Dadagaun

WHAT THEY DO

Half an hour outside Kathmandu lies the small village of Dadagaun made up of approximately 200 people from the Tamang ethnic tribe. The villagers of Dadagaun make their living from subsistence farming and also from making bootleg wine. Eighty children attend the village school, 40 of whom come from the village orphanage. Classes range from preschool to 7th grade. The school is managed by a passionate and principled man— Dorjee Tamang who has committed himself to proving the best quality education possible. The school is funded by the government, and much like most government schools in Nepal, lacks funding for basic infrastructure and materials. Only a portion of the teacher’s salaries are paid for by the government, not near enough funding to staff the school.

Recognizing the potential for the school as well as the need for better quality education for the children of Dadagaun, Steve Webster (owner of a nearby hotel —Shivapuri Heights and Escape2Nepal Travel) and an Australian visitor Christine Marchner began investing in staff salaries, educational tools and teacher training. The impact of this support was realized immediately and the students of Dadagaun began to thrive.

FOCUS OF OUR PARTNERSHIP

Ninety percent of the homes in the village were affected by the devastating earthquake that hit Nepal in 2015. GoPhilanthropic helped to fund rebuilding efforts by contributing to a brick-making machine and played an important role in facilitating community meetings needed to reconstruct the village. We then turned our efforts to the school which became the center of stability for the children post-earthquake.

GoPhil’s current support to Dadagaun Village School Project involves:

  • Funding for teacher salaries
  • Funding for teacher training
  • Grants towards educational tools (computers)

THEIR VISION: Increase skills and opportunities for the villagers in Dadagaun through education. Improve access to education for the village families and children from the local orphanage.