with only 44 students . It now has approximately 482 students from preschool to 10th grade standard (SLC). Some come from single-parent homes. Most have difficult living conditions. In many cases, families consider it more worthwhile to educate their sons than their daughters. Many girls work in the fields from as young as 7 years old. St. Joseph’s reaches out to these girls in the hopes of giving them a better life, and also help put a stop to the child trafficking in Nepal. The school currently provides free school uniforms, stationery and education for 142 children (boys and girls) whose parents cannot afford even the basics of schooling for their children. The faculty of 30 members consists of 25 teachers and 5 school staff, all of whom are underpaid. Despite these huge obstacles, St. Joseph’s has been getting good results in educating the children with high grades (97.5%) or marks and have high standings in local competitions with other schools. Unfortunately, although things are improving on the education part, the condition of the school property and grounds is still below average. Originally, the children had access to only a limited selection of library books, two computers, outdated equipment in their science laboratory, and neither playground equipment nor sports equipment. Since 2011-2013 we’ve helped supply educational and Christian books, (donated from Taiwan) 8 new desktop computers with monitors, new doors for the classrooms and outside toilets, new sports equipment, clothing, a ping pong table, and book cabinets. We were also able to build a fence around the entire property. In 2014, we brought more clothing, shoes, and school items, plus sponsored the construction of playground equipment and undertook the re-plastering and repainting of the entire school. With the help of donations from concerned individuals, we were able to commission the making of new benches and tables for the students and refurbished the old desks and seats. In 2015, two massive earthquakes shook Nepal , and the aftermath resulted the need to build temporary classrooms, as well as a growing student attendance. Free monthly tuition was also raised for all children attending throughout 2015 in an effort to give the parents time and resources to rebuild their homes and lives. We help the children by giving them the opportunity to receive an education (whether secular, Hindu or Buddhist) in a secure and loving environment, where they can receive training academically with the emphasis on the Gospel in their everyday lives. Our hope is that when they graduate from school, we will have helped them get well on the road to a career, so they can provide a decent livelihood for their families and become a contributing part of their future community. Current statistics are as follows: In July 2015 there were 298 students. Now in, May 2016 there are 379 students. There are 10 temporary classrooms, plus 2 actual classrooms,-12 classrooms in total . Each classroom can hold 31 students on the average. The one that has the most students is 37 School fee affordability: 142 students cannot afford it at all. 180-200 students are able to afford it. 140 students can afford it from time to time. The School's staff’s monthly salary is about $200 USD in average. They don’t need to pay the for those who work for the school. They only need to cover food, clothing, cost for those that have children. (They normally have 2 children). For those who work at their farms, their monthly salary is about $120-150 USD. They usually have 2-3 kids. School grades arrangement: Age: 3-17 years old Kindergarten: 3-6 years old Primary School: 6-12 years old Middle School: 12-16 years old Updated: August 2019 |
聖約瑟夫學校位於Goldhunga鄉村,距離加德滿都大約4-5公里,Raniban附近。 該校的創始人爲Amith先生和他的太太,Indrani Pradhan。 Indrani Pradhan爲該校的校長。Goldhunga鄉村以農業爲主,年收入低,大部分的家庭都生活在貧窮階層。 2000年剛創校時,僅有44名學生。現在從學前到10th 級SLC*, 共有482名學生 *SLC:當地學制 有些學生來自單親家庭,生活困難。 當地是重男輕女的社會,在經濟條件不足的情況下,會選擇讓兒子而不是女兒受教育。因此許多女孩在7歲時就必須工作幫補家用。 而聖約瑟夫學校其中一個願景,就是提供那些女孩教育,讓她們不至於淪落到被人口販賣。 聖約瑟夫學校提供免費的教育及校服給予經濟上無法負擔的142幾名孩童,其中男女都有。 該學校含30名老師及25名行政人員,大部分都領著微薄的薪資。雖然面對困難,聖約瑟夫的學生在學術和當地比賽都表現優異。 雖然教育部分已獲得改善,但是大部分的設備和資源依然缺乏。 在剛創校的時候,我們僅有少量的書籍,兩架電腦,被淘汰的科學實驗器材,沒有任何的游樂園和運動設備。 在2011-2013年,我們努力的籌募,募得一些書籍、8臺筆電、爲教室和厠所安裝了門,并且增添了桌球桌、書架、并在學校周圍建起了圍籬。 2014年,我們增添了衣服、鞋子、文具、并且重新粉刷了學校。感謝多方的幫助,學生們有了相對良好的學習環境。 然而在2015年,尼泊爾發生了兩次地震,重創當地的生活。但爲了讓當地小孩能無後顧之憂的上學,一律免除學費,減少他們的家庭負擔。 我們志在提供當地所有的孩童受教育的平等機會,不管他們是什麽宗教。 我們的期許是他們能在受教育下,可以在未來有更多的選擇,擁有更美好的未來,從而回歸貢獻家庭和社區。 在2015 年7月有298 位學生,現2016 年 5月,已增加至379 位學生。爲了應付不斷增加的學童,我們增添了 10間臨時教室, 外加原有的教室2間, 一共 12間。 一間教室平均可容納31位學生, 而其中有的教室甚至容納了37位學生 學費支付狀況: 142位完全無法支付 180-200位可以支付 140位則時有時無 學校員工一個月薪水約 $200美金=6000 NT$,無須支付房租, 住在工廠, 只需支付食衣住行, 學雜費。而當地大部分農場 一個月薪水約 $100-$120 USD= 4500 NT$。 現在學校的年級制 3~17歲 幼稚園 3-6歲 國小 6-12歲 國中 12-16 (4) 10年級 |
Computers donated to children. Nepali dancing- must see!
Joy and kids pack 90 kilos of goods for children in Nepal
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