 Saurpani village in the Gorkha Himalayan region. |  A new classroom block was the first phase of reconstruction at the Shree Saurpani Primary School. |
| The reconstruction of a Nepali primary school badly damaged in a devastating earthquake has been chosen as Maidenhead Rotary Club’s Quadrilateral Project for 2022. The Shree Saurpani School is in the rugged and inaccessible Gorkha Himalayan region, the area at the epicentre of a massive earthquake that shook the region in 2015. Its buildings were so badly damaged they could no longer be used and the school is still recovering from the disaster. With the support of the Rotary clubs of Kopundol in Nepal, and Farringdon in the UK, a modern classroom block and toilets have now been built. But student numbers are down from 200 before the earthquake to 108, with a staff of seven teachers. At its November business meeting, Maidenhead Rotary Club agreed to adopt the next phase of the school redevelopment as its special project for when it hosts the 2022 Quadrilateral – an annual gathering of the twinned Rotary clubs of Maidenhead, Tivoli, Bonn and St Cloud hosted by each club in turn. | International committee chairman Graham Brunsden said: “We will be involved in supporting phase two of the regeneration plan – which includes IT training, English and adult literacy, and a library upgrade – working with the local Kopundol Rotary club and the Farringdon club. “We will eventually have 8000 euros at our disposal from the Quadrilateral fund, but we will start contributing to the project at the beginning of next year as the people on the ground are anxious to start the completion of this phase and reap the benefits.” Graham added: “We have been aware of this project for some time. It is well run, stewarded by the local Rotary club and is subject to ongoing scrutiny.” The club’s liaison link person for the project is Rotarian Gurdip Bahra. He or Graham can be contacted for further information. |