Batase School Condemned 

The red sticker pictured above has been applied to all the buildings at  Bhagawati Himalaya Higher Secondary School in Batase, Gorkha. This means all the buildings have been declared unsafe and condemned. We already knew at least one building was completely destroyed, but had hoped others may be salvaged. The school provides education for about 600 pupils so the rebuild job is going to be huge. Please support Manisha UK so we can help the school and the pupils to recover from the devastating earthquake. 

Click here to donate: https://www.charitycheckout.co.uk/1137569/Donate-1

The school received a visit this week from former Prime minister Dr.Baburam Bhattarai, but this does not mean government help will be sufficient to rebuild the school. 

Earthquake Update (13th June)

The rainy season is now starting in Nepal, meaning that we can't undertake any major building work for approximately three months. However, that doesn't mean we are not doing anything as we are busy fundraising so that we can get started on the highest priority repairs as soon as practical once the weather improves. As the previous table shows we were already aware of six schools in need of repair, and we have now learnt that our newest twin school Kalankee Primary in Kolkal has suffered both earthquake and flood damage and will also need assistance.

Our twin schools in England have been fantastic, raising lots of money to help their Nepali friends and sending parcels to bring some smiles! We will shortly be launching an 'Everest Challenge' for both schools and our other supporters to raise more essential funds, and you can help by clicking the donate button to the right!

The Children and Communities We support Need Your Help ...

Some of our UK twinned schools and other supporters of Manisha UK, have already started fundraising, or are planning to do so.

We urge anyone who wishes to help our supported communities to recover from this terrible natural disaster, to please make a donation in one of the following ways:

Online donation at the Manisha UK donation page.

 

Text donation of £10 by texting TEXT21 £10 to a UK mobile to number 70070, you will receive a confirmation text and request to approve gift aid.

 

Cheque made out to Manisha UK and sent to Old Moat Barn, Dormston Lane, Dormston, Worcs. WR7 4JX (Please enclose name, address, email address and approval to gift aid).

 

Many thanks, your support is very much appreciated. As always, a little goes a long way in Nepal!

Earthquake Update (23rd May)

Gathering accurate information is always challenging in Nepal, but we now have preliminary assessments from most of our schools following the second major earthquake in Nepal on 12th May. Several schools that had suffered minor damage in the first earthquake have now sustained much more significant damage requiring significant repair.

School	Damage
Shree Himalaya Primary, Mahcahap	The school now has major damage which may cause the school to collapse if not addressed ahead of the Monsoon season.
Ganodaya Secondary School, Okhaldhunga	Two class rooms in the newest building have suffered lots of cracks, which could cause collapse if not addressed.
Shree Rakama Devi, Jheksang	Has sustained a large number of cracks in the older building making it unsafe for use in it's current state.
Shree Bhagwati Lower Secondary, Bhalebas	The library and 3 classrooms have been damaged with significant cracks which need addressing.
Jandeep Secondary School, Dumre	3 classrooms have minor cracks and 2 have major cracks making them unsafe, and vulnerable to collapse during the Monsoon season.
Batase School, Gorkha	This school already required a rebuild following the first earthquake, but the situation has been further exacerbated by the second earthquake.

Manisha UK twin schools not listed above have all sustained some minor damage. Our initial local assessment is that this appears superficial and the schools are safe, but full assessment by qualified professionals is still required in some locations.

 

The Children and Communities We support Need Your Help ...

 

Some of our UK twinned schools and other supporters of Manisha UK, have already started fundraising, or are planning to do so.

We urge anyone who wishes to help our supported communities to recover from this terrible natural disaster, to please make a donation in one of the following ways:

Online donation at the Manisha UK donation page.

 

Text donation of £10 by texting TEXT21 £10 to a UK mobile to number 70070, you will receive a confirmation text and request to approve gift aid.

