Sector

EDUCATION IN EMERGENCIES

Objectives

Overall objective: Create the conditions for the rapid resumption of school activities in Rasuwa District, Nepal, interrupted by the earthquake of April 25, 2015.

Specific objective: Restore access to education for students in the Village Development Committees (VDCs) of Yarsa and Saramthali in Rasuwa District, Nepal.

Beneficiaries

Direct beneficiaries:

• 320 students aged 6–15;
• 16 teachers and other school staff;
• Department of Education of Rasuwa;

Indirect beneficiaries:

• 160 families (approximately 800 people) whose children attend the 4 temporary schools;

The families of students and teachers will benefit indirectly from the intervention through the resumption of normal school and economic activities in the area.

Local partner

Nepalese DoE (Department of Education); NAF

Project duration

4 months (June 1–September 30, 2015)

Funding requested

€14,400

Project area

Nepal, Rasuwa District, Saramthali and Yarsa VDCs

Contact person

Margherita Romanelli, GVC Asia Desk

Contact email

margherita.romanelli@gvc-italia.org

Address

Via Dell’Osservanza 35/2, Bologna Tel. 051/585604; Fax 051 582225

Website

www.gvc-italia.org

Expected outcome

320 students aged 6–15 regain access to education in Rasuwa District.

Activities

A1 Establishment of 4 temporary schools equipped with toilets; A2 Purchase and distribution of teaching and learning materials in schools; A3 Monitoring.

 

1. Presence in the area

GVC has been active in Asia for over 20 years through international cooperation and emergency response projects.
Its extensive experience in Nepal, working alongside local NGOs and supporting international NGOs operating in the country, underpins both its commitment and its ability to respond effectively and efficiently to the severe emergency caused by the earthquake of April 25.
GVC is an NGO qualified to carry out emergency interventions as well as development activities. It has been a partner of ECHO, the EU’s emergency response agency, since 1993 and is eligible to deliver immediate emergency assistance with funding from Italian Development Cooperation, UN agencies (OCHA, UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF, etc.), local authorities (the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, the Emilia-Romagna Region, etc.), and private donors (LegaCoop, etc.). Its most significant operations in this field have addressed emergencies arising from conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine (since 1992), and Lebanon and Syria (since 2012); natural disasters in Central America and the Caribbean (Nicaragua, Cuba, Guatemala, and the earthquake in Haiti); disasters in Southeast Asia (the tsunami in Sri Lanka and Indonesia, and typhoons in Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines); and the food crisis in the Sahel (Burkina Faso since 2012). Since 2009, it has implemented 59 projects worth over €20 million.
Its main areas of intervention include the construction and rehabilitation of public buildings and infrastructure, particularly schools; the provision of temporary shelters and emergency kits; water and sanitation systems and facilities; food assistance and the restoration of economic assets; and natural disaster preparedness and risk reduction.

In Nepal, GVC supports local and international NGOs in the districts of Rasuwa and Nuwakot, among the areas most affected by the earthquake. Its most recent activities focus on:

1. Improve health conditions and educational opportunities in Kavrepalanchok District by promoting access to drinking water and supporting local schools, benefiting 1,000 families through the following components:

WATER: construction of rainwater harvesting systems for community use (schools, community buildings, and health centers); installation of new connections to the new water supply system; distribution of water treatment systems; and an awareness campaign on proper water use.
SANITATION: construction of toilets and biogas systems.
HYGIENE: an awareness campaign on good hygiene practices and distribution of improved cooking stoves.
SCHOOLS: identification of a pilot project to improve teaching; provision of new school supplies and stationery for students and teachers; and professional development courses for teachers.

2. Improve food security and food sovereignty for 2,000 families living in urban and peri-urban areas of the district by promoting traditional sustainable farming techniques through the following components:

TRAINING: training district agricultural technical office staff in sustainable agriculture and permaculture; and training beneficiaries in permaculture techniques and sustainable natural resource management.
COOPERATIVES: distribution of agricultural production kits; organization of beneficiaries into cooperatives; establishment of a nursery for species at risk of genetic drift, for use by the cooperatives and for sale; identification of a marketplace for cooperative products; and organic certification for cooperative products.
AWARENESS: campaigns for families on the appropriate and sustainable use of natural resources, and development of household vegetable gardens.

