In early 2019 I spent a month in Nepal.

During that time, I met Samjhana (Sam) Basukala and Shreejan (Joe) Simkhada.

Both are Nepalese but Joe spent 7 years studying in the UK.

They explained to me the poor situation and life chances of the population of rural Nepal and the way these had been affected by the 2015 earthquake, which destroyed many schools.

They described how they have been trying over several years to help the people in some of the poorest areas by building learning centres, the roles of which are detailed below. They had already got 6 learning centres established around the country. These were of relatively flimsy construction and recurrent running costs were always a problem.

They were in the process of raising funds to start construction of a new learning centre in Saldum village in the Dhading area. This was one area affected by the 2015 earthquake, and this village is Joe’s family home area where he still has relatives.

They wanted this to be their most ambitious project to date with a more solid reinforced construction likely to provide some resistance to earthquake damage.

They had an established program of using Scouts from France and the Netherlands to assist in construction efforts and assist with educational and sports with the children.

When I got involved in March 2019 they had started raising money for this learning centre on a “Go Fund Me” web site but were short of their initial target.  I made up the shortfall and the building work commenced. Over the next year I made 4 further payments for building materials. I was sent videos recording every stage of the construction work and was incredibly happy that the funds were well used.

As can be seen from the following information there is now a building almost complete, but the effect of Covid-19 has slowed the work. Sam and Joe have lost their income from tourism and without a further injection of funds the learning centre will to benefit the local people as we intended.

So far all my donations to the project have been from income on which I have already paid tax.

The reason for our partnership with help4nepal, an established registered UK charity is to make more efficient use of donations by using gift aid and to benefit from their knowledge of the need in Nepal.

Our project is focused entirely on the Nagarjun Learning Centre in Saldum Village and all funds donated using this link will be earmarked solely for that application.

Yours Faithfully

Nigel Groome
(Emeritus Professor, Oxford Brookes University)