 

Cheque made out to Manisha UK and sent to Old Moat Barn, Dormston Lane, Dormston, Worcs. WR7 4JX (Please enclose name, address, email address and approval to gift aid).

 

Many thanks, your support is very much appreciated. As always, a little goes a long way in Nepal!

Earthquake Update (17th May) ...

A second major earthquake hit Nepal at around 12.30pm local time on 12th May. Once again gathering information has proved a difficult process and we are still waiting to hear from many of our communities. The home of our Nepali coordinator, Saran, was severely damaged during the first earthquake and is now completely destroyed, but he has nonetheless been working tirelessly on our behalf.

We know that at least one school, Jandeep HSS in Dumre, that had suffered minor damage during the first earthquake has suffered further, much more serious, damage. We fear this will be echoed across more schools when we have the full picture. Lots of previously weakened homes have also been further damaged or destroyed, meaning many people have had to spend more nights sleeping in the open, often without any shelter.

As serious as the physical damage is the emotional trauma. One 8 year old girl, who I remember well as a lively, carefree and somewhat cheeky character, refused any food for three days and is absolutely convinced that all her family are going to die. The importance of restoring some routine and normality to her life, and many like her, can not be overstated. Please help us stand by these children and their families over the long term rebuilding and recovery process by hitting the donate button on the right hand side of this page.

This page will be updated as more news becomes available, with our latest news on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

The Children and Communities We support Need Your Help ...

Some of our UK twinned schools and other supporters of Manisha UK, have already started fundraising, or are planning to do so.

We urge anyone who wishes to help our supported communities to recover from this terrible natural disaster, to please make a donation in one of the following ways:

Online donation at the Manisha UK donation page.

 

Text donation of £10 by texting TEXT21 £10 to a UK mobile to number 70070, you will receive a confirmation text and request to approve gift aid.

 

Cheque made out to Manisha UK and sent to Old Moat Barn, Dormston Lane, Dormston, Worcs. WR7 4JX (Please enclose name, address, email address and approval to gift aid).

 

Many thanks, your support is very much appreciated. As always, a little goes a long way in Nepal!

Earthquake Update (4th May) ...

Following the devastating earthquake in Nepal, many of our friends and supporters have enquired how our schools and communities have fared, under the most difficult conditions imaginable.

As you will appreciate, it has been difficult to gain access to all the information we would like, particularly given the remote nature of some of the schools. However, the table below summarises the current situation.

Our local team in Nepal, although affected themselves, have now been able to visit several of our schools and make an initial assessment. They observed a great deals of cracks and other damage, which needs proper assessment by engineers ahead of the monsoon season. This is now one of our primary focuses. We are hoping our local team will be able to visit all nine Palpa schools over the next week.

In the meantime, we have at least had some word from each school, which is very encouraging. While the situation is much better than we had initially feared, all communities have been affected in some way. However, Batase school in Gorkha District, is very close to the epicentre, so we anticipate severe damage to village buildings, water supplies and sanitation.

Clearly, the situation is very fluid and subject to change over the coming days, particularly in the event of any further aftershocks. So please check back regularly for updates.

Updates are now also available via Facebook and Twitter.

School	Fatalities / Injuries	School Building	School Open	Other Buildings	Water & Sanitation
Bhalebas	None reported	Safe, cracks	Yes	Severe	OK
Pipaldanda	None reported	Safe, minor cracks	Unknown	Severe	Not yet assessed
Gyanodaya, Okhaldhunga	None reported	Safe, no damage known	Yes	No damage reported	Not yet assessed
Basanta, Bagnas	None reported	Safe, no damage known	Yes	No damage reported	Not yet assessed
Batase	None reported	Old building destroyed	No	At least 12 homes destroyed	Not yet assessed
Jheksang	None reported	Safe, small cracks	Yes	No damage reported	Not yet assessed
Amrit, Anghakhola	None reported	Safe, one wall damaged	Yes	Unknown	Not yet assessed
Mahachap	None reported	Unsafe, severe damage	No	Unknown	Not yet assessed
Dumre	None reported	Safe, some cracks	Yes	No damage reported	Not yet assessed
Kolkal	2 Local women killed repairing roads	Safe	Unknown	Unknown	Not yet assessed

The Children and Communities We support Need Your Help ...