 

2. Description of the intervention, context, and main needs

The earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25, 2015, and the subsequent tremors caused over 8,000 deaths and the total or partial destruction of almost 600,000 homes. Public infrastructure also suffered extensive damage in the districts closest to the epicenter and most severely affected, including Gorkha, Sindhupalchowk, Nuwakot, and Rasuwa. Given the scale of the disaster, GVC chose to intervene in Rasuwa District, where the two organizations already have extensive working experience and knowledge of local communities.
According to the 2011 Census, Rasuwa District had a population of 43,300 spread across 1,544 km² of predominantly mountainous terrain (66%), with over 35% of the territory above 5,000 meters. People in these areas live in very small, isolated villages that are particularly difficult to access. Even before the earthquake, living conditions were modest, with a socioeconomic environment heavily dependent on low-yield subsistence farming and livestock rearing. The earthquake is estimated to have killed just under 500 people and injured over 1,000. Approximately 95% of homes were destroyed or damaged beyond repair, particularly in small mountain villages. Many remain difficult to reach by road or on foot, with journeys involving long hours of walking made dangerous by numerous landslides.
Of the district’s more than 184 public schools (primary, lower secondary, secondary, and higher secondary), 98 were destroyed or rendered unusable by the tremors. Official government figures indicate that 9,962 students across the district no longer have access to a school building, and over 350 teachers will have no safe, suitable space on May 28, 2015, the scheduled date for schools to reopen.
Following consultations with Rasuwa’s Department of Education and other stakeholders, GVC chose to intervene in two of the 18 Village Development Committees (VDCs): Yarsa and Saramthali. These two mountainous VDCs were severely affected by the earthquake and have limited road access, particularly now that the first rains are already increasing the risk of landslides. In these two VDCs, home to approximately 8,000 people, 19 public schools attended by 2,198 students were destroyed.

The following figures were provided by the Department of Education:

School name and level	VDC and WARD	Grades	Students
Bhuwanishwori PS	Saramthali – Kunatole	1–3	44
Dupcheshwori LSS	Saramthali – Patikharka	1–8	310
Gaurishankar PS	Saramthali – Mathillogaun	1–5	58
Gautambuddha SS	Saramthali – Phamchet	1–10	257
Gyanodaya PS	Saramthali – Ghichet	1–3	24
Kalikadevi PS	Saramthali – Danuswara	1–5	66
Larchyang PS	Saramthali – Larchyang	1–5	63
Namuna PS	Saramthali – Bhangyangdanda	1–3	39
Nirkubhume HSS	Saramthali – Saramthali	1-12	523
Aarukharka PS	Yarsa – Aarukharka	1–5	123
Bhumedevi PS	Yarsa – Yubra	1–5	35
Doklang PS	Yarsa – Doklang	1–3	24
Ghangmar PS	Yarsa – Ghangmar	1–5	14
Ghormu PS	Yarsa – Ghormu	1–5	85
Narayan SS	Yarsa – Langbu	1–10	277
Nawajiwan PS	Yarsa – Yarsa	1–5	98
Simbandi PS	Yarsa – Simbandi	1–5	46
Surya PS	Yarsa – Sangyul	1	30
Thangdor PS	Yarsa – Thangdor	1–5	82

