Opportunity For All

Uttarkanya Village Development Committee (VDC) is situated in Lamjung District, 185 kilometers northwest of Kathamandu. It takes about 5 hours reach Besisahar, the district headquarters, from Kathmandu. Shree Ghale Uttarkanya Secondary School is located in a village called Ghalegoun, approximately 22 kilometers from Besisahar, the district capital of Lamjung.

Shree Ghale Uttarkanya Secondary School is situated in Uttarkanya VDC, Lamjung District. Lamjung is one of the beautiful hilly districts of Nepal and is famous as the starting point of the Annapurna trekking route. Even though the area is predominantly agricultural area, people are also involved in tourism related business. One of the largest runoff hydropower stations in Nepal, Kaligandaki A, is situated and operates in this district.

People of various ethnicities reside in this area, including indigenous castes such as the Gurung and Thakali. Other castes such as Brahmins and Chettris also reside in the area. Most of them are employed in agriculture and tourism related industries, and fewer are employed in various government bodies and NGOs. Many Gurungs are pensioners from the Indian or British armies.

The population of the area is 700. Most houses in the urban and bazaar areas are two to three stories in height and constructed from brick in cement mortar and roofed with Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC). Houses in remote villages are one or two stories and constructed from stone in mud mortar roofed with corrugated iron sheets or thatch.

Shree Ghale Uttarkanya Primary School was established in 1978. The school currently consists of three buildings comprising a total of seven rooms. Of these, six are used as classrooms and one is used as a library. All of the classrooms are small and overcrowded.
Room to Read and Opportunity for All constructed a two single-story building comprising four rooms. No existing buildings were demolished. The students will continued to attend class in their current classrooms until the new buildings were complete.

Room to Read has constructed two single-story buildings, with four rooms total. Although separate buildings, they share one roof. All four rooms are used as classrooms. The classrooms are adequately ventilated and well lit by natural light. The newly constructed classrooms can accommodate 46 students each very comfortably. The internal and external walls of the school building have been plastered and painted.

Challenge Grant Provided by Community - 37.08% of total
Blackboard; Building Maintenance; Clean Water; Construction Materials; Educational Materials; Electricity; Furniture; Land; Salvaged/Reused Materials; Sponsor Groundbreaking Ceremony; Sponsor Opening Ceremony; Transportation of Materials; Volunteer Labor

Provided by Room to Read - 62.92% of total
Building Design; Construction Materials; Furniture; Monitoring and Support; Skilled Labor; Transportation of Materials
Trainings
Financial Management; Project Management
Financial Management; Physical Planning; Project Management
Basic Construction Techniques; Specialized Construction Techniques; Water and Sanitation