Umbrella Australia are very excited to announce our first independent project here in Nepal.  All relevant donors have been notified and today Linda had the pleasure of signing the MoU to complete the building of the Shree Bhimsen Secondary School which is located in Khatrithok, Sindhupalchowk.

The School is centrally located and is attended by 252 children who walk on average 1 ½ hours from their homes daily to attend classes.  The project is to be managed by the Nepal River Conservation Trust and overseen by Megh Ale, chairperson of the trust and The Umbrella Organization Nepal. 

Many of the donations for this project were made by Australian schools and we hope to establish a friendship program between these schools. This will be of benefit not only to the students in Nepal but will  be a wonderful opportunity for Australian youth to experience a cultural exchange program, trek and donate some time for community projects.

Umbrella Australia chose the school due to the desperate need within this community and its proximity to Kathmandu which allows supporters the opportunity to visit and see how their donations are being utilized.  This area suffered greatly in the 2015 earthquakes with many communities still living without homes for the second winter season.  Currently there are 4 classrooms for 252 children, 1 unfinished temporary building with the original school badly cracked and dangerous.  There are limited desks with children sitting on the floor to learn.

The project will be in three stages with the first stage (ground level) fully funded and commenced today.  We are however seeking further funding for stage 2 (level 1) and 3 (construction of level 2).   Donations for the project can be made to by clicking on the Donate tab on this page, no amount is too small.  The school community of Khatrithok have also agreed to donate 20% to the project, which is a huge commitment when most of these families are living in tin shacks and under plastic. 

One fun and exciting way of supporting the school is to partake in our Everest Base Camp Challenge which starts October 15th this year.  Included in the itineraryis a fully escorted trip out to the school plus a day on the Sunkoshi River to ride the rapids……watch this space as advertising will start in the next week..…or you can contact us here at TUFA.  All profits from the EBC Challenge will be donated to the school build.

We always said 2017 was going to be a big year and it’s starting with a bang! 

Namaste

The team at The Umbrella Foundation Australia

Footnote:  The Umbrella Foundation Ltd Ireland Nepal have no involvement with this project and all relevant protocols have been adhered to under the TUF and TUFA MoUagreement dated: December, 2015