Steph and Kat's Charity Trek
In October 2011, Steph and Kat are going to trek the Inca Trail to raise money for a school and orphanage in Darjeeling, based in the foothills of the Himalayas. Since visiting Darjeeling earlier this year, Kat has been hoping to fundraise enough money to improve conditions for the children she met there. Please read below and see how your donations could help...
Rupnarayan school is a very small municipal school located in Darjeeling,. There are 5 teachers and currently 40 children on the school registers, all of whom made me feel at home and well cared for during my time there. Unfortunately, the school is in a very bad state. The windows are broken and the frames are rotting (during my time there I saw a window pane fall through onto the children playing outside). The school building is slowly falling apart and there is no shelter from the elements in the monsoon or winter time. There is no heating and no electricity, making the classrooms very dark and difficult to teach in.
The school is also in desperate need of supplies such as books, classroom equipment and stationery- I saw the children using shards of wood as rulers in class! There is a hole dug outside for a toilet but this is completely unsatisfactory and there is as of yet no sanitation flow from the toilet. The children have no area to play in because the school is so small. They run up and down the stairs at playtime and play in a tiny concrete area of approx 2 by 2 metres, which frequently has broken glass. The only alternative is to play in the rubbish tip where the school throw their refuse. The children see this as their play area. Unfortunately there is no flat ground in the area to build a playground, but I am keen to fund art, reading and music classes and equipment and supplies to keep the children occupied.
I was also moved by the poor conditions the girls at the Kripasaran orphanage live and study in. The orphanage receives no state money and relies entirely on donations. The girls’ orphanage has very basic facilities and all 40 girls of various ages share beds, clothes and medical supplies. They wash using buckets of water outside in the yard. The water they have available is very limited and they can expect to shower only once a week.
The Darjeeling Children’s Trust has greatly improved the everyday lives of the girls there. They used to only have access to a shower (bucket of water) once a fortnight and they suffered from terrible hygiene problems. Now the trust takes the responsibility for supplying them with water and medical supplies and has sponsored a nurse to teach the girls about personal hygiene and healthy habits.
The orphanage and school desperately need more funds and I believe a little raised in the UK could have a great impact on these childrens’ lives in Darjeeling. Your money will go directly towards:
-supplies for the school including stationary, books and art supplies
-towards extra lessons such as music and art which is otherwise not taught at school
-towards electricity for the school so the teachers and children do not struggle so much in dark conditions
-towards renovating the school building
-medical supplies such as medicated soap for the girls' orphanage
-water for the girls to bathe with
Your help is urgently needed and greatly appreciated. During my time at the school and orphanage I was made really welcome and experienced tremendous generosity from people who had very little in life. These children deserve a better start at life and better facilities to be able to learn and flourish. Just a small donation here will make a big impact there- for example electricity for the school for a year costs less than £200!
Please spread the word and donate! Many thanks!
Katherine Sirrell (check out my youtube page for more videos of the children of Darjeeling- http://www.youtube.com/user/KatSirrell?feature=mhee)
