We arrived in Pokhara at the end of November 2007, after which we immediately traveled by bus to the village of Bettyani to start a big renovation project for the Shree Surya Jyoti Primary School. The teachers, students and villagers of Bettyani are very pleased to see us back in the village amid the green hills of Nepal. It’s also really nice to meet the workers again, with whom we worked last year for the water tank project. The motivation among the workers is high, as not only do they want to be involved in renovating the local school, but it also means work for a decent salary for the next two weeks. After a brief consultation, the work team is put together consisting of five professionals and five assisting workers, and work started after a few days.
In the meantime, we ordered the all materials from the nearest store, which is half an hour by bus from the village. Everything is transported up the mountain by tractor and dumped at the edge of the unpaved road from where it had to be carried to the school, a fifteen minute walk on narrow paths through the fields. Every day a number of kind ladies from the village come to help us carry all the bags with sand and small rocks on their backs to the school. The heavy cement bags are lifted by the men. It is great to see how the villagers roll up their sleeves with great dedication and on a voluntary basis.
The work team started chipping the clay from the walls in two classrooms and the floors are also being levelled out by hand. A tough, dusty job and after a day of hard work we have blisters on our hands. After two days we can start plastering the walls. The materials are mixed on the ground in front of the school and the professionals enthusiastically throw the cement mix onto the walls and then smooth it out with a spatula. A wooden scaffolding is being built on the side of the school to plaster the high wall.
The classrooms have been emptied and all benches are outside the school. The entire school grounds were turned into a construction site for two weeks. Every few days the wages are paid to the workers outside at the school desk. We reward their hard work with a bonus in the form of an extra day’s salary, which was very well received. Sometimes signing the work order is a bit difficult, as not everyone can read and write. As a solution, they ask for an ink pad to place a print of their thumb on the work order.
After ten days of hard work it became clear that will have sufficient time to also paint the entire school. The teachers choose the color blue for the outside, the same color as the ‘sky’ above our heads, and soft yellow is chosen for the inside. The wood of the windows and doors will also be painted in blue. The paint for the walls is a powder paint that is mixed with water, after which it is spread on the walls with a brush. This must be repeated several times to get the desired opaque effect.
In Pokhara we purchase large pots of powder paint and brushes in all sizes and we take all the supplies with us on the bus. We also purchased a 300 liter plastic water tank to store the water that flows from the water pipe. We installed this water pipe during our project last year. The plastic tank is lifted on top of the bus, but not properly secured to the bus. After the bus driver brakes hard, we suddenly see our large black tank rolling off the bus through the large windshield. The villagers on the bus laughed loudly and luckily our tank wasn’t broken. The tank is lifted back onto the bus and this time properly strapped, after which we continue our journey in the bumpy bus.
Painting the school makes everyone very enthusiastic, and within a few days the school has been transformed into a beautiful blue school. On the last day of the project, the school committee organized a wonderful ceremony for the reopening of the school. The entire village comes out to attend this special occasion. We received flowers garlands around our neck and our faces are smeared with red tika powder. We make offerings to the god Shiva and reveal a cardboard plaque with the words ‘Sincere Thanks for your Great Help!’ written on it. Many speeches are given and the teacher indicates that she never dreamed that her school could become so beautiful.
Food is prepared in large cooking pots and for this occasion we purchased a goat, which is considered a special treat. All the children, teachers, work team and village people take their seats in a large circle on the playing field. The meal is eaten generously and there is enough for everyone. And when we look around at all those happy faces in the circle and the beautiful blue school in the background, our hearts grow and we hope that the children and teachers will enjoy their new school for a long time to come. Laxmi Support would like to thank all sponsors for making this project possible.