SDG 4: Help All Children Access Education in Nepal

Dear Supporters, 

Towards the end of 2016, we took on the task of working with the nursery class at Little Daffodils and we are very pleased to report on the progress that we have made so far. 

In a little over two months, we have seen some significant development.

The original program had little, if any, exposure to books and reading.  We know from research that exposure to books is one of the best ways to develop children’s vocabulary and attention span so we introduced a reading time to the program. The children have developed to the stage where they have a good interest in books and are able to sit and look at a book independently as well as listen to a short story.  Importantly, exposing the children to the culture of reading is something we are keen to achieve and we will encourage them to take this with them to their next school level.

Songs and rhymes are also significant in developing children’s English skills. It not only exposes the children to new words but also rhyme and rhythm.  This supports the children when they use expression in oral language as well as developing a grasp of phonics which is so important for spelling.  Songs with actions reinforce the words and also helps with kinesthetic development. We have been pleased to see the children joining in more and more with the songs and rhymes and it’s also great to see the teachers join in too.

We have also introduced a tooth brushing program. Each child now has their own toothbrush and as a group, the children brush their teeth each morning.  Our construction volunteers have made tooth brushing stations to ensure the tooth brushing is done in a hygienic and organized manner.  We also did lessons about the importance of brushing teeth and we will continue to reinforce this.

Although its early days with our participation in the nursery program we are already seeing development in the children. They are able to spend increasing periods of time at a task and are also responding to stories by pointing, laughing, and joining in with repetitive words. We are seeing the children waiting more patiently, excited to brush their teeth and responding to songs with enthusiasm.  The teachers have reported that they are learning new things and are pleased with the input we have had in the program.  We are looking forward to building on the start we have made and in particular supporting the teachers with their professional growth.

Thank you for your continued support to our project!

With Gratitude, 
GVI Nepal

Dear Supporters, 

We have been focusing on making improvements to the structure of our child care program at Male Patan- both the physical space and the way we run things. 

Physical Space

Our construction volunteers have been very busy refurbishing the classroom with the aim of making it feel more like a functioning learning area rather than a local hall where lessons are held. We can see how the local staff and the children have a lot more pride and sense of ownership of the space. 

The main tasks that we focused on are doing repainting, making cupboards, reorganising the physical layout of the centre and developing extra resources like a sensory board, see-saw, shape boxes and large dice. 

Structure of the Lessons

Not only have we been making changes to the physical area, we have also taken a look at how we do things. We have changed the structure of the day from rotating groups where children are doing different things at each station to a structure where everyone is working on the same focus. The idea is that the children are benefitting as much as possible from the support of both volunteers and local staff and we can all focus on the same learning objectives at the same time. 

So for example, with the story reading aspect of the program, everyone is reading together. Children are not distracted by other things going on in the room. Reading is what is being focussed on by everyone at that time. We use visual stimuli such as puppets and iPad stories to reinforce meaning and to create interest for the children. The result of all these things is that children are far more focussed on listening to the stories being shared.

Getting the Thumbs Up

The local staff have expressed their enjoyment in the new program structure, which is an important achievement for us. Their enjoyment has led to improved participation and the general feel is more of a partnership in teaching between volunteers and local staff. We have had visits from the local committee as well as the local area minister and together with parents and school staff they have all expressed their happiness with the way the classes are run.

The biggest indicator however, is with the children and we are observing greater participation, interaction and confidence in the group as a whole.  

Thank you for your continued and generous support!

With Gratitude, 
GVI Nepal