Posted by on September 21, 2012

Dear Friends,

Another six months has flown by since our last newsletter. When thinking back over all that has been accomplished and everyone who has helped us, we realize how blessed Tashi Waldorf School is and send our deepest thanks to each of you. The school is now maturing. The rhythm of its daily life is so nurturing for us all. Visitors say they can feel it as soon as they enter the gate. This is largely due to the teachers' growth and development as they increase in numbers and deepen their roots in Waldorf Education. On June 1st, we began our third school year with 46 children in three kindergartens and a Class One! The Class One children receive their main lessons in Nepalese and are also learning Tibetan and English. This year nine Tibetan children joined the school. This cultural group was previously under represented.

We would like to introduce the four special women who have joined our teaching community:

Bhagirathi Neupane from Bhutan is teaching Class One. Bhagirathi spent several years working on the Educational Program in the Bhutanese Refugee Camps in eastern Nepal. Bhagirathi is naturally and quickly learning about Waldorf Education and increasingly taking main lessons on her own. Her little boy Diktshant is in the kindergarten.

Kamala Sapkota joined us as a Kindergarten Trainee last September. With the new school year in June Kamala took charge of Chandra's Kindergarten as Chandra is leaving for England in August. Having spent a year working closely with Chandra and participating in our training program Kamala is ready for this new challenge and is proving to be a natural in her kindergarten! Kamala is married and has two children who are in primary school.

Lobsang Dolma has joined the school to teach Tibetan to Class One. Lobsang would like to become a grade teacher. This part time work is ideal for her, allowing her to attend university and teacher training at Tashi Waldorf School.

Rabina Shahi is volunteering as a trainee in the kindergartens. Rabina has been working as a kindergarten teacher for five years. She attended one of our seminars during the winter and expressed her desire to receive training in Waldorf Education.

The past six months have been very exciting for our kindergarten teachers Durga, Chandra and Kripa:

Durga Dahal and Chandra Tamang started working in Waldorf Education six years ago with Meyrav Mor at Balmandir Kindergarten. In recognition of their work and training in Waldorf Early Childhood Education, they received certificates from the International Waldorf Kindergarten Association this winter. In April, we held a ceremony to celebrate this special occasion with them. Marjorie Theyer, Advisor to the New Zealand Federation of Waldorf Schools presented their certificates.

On August 1st, Chandra will leave to attend the 3-year Waldorf Teacher Training Program at Emerson College, England. This is the fruition of two years preparation and funding raising. Six organizations have joined together to provide the funding and Chandra has received a 3-year British Student Visa. This is a very important step for Chandra, for Tashi Waldorf School and for the Nepalese Waldorf Community as a whole.

Durga received sponsorship from Vrije School de Ijssel in Zutphen, Holland to attend a Waldorf Education Conference in Bangkok in May. Durga stayed for two weeks, also attending a Waldorf teacher-training course. This was Durga’s first opportunity to meet Waldorf teachers from other parts of Asia, and to taste the world beyond Nepal and India. Durga returned home glowing! Two weeks later Durga and her husband, Sunil, adopted a week old baby boy. His name is Dipungshu. He comes to school once in awhile so all of his Tashi Waldorf School aunties can take turns cuddling him.

In May, Kripa Rana and Kamala Sapkota attended Aban Bana’s Waldorf Education Seminar in Khandala, India. The 3-week course was attended by 64 people primarily from India and Nepal. Like Durga, Kripa and Kamala returned excited and inspired by all they had learnt and experienced.

Our Open Education Seminar Program has been excellently attended these past six months as word continues to spread amongst Katmandu's educational community. To date this year, we have held three seminars conducted by Aban and Dilnawez Bana in February, Marjorie Theyer in April and Elizabeth Elsworth in June. The first two seminars focused on Early Childhood Education and the latter on Children with Special Needs. 77 people attended the seminars, with a core group of 14 teachers participating each time. Sincere thanks to the Seminar Facilitators for their most needed contribution to education in Nepal!

The construction project funded by the ISIS Foundation of Bermuda will finish this month and has been instrumental in the school's continued development. The building now feels like a real school and no longer a corrugated metal shed! King's School in England funded the building of Class One, including furnishings and educational materials. The new classroom is beautiful, with big windows designed by Frank Sieber from Germany, looking out on the bamboo grove, the valley below, and the mountains above. Our deepest thanks to ISIS, King's School, and Frank for helping Tashi Waldorf School to grow and blossom.

Halina Rubisz, our Educational Coordinator, will leave in April, the end of this school year. Halina will go on to create a much needed Curative School for disabled children in Kathmandu with Shanti Sewa Griha. We need a Waldorf Teacher Trainer with a minimum of 5 years experience in early childhood and early grade education to come to Kathmandu. This position will start in January or February of 2003. Please pass the word and those interested should email their resume to Tashi Waldorf School.

As we take on more children from poor laboring families, we continue to search for child sponsors. Fourteen of our children are fully sponsored but we have 28 more to provide for. We need 56 more sponsors each contributing $25 per month half of the total cost per child per month. We would like to welcome and thank all the new sponsors who have recently joined our family. For our existing sponsors, your annual updates will be coming at the end of July.

We are in desperate need of children’s multivitamins; our current supply will run out by mid August. With so many children now the vitamins go very quickly! Also needed are coloured chalk and watercolour paints. We are completely out of children’s clothing for ages 3 to 7. Most needed are underwear, socks, and winter clothing. We deeply appreciate any help you can offer, especially getting the word out about Tashi Waldorf School.

Two organizations have kindly agreed to collect donations on behalf of Children of Nepal. In Canada your tax deductible donation can be made to the Waldorf School Association of Ontario. Please enclose your name and address so a tax receipt can be sent to you. In the U. K., donations can be made to the King’s School Worcester Nepal Trust. Contact John Walton before sending your donation (for details see below). Please email us if you would like to receive a copy of our Annual Report for 2001.

In every moment of every day, we think of all of you with love and thanks from our hearts. Without each of you our school would not exist and our children would not be receiving the quality education and care we are able to give.

With our thanks and best wishes, Everyone at Children of Nepal & Tashi Waldorf School