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Just back from India! Delhi, Agra, Amritsar, Dharamsala with a small group of students from Blackpool Sixth form College. This trip was particularly enjoyable for us because we were able to make contact once again with our old friend Dev the head teacher of Dharamkot School in Dharamsala. The last time we saw Dev was when he visited the UK and stayed with Ross and Jeremy as part of an Impact Travel sponsored training experience.
Besides the wonderful sightseeing, the group were actively involved in project work at the school not far from Dharamsala, the location of the Dalai Lama's Tibetan Government in Exile. The project work was based around classroom teaching once again and the UK students distinguished themselves with their creativity and energy in the classroom. Looking ahead to further projects, Impact Travel will be funding the construction of toilets at the school. We have a long association with our friend Dev and hope to be able to visit with another Lancashire group in 2013.
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We have just returned from another excellent trip to Nepal. This trip was particularly memorable because we were able to open the Impact hall after many months of fund raising and planning.
The Impact Hall at Shubhakamana School was formally opened by Ross and Jeremy as part of a very touching ceremony of welcome for the group. The construction of this school hall was delayed several times by bad weather and also by rising costs but eventually we were able to achieve our goal. The hall was put to immediate use by our group and was used as the venue for the farewell performance at the end of our visit. It was extremely gratifying to see the finished building. It will be the focal point for many of the learning activities which takes place at Shubhakamana and it will be used by the wider community for a wide range of other purposes.
With the formal opening of this building our fund raising objectives will be refocused on the installation of a water supply to the site and the construction of some toilet facilities.
It is our intention also to focus on the consolidation of the Impact Foundation (see the foundation page on this site).Hanschandro Budhathoki has been particularly proactive in the creation of this fund to support severely deprived children at Shubhakamana and Green village schools.
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During April 09 a group of Impact clients visited Nepal. Their experience of this fantastic country will stay with them forever. As always their itinerary was extremely busy and gave a real insight into the life of the country and its people.
There were numerous highlights identified by the group – the warmth of the welcome, the childrens smiles, the Buddhist spirituality, the hustle and bustle of the streets and even the local buses were commented on as the highlight of one day. The group also loved the trekking and the views of the Himalayas. However, undoubtedly one of the greatest highlights was the project work which the group got stuck into. Our project base school, Shubhakamana Academy, near Kathmandu, was given a makeover.
The nursery and Kindergarten block were painted inside and out and four classrooms were decorated. New furnishings for the classrooms were manufactured and our clients worked alongside the students in the classroom for two days delivering exciting lessons dealing with a variety of different topics. The project was a great success, but it is only the first stage in what we see as an ongoing partnership between Shubhakamana Academy and Impact Travel clients. Impact Travel are visiting the Academy again in July 09 with another group of clients and we will continue our project work which began in April. We will also be meeting with builders on the site to discuss our next major challenge which is to build a school hall for the children.
The Head teacher Hari has a vision for this school, and wants to be able to provide as much as he can for the children. The school hall would be a much needed additional resource and would double up as an extra classroom and local community meeting place. It is anticipated the cost of the project will be in the region of £5000. Impact Travel will be inviting support for this project from a variety of different sources. If you feel that you would like to contribute please contact us to discuss how your donation will make a difference to young people at the school. Impact Travel is offering a two week Nepal itinerary including project experience at Shubhakamana during April 2010.
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During March 2009 Impact Travel was pleased to host a visit to the UK by Mr. Baldev Singh, Head Teacher of Dharamakot School near Dharamsala in Northern India. Dharamkot School has been the focus of a number of our projects and Impact clients have worked hard to improve the facilities at the school over a number of years. This was the first time Dev had travelled outside of India and was very excited about his visit.
The Impact sponsored visit was intended to provide an insight into education in the UK. Dev wanted to experience life in the classroom in a range of different schools so that he could translate what he had seen into training for his own teaching staff in India. Dev visited a number of schools, primary, secondary and post 16 and was made welcome by the young people. Dev was actually quite overwhelmed by the attention which his visit to the UK generated. The local press were keen to become involved and reported Dev’s visit and his reaction to life here in the UK. Dev also had the chance to do some traditional sightseeing including the delights of of Blackpool on the Lancashire coast.
It was a real pleasure to be able to host Devs visit. He has made Impact Travel clients welcome in his own home and has worked closely with us for a long time, so it was good that we were able to reciprocate by making Dev welcome here in the UK. Dev has recently been promoted, and has been invited to take on a new role at a school in Palampur. Dev was able to transform the learning environment in his previous post at Dharamkot and it is hoped that with the ongoing support of Impact Travel clients he will be able to achieve similar results in Palampur.
Impact Travel is offering clients the opportunity to make a difference by taking part in a project based at Dev’s school in Northern India during April of 2010
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