Some of our UK twinned schools and other supporters of Manisha UK, have already started fundraising, or are planning to do so.

We urge anyone who wishes to help our supported communities to recover from this terrible natural disaster, to please make a donation in one of the following ways:

Online donation at the Manisha UK donation page.

 

Text donation of £10 by texting TEXT21 £10 to a UK mobile to number 70070, you will receive a confirmation text and request to approve gift aid.

 

Cheque made out to Manisha UK and sent to Old Moat Barn, Dormston Lane, Dormston, Worcs. WR7 4JX (Please enclose name, address, email address and approval to gift aid).

 

Many thanks, your support is very much appreciated. As always, a little goes a long way in Nepal!

Manisha UK Disaster Recovery Response (April 25th) ...

Manisha UK focusses on Education, Healthcare and Sustainability, it is not a front line disaster relief organisation. However, at this time of crisis we all need to pull together in a coordinated manner and ensure that in continuing to meet our longer term goals we are also helping address the immediate needs of the communities we support.

 

Below you will see, based on the latest update from our supported communities, what Manisha UK plans as part of its Disaster Response and how you can help us to help these poor rural communities recover and prepare for the future.

Having made an initial assessment of needs, the Trustees of Manisha UK believe our current priorities and plans should be as follows:

Short term (May/June):

• Provide funding for bottled water supplies to communities that have had normal filtered spring-water supplies disrupted.
• Initiate communications and fund raising programmes to help meet the cost of our plans.
• Ensure schools are opened up as community support centres, wherever possible.
• Undertake full assessment of water supply disruption to all 10 supported communities.
• Undertake full assessment of disruption to sanitation facilities of all 10 supported communities.
• Undertake full assessment of school damage in all 10 supported communities.
• Assess likelihood that 2015/16 Manisha UK NQT Teacher Training Programme can go ahead and with what priorities.
• Help raise awareness within front line aid organisations of the plight of the communities we support.

Medium term (2015):

• Initiate school repair programme for those schools with minor structural damage in conjunction with local businesses.
• Initiate water supply repair programmes, possibly in conjunction with Rotary International and/or Gurkha Welfare Foundation.
• Initiate sanitation facility repair programmes, possibly in conjunction with Rotary International and/or Gurkha Welfare Foundation.
• Initiate major fund raising programme for rebuild of any schools in our supported communities that are beyond repair.
• Understand whether any Nepalese governmental support for school rebuild is likely.
• Understand what can be / should be done to rebuild / repair buildings to minimize the effect of future earthquakes
• Continue with 2015/16 NQT Teacher Training Programme, if possible and with amended priorities/outcomes

Longer term (2016):

• Initiate school rebuild programme for school buildings that are beyond repair
• Develop an action plan for future disasters
• Reinstate/continue 2016/17 NQT Teacher Training Programme.

The Children and Communities We support Need Your Help ...

Some of our UK twinned schools and other supporters of Manisha UK, have already started fundraising, or are planning to do so.

We urge anyone who wishes to help our supported communities to recover from this terrible natural disaster, to please make a donation in one of the following ways:

Online donation at the Manisha UK donation page.

 

Text donation of £10 by texting TEXT21 £10 to a UK mobile to number 70070, you will receive a confirmation text and request to approve gift aid.

 

Cheque made out to Manisha UK and sent to Old Moat Barn, Dormston Lane, Dormston, Worcs. WR7 4JX (Please enclose name, address, email address and approval to gift aid).

 

Many thanks, your support is very much appreciated. As always, a little goes a long way in Nepal!