Unfortunately, furniture and educational materials were also lost in the rubble of the schools. Toilets were destroyed or damaged, as were water pipes and electrical systems. Teachers and other school support staff also had to leave school facilities to deal with the destruction of their homes or the loss of loved ones.
With rapid school reconstruction impossible, both because funding must be secured and because of the difficulties the monsoon will bring in the coming months, the Government of Nepal announced that school activities would resume on May 28, 2015, in temporary educational facilities. These temporary schools will enable children not only to resume formal education but also to return to a safe, child-friendly environment where, with help from teachers and project staff, they can begin to process the traumatic event that has shattered the world they knew.
Together with the Emilia-Romagna Region, GVC is helping restart Rasuwa District’s school system by establishing 19 temporary schools, each accommodating approximately 80 students. This will provide schooling and educational services for 1,520 children and young people, primarily in Saramthali and Yarsa VDCs (Annex 1).
However, 678 students will still lack access to schooling, requiring approximately 8 schools. GVC is asking Fondazione Irma Romagnoli to help fund the establishment of 4 or more schools.
These lightweight educational structures will be assembled to protect students and teachers during aftershocks and to withstand the heavy monsoon rains expected over the next three months. They will also have toilets and handwashing facilities, as well as basic hygiene and water purification supplies—essential in a setting where these conditions are difficult to guarantee. Schools can and must be the main centers for raising awareness and ensuring these minimum standards of hygiene and safe drinking water, reducing the risk of gastrointestinal illnesses that are already widespread in the area and will become more severe during the monsoon season.

The main educational needs limiting access to schooling are therefore:

• Lack of functioning school buildings
• Lack of functioning toilets and handwashing facilities
• Lack of equipment and/or teaching materials

 

3. Objectives and outcomes

The project aims to restore access to education for at least 320 students in Rasuwa District by supporting the provision of temporary yet durable and safe structures. These will allow school activities to resume after the earthquake while an appropriate reconstruction process is put in place.

By the end of the intervention, 678 students aged 6–15 will again have access to education with guaranteed minimum hygiene standards.

 

4. Activities

 A1 Establishment of 4 temporary structures equipped with toilets and handwashing facilities.

Four temporary structures will be established, each capable of accommodating up to 80 students.
The temporary schools will follow a standard design agreed with Rasuwa District’s Department of Education, to be applied consistently across all interventions in the area. The design addresses the need for materials and assembly procedures that are socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable, taking into account the difficulty of reaching these locations. This makes it essential to use as much material as possible from the area or its surroundings. At present, a significant proportion of transportation must be carried out on foot because no roads reach the target locations. Obtaining supplies from neighboring countries is also difficult because of problems with transport and communication networks. Using familiar local techniques allows local workers to assemble the structures, fostering community involvement and ownership and helping ensure their maintenance.
The proposed materials are therefore simple but safe and durable, both in the face of further tremors and the arrival of the monsoon (June–August). With assistance from Department of Education staff and local communities, suitable flat sites will be identified, cleared of debris, leveled, and compacted. A double layer of tarpaulin will cover the ground and protect against rain. Bamboo poles will form the walls and the internal partition between the two rooms, while corrugated metal sheets will be used for doors and windows. The roof will consist of bamboo poles covered with tarpaulin. This will provide a lightweight, rain-resistant structure with sufficient flexibility to prevent damage during the ongoing aftershocks. Each structure will have at least two temporary toilets, also built with bamboo poles and tarpaulin walls and roofing. Each toilet will have an internal fiberglass base. The technical design is proposed by the Department of Education (Annex 2). Each school will also receive a small hygiene and water purification kit containing soap, water purification tablets, and lidded water storage containers.
GVC will procure materials and ensure their proper distribution to all identified construction sites.
The work will be supervised and directed by GVC and carried out by local workers through a cash-for-work approach. This will provide small but vital sources of income to community households that have lost their main livelihoods. The aim is to strengthen resilience and help reduce the risk of many families falling into severe poverty.

A2 – Purchase and distribution of teaching and learning materials in schools.

Each temporary school will receive a teaching and learning kit containing blackboards, chalk, paper, pens, coloring supplies, and notebooks. Where necessary, textbooks normally distributed to pupils at the start of the school year will also be replenished, at least in part. Since the school year in Nepal had only just begun, textbook distribution had not yet been completed. A further detailed assessment with individual schools will therefore be needed to determine which lost textbooks must be replaced.

A3 – Monitoring and support for teachers.

