The patio was filled with voices and sounds of laughter. The children were taking advantage of their last minutes of joyfulness before the beginning of their exam at 1pm, playing with balls made of rubber bands and chit chatting with each other.
In March 2025, Peace Himalaya returned to the heart of the hilly jungle in the remote district of Makwanpur, where part of the semi-nomadic Chepang community resides. Most of the children attending the local school come from the main settlement in the middle of the jungle where the majority of Chepang families, comprising a community of around 100 houses, moved after the devastating floods of seven years ago. A few of them remained in their previous villages further down along the river. During our visit, the river connecting the different basti (settlements) was completely dried up, but the situation will drastically change in the upcoming monsoon season.
Around 40 minutes of walking distance from the main village, the current school is located in a terrain extremely prone to floods and landslides and hardly reachable in the summer months for many students and their teachers and staff. This leads to a dramatic dropout rate and consequent increase in child labour, frequently in the form of casual daily labour, for example in the carpet-making industry. Additionally, wild animals regularly trespass the school’s terrain, threatening the safety of children. Numerous attacks of tigers and elephants have been registered in the area in the past years, creating a dangerous environment. Rendering the situation even worse, the school only hosts classes until Grade 5 and lacks a sufficient number of teachers. Indeed, at the present moment, there are around 160 students and only four local teachers, leaving one classroom always unattended.
The Chepang community is subjected to a high degree of marginalization and vulnerability, further aggravated by food insecurity and scarcity. The land they inhabit does not provide sufficient resources and an adequate climate for sustainable cultivation, and frequently the villagers are forced to rely on the wild food they find in nature, often harmful and poisonous. Their diet is moreover worsened by the abuse of sugary beverages: Mountain Dew bottles can be found in every corner of the village, bearing witness to the lack of awareness regarding both health and waste management.
Peace Himalaya sees a new hope in the school that has recently been built right at the entrance of the main village, and which currently hosts a small kindergarten and two extra rooms. Nonetheless, this infrastructure is not spacious enough to include all the students of the current school, up until grade 5. Peace Himalaya’s goal is not only to support the development of the new school, but also to expand it and up-grade it until grade 10, and potentially grade 12. In order to do so, part of the plan is to provide sustainable aid to the local teachers and employ new ones from the community itself. Shifting the students to this new building would solve many of the challenges that they’re currently facing, especially during the monsoon season, and would provide a starting point for a further development of the Chepang community as a whole. Yes, the road is long and full of obstacles, but Peace Himalaya believes that a change is possible and is hopeful that the future of the community will get brighter and brighter in the next few years.
Young men, women, and children from diverse backgrounds have a profound impact on our work and activities. Their varied experiences and challenges bring to light the societal issues that require urgent attention. By engaging with them, we gain crucial insights that guide our efforts in providing tailored support. Through our practical services and capacity-building initiatives, we strive to help them regain hope and empower them to build brighter futures. Their resilience inspires us to continue our mission, ensuring that each individual has the opportunity to flourish.