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• CHILDREN'S EDUCATION
Care and formal schooling for poor and mentally challenged children and the development of model institutions
In addition to providing educational scholarships for fourteen poor children, Shenpen seeks to promote creative and innovative teaching practices in key educational institutions in Nepal. Supported by CHANCE for Nepal in the UK, the three main projects are:
- Pegasus School, for poor and disadvantaged children, including girls and street children;
- Shangrila School, sponsoring three poor children to board at the school; and
- Maitri Griha, a home for mentally and physically challenged boys.
The Shenpen Education Committee takes a long term approach to educational reform and aims, over time, to help the above institutions above become model institutions. A central goal is to help teachers and carers to learn and apply innovative and creative teaching skills, and to provide vocational skills training to older street children, students, and even their parents.
An immediate priority for the coming year is to help Pegasus School go “off-grid” in meeting its power requirements by using renewable energy sources - including photovoltaic solar cells and biogas. This will help alleviate problems caused by the 16hrs of power cuts currently being experienced each day by the school and allow the start of on-line learning for students. An application to the Tech Awards in California, USA has recently been made for this purpose.
© 2006, Rangjung Yeshe Shenpen