The Association for Nepal Synapse Self-Reliance Support in Japan

　There are five elementary schools, two junior high schools, two high schools, one college, and one child care center in Sarangkot Village. However, parents’ interests in child education differ due to the poverty, caste and tribal issues. Some children cannot even attend elementary and junior high schools. Manijyoti Lower Secondary School, next to the Restaurant, is no exception.
　In order for all children to attend school, we need a system in which sufficient number of teachers and high quality educational programs are provided at affordable cost even for low income families. Nepalese standard educational system requires children to attend five years of Primary School and three years of Lower Secondary School, i.e. total of eight years.
　Manijyoti Lower Secondary School which used to offer seven years education, now decided to extend the program by one year to offer eight years education. The school building will be expanded with the donation from parents and other villagers as well as from our organization.
　We also support improvement of school facilities such as the expansion of the school yard. The school yard is also used for village meetings, thus the yard which was narrowed for the construction of the Restaurant was expanded. Furthermore, we demolished the toilet below the cliff which was inconvenient, and built a new and hygienic composting toilet right next to the school building. It is important for children who bear the future, as well as for the community, to establish an environment in which they can attend school without concerns.

　Keeping your village clean through your own actions. We started the “Green Workers” project in 2009 with volunteer children as core members, to give villagers an awareness of the importance of social participation. We started out with 17 children aged between nine and 15. They carry buckets and pick up garbage to maintain the nature and the aesthetics of the village. This is not just a cleanup activity. They take pride in their work and feel that “I am contributing to the community,” and “helping myself get as a social worker.”We also set up public garbage boxes in multiple places in the village and set up billboards to urge the villagers to maintain the aesthetic of the village.
　Children in the neighboring regions who witnessed this activity gradually started similar cleanup efforts.