There's a good chance that if you're reading this, you probably went to a decent school in a relatively decent part of the world. Although we like to complain about the education system here in the UK, it is actually pretty good.

In Darjeeling, northern India, things are quite different. Schools lack materials, staff and sometimes even buildings. And yet there is a strong desire amongst communities and their young people to learn.

This is why the Hannah Memorial Academy was set up in 2008. The school is the vision of Jason Lepcha who was inspired to build a school in memory of Hannah Foster, a 17-year old Hampshire girl who was murdered in the West End District of Southampton in March 2003 by Maninder Pal Singh Kohli.

Just over a year after Hannah’s tragic death, Jason Lepcha, a local taxi driver with a good understanding of English, was hired as a driver in Darjeeling by the chief murder suspect. He subsequently responded to a national appeal for information that led to the arrest of Mr. Kohli in Darjeeling in July 2004. In return for providing the police with the vital information, Jason received a reward of £4569 from the Hampshire Police.

Instead of spending the reward on himself, Jason used the money and help from the local villagers to secure a plot of land suitable to build a school on. The school opened with one building, 5 teachers, a few teaching materials and 22 pupils. Gradually, with a lot of hard work and cajoling, funding has enabled the school to grow to a maximum roll of 125 pupils. The foundation supports the continued development of the school.