The group had a good turnout of 22 ladies including two visitors, which was certainly better than had been expected after a number of apologies had been given.
Our speaker for the evening was Keith Brook of RNV Nepal, a charity helping to educate the children in the country. Having been a teacher at a Sheffield school with a Christian ethos, Keith first organised a trip to the poor country of Nepal in the late 1990’s. He had a friend already living there in the town of Kokhana.
A local teacher, Arjun, had a school in place but the landlord was threatening to put up the rent, which prompted Arjun to use his own paddy field land to build a new one. A total of £14,000 was subsequently raised to build a 13-roomed school known as the Peace Garden School, which was remarkably untouched by an earthquake in 2015.
Nearby, and over a river bridge is a Leprosy Colony housing 500 families, many of whom have lost fingers and toes to the disease, caused in part by the smelly and general uncleanliness of the area and river. A Christian minister, Ashok, was instrumental in getting a new building built for the Leprosy people which housed a church, a school and also an orphanage.
Keith made repeated visits to Nepal, taking with him students from the Sheffield school, and a small number of staff each time, who were able to help with teaching English. Although they were housed in an old palace, the condition of it left a lot to be desired. Medical teams followed and the children’s. 24 25 heights and weights were checked, as well as their teeth and eyes, and tests for anaemia, and goitres were carried out. In 2008, Vitamin A and worming tablets were handed out by paediatricians which certainly improved the school attendance of the children who performed better too.
The Nepalese people live in brick-built houses occupying the first floor whilst their animals are housed on the ground floor and, many of the children work in the local brick factory. Following help and donations, sponsorships are now available to enable some of these children to attend school.
Keith retired in 2017 when the charity RNV Nepal was eventually set up and, in 2023 a large donation of £50,000 was forthcoming, which obviously helped considerably, so that new classrooms were able to be built. School uniforms are now paid for by the school, together with lunches, books and tuition and the children take pride in what they have been given. It costs just £156 per year for their education, and at age 11 they can achieve ‘pass certificates’ for the more able. It was great to hear that some had gone on to become doctors.
The country boasts some wonderful views over the Himalayas so that trekking is a popular pastime and the Chitwan National Park is home to elephants, white rhinos, wild boar, monkeys and tigers among others.
The talk was certainly very thought-provoking as Keith was such a powerful speaker and, it brought home to many of us just how fortunate we are. Keith was able to leave the meeting with a total donation of £200 and, one member wished to sponsor a child. Incidentally the initials RNV of the charity name equate to ‘res non verba’, a Latin phrase meaning deeds not words.
The group were shown a short video of the recent devastating landslip resulting from a melting glacier and, as seen on the TV recently, it all looked so horrific with people attempting to flee onto higher ground.
The group will not be meeting in November, when instead we can enjoy our annual meal out, this time at The Peacock in Cutthorpe on Wednesday 4 November at 12.30pm.
A reminder too that the group will be hosting the monthly Coffee Morning on Saturday 7 November from 10am -12noon. Any offers of help would be great please.
The group will be meeting again on Wednesday 2 December in the Parish Room for our Christmas Celebration at 7pm. Do please speak to Trish, Marilyn J. or myself if you wish to know more.
Wendy Drake