Majhthana

Majhthana
Wow what a road, Wow what views and Wow what a school!

Imagine our delight to see Major Bhin on the Friday morning in a small Suzuki taxi to take Duncan and I to the top of the hill. And to keep us company it brought friend!

Suzuki Alto taxi is a very small car and my analogy of sardines in a tin was not lost on our hosts!

We had travelled many miles in Nepal but nothing had prepared us for the 18 km (11 1/2 miles) from Pokhara to the school at Majhthana. The one hour 10 minutes journey gave us the experience a road made almost entirely of dirt and rocks.

However, this was all compensated for by the most magnificent views of the countryside and mountains.

WOW!

On arrival at the school we were greeted by the principal, teachers and several students. The usual greeting included garlands of flowers and sashes.

It was extremely pleasant to see such a committed principle supported by an enthusiastic and able teachers in the school which had a catchment area of many miles. 

Some pupils who attended the school were from areas which were two hours walk prior to school!  This is not easy terrain either!!

Hillside Rice Terraces

As we were invited to examine all the areas of the school we arrived finally at the computer's room.

Note the dangerous steps to the right??

Marvellous School - in a beautiful place.

The layout of the room was inappropriate with many students facing away from the teacher. The gloss coated white board at the front was not clear and even with the teachers excellent handwriting the shine detracted from the content and many students were unable to see it.

The computer room measured 6m x 7m and could easily be made economically more friendly at little or no cost.

The addition of a further 10 computers would alleviate the significant problem of overcrowding at each machine during lessons. A brief examination of the system indicated that they were well used and there was a keen enthusiasm for this type of study.

Many of the students were studying to program in C!! with the majority of them proficient in Word and Excel and amazingly access database construction. 

and to top off the day!!

With the experience of the visit to Majhthana still strong in our thoughts, thanks to the assistance of Rotarian Ken Blackwood and the support of others from our own club we held Skype conference call on the rooftop of the Hotel Asia Pokhara Nepal.

Although the bright sunlight did not make for good views of the surrounding area it was good to speak to friends from our club who were unable to attend early in order to facilitate this historic international event. It is probably the only meeting ever to involve this type of contact in the history of the club?.