On top of the world

They watched the sun rise over Annapurna, and helped take the elephants to the river. They trekked the Chitwan jungle and tracked the elusive tiger and rhino. But above all, they lost their hearts to the children of Nepal and confronted their own sense of privilege. That's what happens when you move beyond being a tourist!

"But above all, they lost their hearts to the children of Nepal and confronted their own sense of privilege"  

Fieldwork is a standard part of several subjects, and the broader value of outdoor practical experience is further recognised in a range of contexts from the Duke of Edinburgh Award to the traditional Gap Year. But no-matter how you look at it, nothing matches the intensity and inspiration of visiting the developing world for the first time, especially if you are giving service rather than just being a tourist. This really is creative learning at its best. BCS has linked up with pupils from Birkdale School (an Independent School in Sheffield and this has now become an annual trip. Pupils from Year 10-13 and staff (Peter Harris, group leader and other accompanying  members of staff ) spend nearly three weeks over Easter on just such a life-changing visit to Nepal - the tenth poorest country in the world, where they experience a nonstop sensory overload from the minute they step off the plane, which was quite a culture shock for some!

  
The trip is designed not only to experience the physical challenge of a 5-day trek in the Annapurna Himalayan mountains and the natural wonders of a jungle safari at Chitwan but, significantly, to work for a week in local schools in Kathmandu. In Chitwan National Park, the groups regularly see rhino, monkeys, tiger tracks, exotic birdlife and bath the elephants! This is followed with a five-day trek through the amazing rhododendron-clad hills to view the Annapurna range of mountains from Poon Hill at sunrise. And on top of that, an intrepid early morning flight takes many close to Mount Everest itself.

However, despite all this, the most moving part of the trip and the part that has touched everyone's hearts were the days spent in a Nepalese primary school. BCS pupils are shocked at the high standard of uniform and incredibly high ability and enthusiasm that the Nepalese children display, considering the very poor homes that they come from. All pupils who go on the trip feel very humbled by the people - who are always happy and cheerful considering the poverty. There are no discipline problems as the pupils want to learn!

Nepal has a mixture of state and privately-funded education although in this particular region the state service is, at best, rudimentary and in need of significant investment. The venture that BCS joined originated from Birkdale School ten years ago and has seen the building of the Peace Garden School in Kathmandu. Nothing more than a paddy field and the dream of a group of forward-thinking teachers back in 2000, there now stands a thriving secondary school educating over 300 local children. All monies raised by the Birkdale School community over the past ten years has been carefully managed on the ground in Kathmandu by a local contact, a retired Colonel from the British Army with a shrewd business sense and considerable humanitarian and philanthropic beliefs.

BCS has adopted another school that had not previously received any Western input. Located on the outskirts of the city, this school, the "Noble Education System", is just four years old and in comparison to the Peace Garden School, is considerably more crude; not only in the fabric of the building but also the available teaching resources.

The classrooms are nothing more than shells - quite a shock for the BCS pupils! No Interactive Whiteboards or computers, just chalk boards and limited second-hand textbooks dating back to the 1980’s. The classrooms are primitive, with uneven brick floors, low ceilings, small wooden desks and benches and no glass in the windows. With corrugated tin roofing, one has only to imagine how unbearably hot these little classrooms will become in the summer with no ventilation.Waste, including plastic, is burned in the corner of the courtyard before school each morning! Yet despite all this, these 3-15 year old pupils demonstrate a real passion for learning. Turning up in impeccable uniforms, the value they placed on  education is a humbling experience for us all. They genuinely believed that education is, indeed, their salvation.

The focus of BCS is to give the Nepalese pupils experience in speaking English. It is obvious that these Nepalese children had been taught along very traditional, didactic lines and we see that though their written work was very neat and ordered, they didn’t necessarily understand how to apply this information. Prior to the trip, the BCS pupils participate in workshops led by the BCS staff accompanying them, to give basic instruction in delivering a lesson and also advice on how to prepare teaching resources. Their creativity is clearly apparent. For example, some of our Year 11 girls worked with pupils who were only a year or two younger than themselves, but they effectively introduced the Nepalese pupils to the language techniques of poetry and story writing whilst using imagery such as similies, personification and metaphors. Relationships were forged and mutual respect was apparent, especially with these older pupils. Younger pupils were taught traditional nursery rhymes and played team games.

Since the first BCS trip in 2010 we have raised enough money to invest in the infrastructure of the school. We have paid  for piped water to be installed and the building of a new toilet block, washstands and five new classrooms. It is hoped that future investment will be for teacher training. 

"The experience has led us to conclude with the question of not only what these people can learn from us, but significantly, how we can learn from them in terms of value systems of what brings happiness in life"  

The whole trip enables our pupils to grow significantly. Many are challenged, both physically and emotionally by the realisation of how different life is for these people. The experience has led us to conclude with the question of not only what these people can learn from us, but, significantly, how we can learn from them in terms of value systems and what brings happiness in life.

The Everest Flight