GVC will closely monitor all project activities, from site selection and construction methods to the use of the facilities, with particular attention to toilets and the proper maintenance of hygiene standards. Project staff will also support teachers as classes resume, paying special attention to the potentially traumatic effects of the earthquake on students, explaining these responses and identifying cases of particularly acute stress.

 

5. Financial plan

Budget items	Unit cost	Quantity	Total cost
Establishment of 3 temporary schools equipped with toilets	2,000	4	8,000
Purchase and provision of work tools and occupational safety equipment	100	4	400
Purchase and distribution of teaching and learning materials for schools and school supplies for children	500	4	2,000
Cash for work to establish temporary schools	200	4	800
Local engineer	200	4	800
GVC coordination (partial allocation)	400	4	1,600
Operating costs (offices, transportation, communications)	100	4	400
Administrative costs	100	4	400
TOTAL	3,600		14,400

2. Preconditions and mitigation measures

The intervention is planned for Yarsa and Saramthali VDCs, provided that both remain accessible. If access conditions change, other accessible priority VDCs within Rasuwa District will be identified. All updates and changes will be discussed and assessed jointly with Rasuwa’s Department of Education and the designated representatives of Fondazione Irma Romagnoli, in a spirit of full partnership.

Bologna, May 20, 2015

Annex 1 – Map of the Project Area

Annex 2 – Temporary School Design

Project PDF

 

To
Fondazione Irma Romagnoli Onlus
c/o Studio Frascari, Via delle Lame 112, 40122 Bologna
For the attention of
Dr. Erus Sangiorgi
Bologna, May 20, 2015

Dear Sir or Madam,
Following the earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25, 2015, and the subsequent tremors, which caused over 8,000 deaths and the total or partial destruction of almost 600,000 homes, GVC considered it essential to launch substantial relief operations in Rasuwa District. This is one of the districts closest to the epicenter and has been designated a priority by the Nepalese government. GVC already has extensive working experience and knowledge of local communities in Rasuwa, working alongside local NGOs and supporting local and international NGOs.

GVC has been active in Asia for over 20 years through international cooperation and emergency response projects. It is currently the only NGO from Emilia-Romagna operating in Nepal and participates in emergency coordination working groups led by the United Nations in close cooperation with the Nepalese government.

GVC is qualified to carry out emergency interventions as well as development activities. It has been a partner of ECHO, the EU’s emergency response agency, since 1993 and is eligible to deliver immediate emergency assistance with funding from Italian Development Cooperation, UN agencies (OCHA, UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF, etc.), local authorities (the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, etc.), and private donors (LegaCoop, etc.). Its most significant operations in this field have addressed emergencies arising from conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine (since 1992), and Lebanon and Syria (since 2012); natural disasters in Central America and the Caribbean (Nicaragua, Cuba, Guatemala, and the earthquake in Haiti); disasters in Southeast Asia (the tsunami in Sri Lanka and Indonesia, and typhoons in Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines); and the food crisis in the Sahel (Burkina Faso since 2012). Since 2009, it has implemented 59 projects worth over €20 million. Our main areas of intervention include the construction and rehabilitation of public buildings and infrastructure, particularly schools; the provision of temporary shelters and emergency kits; water and sanitation systems and facilities; food assistance and the restoration of economic assets; and natural disaster preparedness and risk reduction.

In view of the technical expertise and networks GVC can mobilize, and the concern and sensitivity your Foundation has shown toward the disaster in Nepal, we are submitting a request for support and funding, in a spirit of full partnership, for a project to help restart Rasuwa District’s school system for 320 children and adolescents aged 6–15 (project proposal attached).

The intervention is being carried out in close cooperation with the Italian diplomatic authorities in Nepal, specifically Office VI (Humanitarian Aid) of the Directorate General for Development Cooperation, and in coordination with the relevant Nepalese authorities, namely the Ministry of Education’s Rasuwa District Department.

Thank you for your kind attention and willingness to help. We reaffirm our full commitment to working together.

Yours sincerely,
Dina Taddia
President of GVC