In November, a group of McCabe supporters led by our chairman visited Nepal and officially opened the new student hostel at Daduwa school.  As on previous visits, the welcome by the pupils and teachers, together with local villagers, was quite overwhelming. Garlands and flowers were presented by the boys and girls and the atmosphere was one of joy and celebration. Speeches were made and gifts exchanged. Bob then unveiled a commemorative plaque.

 

Daduwa school is purely and uniquely McCabe, and we are very proud of it!

In 2000, the school admitted its first pupil with full funding for the project having been raised by McCabe supporters. From small beginnings, the school can now accommodate 400 children aged 5-18 years. Over the years, our Trust chairman, The Revd Bob Jackson has made regular visits taking along a party of supporters. This link has enabled our partnership with the school to grow into a real friendship and with our help the school has gone from strength to strength.

 

In 2009, Roger Stoakley, the retired chief Librarian of Somerset, was part of the visiting group. He discovered to his dismay that the school had no library – because there were no books! As a direct result of this (and largely thanks to Roger) a room was set aside and books and all the necessary equipment was purchased by our Trust.  The library was officially opened in November 2010 by Roger.

 

It was then discovered that the room which was now the library had been a dormitory for weekly boarders – those pupils who lived too far away to be able to walk to school and back each day. So a scheme was put forward to build a new hostel to accommodate 20 boys and 20 girls, with new facilities. This would also increase the number of pupils able to attend the school.

 

In 2013, we feel the school is complete, with the opening of the student hostel.

 

Our Trust supports a number of schools and institutions

but the one in Daduwa holds a special place in our affections, as in a very real sense, without our support, it simply wouldn’t exist.  Local villagers certainly appreciate what is being done and co-operate fully in the work. Some of the pupils walk for over three hours from their homes to get to school each day and we are very mindful of the words “when you have no access to school, you have no hopes”.

 

A bargain !

The new building is single story with dormitory accommodation for the students and two rooms for staff.  Including all fixtures and fittings, the cost has come in at a little under £24,000 – remarkable value, considering the building sits at an altitude higher than Ben Nevis in a village where there is currently no electricity or running water!

 

Construction

Once again we worked in partnership with the Pahar Trust, a remarkable organisation based on the British Army Gurka links in the region. The Pahar Trust supervised the construction and provided the technical oversight. The manual labour was provided free-of-charge by the villagers including carrying 25 tons of broken stone from the quarry below, to the top of the mountain! We are particularly impressed by the way so many local people co-operated to make this dream for the villagers become reality.

 

A big thank-you !

We, and the children of Daduwa, owe a big thank-you to St. Peter’s church in Berkhamsted whose generosity in raising fully half of the budget made this project possible.

 

Make a difference

For more than 20 years, the McCabe Educational Trust has been creating partnerships with inspiring people we have met on pilgrimage.

 

A special thank you to McCabe pilgrims who helped us raise £22,242 during February, making a total of £37,793 raised so far this year.