70 students per class

Discussions under trees

Meanwhile teachers have resumed the lessons, in sheds made from bamboo, wood and CGI sheets. “But the children are not safe enough to stay inside these temporary learning buildings because they cannot protect them when rain and wind take place at the same time”, Arjun, chairperson of the School Management Committee of Thulosirubari wrote to me. The “Gerlinde and Ralf School”, which was only inaugurated in 2009, was – as reported before – so badly damaged that it must be completely demolished. “Almost all of the furniture and teaching materials were destroyed too”, Arjun said. “In our leisure time, we and the teaching staff are now using the ground under a tree to discuss the teaching and learning methodologies.” Due to the lack of rooms, the classes have been merged, they now have about 70 students each. “The teachers are feeling that it is problematic to teach them effectively under these conditions.”

“Everybody joined the work”

Opening of the school in 2009

This is reminiscent of the period before the construction of the school. “When we were in Thulosirubari for the first time, we met children who were taught sitting on the floor due to the lack of school furniture,” says Gerlinde. “The small classrooms were overcrowded.” At that time, the idea was born to build a larger school together with the Nepalhilfe Beilngries. “Everybody joined the work, the childrens’ parents, whether men or women, all helped. Eighteen months later, the new school building was finished”, the Austrian mountaineer, who was the first woman to climb all 14 eight-thousanders without supplemental oxygen, recalls. ”I’ll never forget the moment when we were standing in front of more than five hundred students who were so incredibly happy about their new school. It was a wonderful day.”

Dangerous way to school

Lessons for many students

Only the memory remains – and the ruins of a school, which was once a symbol of hope for a better future. In the village, hostels are also missing for students and teachers who are coming from outside to stay. “The students have to walk for hours to attend the lessons”, Arjun Gatraj wrote. “But now their way to school is more dangerous due to the earthquake.” After all, said Arjun, Thulosirubari has been spared from floods and landslides in the monsoon so far, so that there is no need to worry about the crops and plantations. “The villagers are thinking more of their children’s future than their own lives.” And that will be decided in the classroom. “Let’s combine our efforts to rebuild the school”, Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner appeals – even to you. You can ensure with your donations for our project “School up!” that the “Gerlinde and Ralf School” will soon be more than just a memory.

You can transfer money to this bank account in Germany:

Recipient: Nepalhilfe Beilngries
Bank: Volksbank Bayern Mitte eG/Germany
IBAN: DE05 7216 0818 0004 6227 07
BIC/SWIFT-Code: GENODEF1INP
Intended purpose: Gerlinde and Ralf School

P.S. I’ll be on holidays till the end of July. But you won’t have to miss my blog completely. Next week I’ll publish a series in occasion of the 150th anniversary of the first ascent of the Matterhorn.

The School in Thulosirubari after the earthquake

It looked as if the magician David Copperfield had staged one of his grand illusions. “The school was much smaller than I remembered it”, Ralf Dujmovits tells me. “First I didn’t even realize that the ground floor had just slumped down. The upper parts of the building were still standing. Only when I got loser, I saw the extent of damage. That really brought tears to my eyes.” Germany’s most successful high altitude climber visited the “Gerlinde and Ralf School” in Thulosirubari one and a half weeks after the devastating earthquake in Nepal. Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner and Ralf Dujmovits had given financial support to the project of the German aid organization “Nepalhilfe Beilngries” and thus had made it possible that the school had been opened in 2009. “If you suddenly realize that the building has to be demolished, you just begin to cry”, says Ralf. You all can help to rebuild the school by supporting the campaign “School up!”.

Guaranteed for the benefit of the people in Nepal

In recent weeks, I have written repeatedly about the consequences of the earthquake in Nepal. Many have asked me how they can help the people in the country directly – with the guarantee that their money does not disappear into dark channels. So the idea was born to use my blog to give my determined support to a specific aid project. I will provide you with first-hand information and reports on the progress of the project. That way I want to document that the people in Nepal really benefit from the donations. I have a longtime friendship with Gerlinde and Ralf. So the choice fell on the School of Thulosirubari that needs to be demolished after the described earthquake “write-off”.

Nothing but a pile of rubble

The village Thulosirubari is located near the city of Chautara, about 40 kilometers as the crow flies east of the capital Kathmandu. “Far away from the famous trekking routes, really isolated”, says Ralf. “You can reach Thulosirubari on partially adventurous gravel roads. You don’t pass by coincidentally. You really must want to go there.” More than 5,000 people are living in the village, which is part of Sindhupalchowk District. In no other district of Nepal more people died in the quake. 3,440 of the more than 8,700 dead, who were registered by the Government of Nepal, came from Sindhupalchowk. “In some villages, only ten percent of the houses remained. The rest is nothing but a pile of rubble.”

Place of energy

Gerlinde and Ralf at the opening in 2009, on their right Austrian climber Theo Fritsche who helped to build three schools with Nepalhilfe Beilingries

Before the earthquake, 700 students per year attended the “Gerlinde and Ralf School”. “They come from far away, some have to walk up for two hours to reach the school”, says Ralf. “It is located on top of a hill. From there you have a great view of the mountains in Langtang. For me it was always a place of power where I felt a lot of positive energy.” With your help this place of energy is to be restored as fast as possible. “The whole nation is set back if education is missing. That is the real disaster”, says Ralf Dujmovits. “It’s mainly the education of young people that pushes a country forward.” The reconstruction of the school can also help to keep the rural exodus from the region around Thulosirubari within a limit. “It is important that people feel at home there”, says Ralf. “And that parents can hope that their children have a future despite the earthquake. “ So, let us tackle! School up!
Here are the bank account data of the donation campaign in Germany:

Recipient: Nepalhilfe Beilngries
Bank: Volksbank Bayern Mitte eG/Germany
IBAN: DE05 7216 0818 0004 6227 07
BIC/SWIFT-Code: GENODEF1INP
Intended purpose: Gerlinde and Ralf School