Nepal is a third world country, and a few things that seem normal in a country like this might seem almost alien to people elsewhere. For instance, people in some parts of Nepal have to hike for hours and hours just to reach a school that has the infrastructure to host a tenth grade exam, also called the SEE exam. In most parts of the country, this is still a highly valued qualification.

The example that you just read is a fact of life for many people who live as close as a 100 kilometres form the capital city Kathmandu. Then again, there are kind souls like Tjerk and Marle who have changed this narrative for many.

About the Project

About a hundred and eighty kilometres form the capital of Nepal, there is a village — Simpani in the Lamjung district. There, a government school by the name of Shree Ganesh Secondary School serves as a test center for the SEE examination.

While the hills and slopes around this school make for a beautiful photograph, it is a very difficult terrain for the students. Every year, students from the region would have to walk for hours everyday to appear for the SEE exam.

The school recognized the hardship that the students faced every year and so they tried to set up a hostel that the students could use during these exams. The boarding house would mean that the students could skip the everyday hike and focus entirely on the exams.

The project broke ground and they managed to put up the walls. However, because of a lack of funding, the project was stuck.

 

Tjerk and Marle’s Contributions

Tjerk and Marle took the initiative of this project that would help many students reach an important milestone in their career — academic or otherwise.

The duo began by raising funds for this program. They led the initiative and once they’d acquired the necessary resources, they landed in Nepal. They came to Nepal on 12th April 2018 and left for the school two days later.

Their participation in the project was whole hearted and hands on. When they took over, the hostel block that was supposed to have 11 rooms needed plastering, flooring, roofing and coloring.

It took them 3 months to complete, but the duo saw the project through and were celebrated by the locals for their contributions.

The boarding house is being used by many students every year, and every year the youth of this third world is getting more and more educated — all thanks to these two wonderful human beings.