Opportunity For All

Shree Kalika Lower School is situated in Dhading District. Dhading lies in the central development region of Nepal, and its geographical region starts from about 22 Km west of Kathmandu. Dhadingbeshi, the district headquarters is about 120 km from Kathmandu. The region is culturally diverse with Hindus populating the lower regions and a great variety of other ethnic groups, including a majority of Tamang, residing at higher altitudes. Labor-intensive subsistence agriculture supports the majority of families in Dhading, with wheat and potatoes being the predominant crops at high altitudes, and various types of seasonal and off seasonal vegetables cultivated along the highway area. Large, traditional families remain the norm. Most of the community depends on agriculture to sustain their livelihood, with some portion of the population making ends meet by working as laborers in stone and sand quarries.

The population of the area is about 765. The average household size ranges from 5 to 7. Most houses in the urban and bazaar area are two to three stories in height and constructed from brick in cement mortar and roofed with Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) while houses in remote villages are one to two stories in height and constructed from stone in mud mortar and roofed with corrugated iron sheets or thatch.

Shree Kalika Lower Secondary School was established in 1988. The school currently consists of four buildings comprising a total of eight rooms. Of these, seven are used as classrooms and one serves as an office. The existing building is extremely unsuitable to hold classes, due to roof leakage, cracked walls, and inadequate space.

Opportunity For All and Room to Read is constructing a new four-room building in the school compound. No existing buildings will be demolished. The students will continue to attend class in their old classrooms until the new building is completed.

The two, newly constructed single-story buildings comprise a total of four rooms. All four rooms are used as classrooms. These rooms are adequately ventilated and well lit by ample natural light. Each of the newly constructed classrooms can accommodate 46 students very comfortably. The interior walls of the school building have been plastered and painted yellow. The external walls of the school building have also been plastered and painted.

The school also has a six-room toilet facility, sufficient for students and teachers, that includes four pans and two urinal units with a good water supply.

Challenge Grant Provided by Community - 35.92% 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 Opportunity For All and Room to Read - 64.08% of total
Building Design; Construction Materials; Furniture; Monitoring and Support; Skilled Labor; Transportation of Materials; Trainings
Basic Construction Techniques; Specialized Construction Techniques Financial Management; Project Management
Financial Management; Project Management