Kia ora, Namaste.
Some of these items have been included in our regular updates (please get in touch at intimetrust@gmail.com if you don’t get these). But in case you’ve missed them, here is a quick summary of some of the main items from the past year.
My Nepal Visit
I’ll start with this item although it was late in the year: September/October 2018, after the monsoon season. I was in Nepal for four weeks and loved every minute of it. More importantly though, I learnt a lot. (And – just for the record – I paid for the trip myself and offset all carbon emissions.)
None of the current Trustees had visited the school in Jumla before, or met key personnel. Skype and email links had been useful but incomplete. In particular, none of us had seen the school building that the Trust had funded. This had been largely completed but there was an on-going issue as to how this should be finished off. And importantly, ITT could see first-hand the impressive job this school is doing in a remote part of Nepal (in 3 weeks in that area I saw just two foreign tourists, one a German trekker, the other an intrepid Swiss cyclist).
Kailash Bodhi School, Jumla
Tashi, the school principal, and Tenzin, his wife and volunteer manager, run the school and offer an high standard of education in a challenging environment. A particular challenge for them has been government encouragement for students to attend public schools at senior levels in order to qualify for scholarships, even though the standard of education in these schools is often lower. This has led to the KBS Jumla School having fewer senior students.
The issue regarding completion of the school building related to the concern of Trustees regarding its likely resilience in the event of any major future earthquake. The building was designed in Nepal, and construction commenced prior to the major quakes there in 2015 (these killed almost 9,000 people, although Jumla was largely spared). It had been planned as a three-storey building (two-and-a-bit storeys have now been built) but to add the extra height and weight involved in completing the third floor seemed unwise. I needed to review this and discuss other alternatives with staff. We think we have found a suitable solution, and hope to help the school complete the building on this basis in 2020, with a new design for the third storey.
Little Sisters Fund
Shortly before my visit I was given a strong recommendation from the founder of another NGO operating in Asia, regarding the Little Sisters Fund, an organisation established to help vulnerable girls in Nepal to get an education and to stay safe from exploitation. I visited their Headquarters in Kathmandu and was greatly impressed by the work they do, and the spirit in which it is done. Around the same time, Pip Souness (an ITT sponsor and daughter of Trustee Kay Grant) did the same, and was similarly impressed. ITT got in touch with LSF after my return to NZ, to explore ways that we could support this work. Arrangements to partner with LSF were formalised in 2019.
Trustees
We are delighted to tell you that we have one additional trustee. Lakma Godigamuwa arrived in New Zealand from Sri Lanka as a student in 2017, and almost immediately volunteered to help the Trust as a volunteer. She is currently working in Nelson and was invited to be a trustee. She joins Kay Grant, Tessa Flatt, Pat Amos, Brittany Norman and me (Bruce) on the Board.
Funding
Our main event in 2018 was a wonderful concert at Fairfield House in Nelson in August, with musicians donating their services. Along with this income, Sponsors have continued to provide support for children from needy families at the school in Jumla. Few costs are incurred in NZ, and over 98% of all funds raised are sent directly to Nepal.
Thank you!
Again, everything that has been achieved by the In Time Trust has been made possible by you, our sponsors and supporters. Our best wishes and very many thanks.
Bruce Gilkison, Chair, Board of Trustees
