Building Schools...Building hope

We currently have three new schools under construction.

PremNagar Primary School

The "cross" phase of the PremNagar school is currently being completed.  It will include three more classrooms and a center courtyard.

Mark Schilling reads to a class at PremNagar Primary School during a recent trip.
They are sitting on the "cross" foundation part of the school.

Grace Secondary School

Thanks to the generosity of TURBOCAM employees, construction has started on a secondary/vocational school adjacent to Grace Primary School.  This school will offer grades 5 through 10 and two vocational classrooms.

Grace Secondary School - March 2012

Kichahi Primary School

Set against the backdrop of the Himalayan foothills, the new Kichahi Primary School is taking shape. This school is also being built in the shape of a cross. It will have seven classrooms and a center courtyard. This school is 100% funded by TURBOCAM Europe.



Kichahi Primary School -February 2012 



Update: Tikapur Children's Home

In February, Jason Corbin led a team of 5 whose mission was simple: Bless the kids at the Tikapur Children's Home! Working alongside the kids, the team spent a few days sprucing up the inside of the building with a beautiful mural. Each leave will contain the name of a child who lives at the home. 

A work of art...made from the heart!

For fun, the team took nine kids on a trip to Bardiya National Park for an elephant safari.  They were quite the site plodding through the Nepali jungle on their five elephant caravan! After the safari, they had dinner at a local restaurant. Mostof the kids had never eaten in a restaurant and the team enjoyed seeing all those smiling faces around such a big table. It was memorable day for everyone.

Ready for a jungle adventure

The team spent some time with a local welder making a prototype metal bunk bed to be used in the orphanage.  This project was started last year, but had to be put on hold because the original wooden bunk bed design was very difficult to build in Nepal. The design was changed from wood to metal and adjusted slightly so the beds are not so high. The metal bunk beds are much easier to construct and five sets have now been completed. These bunkbeds will help the space in the house to be used more efficiently.

Protptype metal bunk bed

In addition to the existing facility which houses 20 kids, plans are in the works for a new building which will be built within the same compund.  This new building will have two floors and 40 beds. Each floor will have a common room that can seat 20 people for a meal or be used as a classroom or space to gather for prayer.  The budget for this building is $65,000 and $15,000 has been raised to date.

The schematic for the new orphanage

2011 Christmas Program Report



Local pastors and helpers prepare the materials for distribution

The Christmas Programs were a huge success in 2011.  Programs were held in 37 schools in five different districts.  We were able to share the gospel with 12853 kids and more than 520 teachers.  We distributed 181300 gospel tracks, 14000 gospel picture books and 4000 Gideon bibles.  Thank you to all those who supported this program so generously.  If you would like to support the 2012 Christmas programs, you can choose this option on our new, secure, online giving platform.  

All the kids received a Christmas tract




Madan shares the Gospel



Literature distribution



Merry Christmas!

 

2011 Christmas Programs Are Almost Here!




Kids from the Tikapur Children's Home help prepare materials for the 2011 school Christmas programs

It is not too late to donate to this important effort! Madan has assembled a team of local pastors in Nepal for the 2011 school based Christmas outreaches.  Together, they have organized programs in 30 schools, and plan to reach over 11,000 children and staff with the good news of Jesus' birth. The local churches in Nepal have committed to raising 40% of the funds needed for this outreach. Additional funds are still needed to cover the remaining 60%.  Please consider how you might bless the people of Nepal this Christmas. Email bridgetonepal@gmail.com for more information. Thank you in advance for your generosity.

New Benches for Karnaleshwar School



An outdoor classroom at Karnaleshwar School



New benches for outdoor classrooms

In August and October 2009, massive floods struck the Tikapur area. Just south, a border town called Simrahine was seriously damaged. Houses and the school were destroyed. Many from that town now live on government land near Tikapur. In 2009, Madan started the Karnaleshwar School , named after the river Karnali which washed away much of their town. Karnaleshwar school currently serves about 200 children from grades one through five.  There are three indoor classrooms and two outdoor classrooms. A donor recently gave money to purchase benches so students do not have to sit on the ground during school. This will make for better learning conditions for the kids and will also help with sickness in the colder months.

The community helps assemble new benches for the school

Students doing schoolwork on their new benches

Children's Home Fundraiser A Big Hit! By Jason Corbin

Yes, Oui, Si Art Gallery, Vancouver St, Boston MA

On Sept 16th, friends, family, co-workers and even some folks we didn’t know, came from far and wide to attend the first Bridge to Nepal Jazz, Wine and Cheese night held at the Yes Oui Si art gallery in Boston. About 40 people attended and socialized over some smooth jazz performed by the Ezra Platt Jazz Trio while sipping wine, nibbling on a variety of cheeses and enjoying the dynamic art work on display at the gallery. All through the evening we had a running slide show on one of the walls showing images of Nepal.

The fundraiser benefited the orphanage in Tikapur Nepal where we are planning on putting an addition for a study/dining area for the children, as well as a better kitchen that is further away from the children’s living quarters because of smoke from the kitchen fires. The cost of the addition is estimated at $5000 and through this fundraiser we have raised $3300 so far and money is still coming in from folks that wanted to attend and couldn’t make it!

The other purpose for the fundraiser was to raise awareness of the soft slavery and orphaned children issues that plague Nepal and what Bridge to Nepal, by God’s grace, is doing to help. A twenty minute talk was given that focused on telling the stories of six of the orphaned children that are currently living at the Tikapur orphanage.

Jason Corbin shares the stories of kids who live at the Children's Home

The night was a great success and we have had many people requesting dates for when we are going to do the next one! Who knows, perhaps we’ll make this an annual event.

Putting together a fundraiser like this can be a lot of work, but it’s worth every minute preparing and planning. We would encourage folks who have been involved with Bridge to Nepal to have your own fundraiser. It does not need to be as fancy as a Jazz, Wine and Cheese night at an art gallery (We were simply blessed with friends with connections), but you can do a simple desert night at your house, or you can have a party and charge $5.00 for your friends to come. Be creative.

At my office there were many folks who could not make it to the fundraiser and still wanted to give. I had learned that the Orphanage was going to require about 10,000 bricks. To make it interesting for my coworkers to give I called their giving “bucks for bricks”. In Nepal a brick is about 10 cents (rounded up). So every 5 bucks buys 50 bricks. When I put it in that perspective for folks we received a lot of 5 dollar bills! Feel free to steal the “bucks for bricks” idea and run with it! This could apply to building schools as well.

The event also provided an opportunity for us to talk to local businesses and get them involved. Our local wine store donated a case of wine and a Trader Joes in our area donated some of the cheese and crackers.

Thanks to everyone who made this night a great success!

Building Literacy With Dr. Seuss Books

"The more that you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."

Dr. Seuss

How many of you learned to read with Dr. Seuss books? Dr. Seuss books provide repetition with sounds and vocabulary.  They are also entertaining and fun to read.  We would like to have a library of Dr. Seuss books at Grace School, PremNagar School and Kichahi School. Each book will have a recorded CD to help with correct pronunciation. We have selected ten titles for the level one certificate program. Upon completion of all ten titles, students will receive a certificate of achievement.  Teachers will be encouraged to go through this program first. We hope to increase English literacy in the schools in a fun way that motivate the students. Our goal is to have 150 books to send to Nepal with the next team.  Books need to be collected by October 15th.  Please contact us if you would like to participate in our Dr. Seuss book drive! This is a great project for schools, church groups, scouting troops or local businesses.

Marian reads a Dr. Seuss book to students at Grace School