Since the end of May, the children of Mulkharka are attending classes in their new buildings. The whole community is deeply happy and infinitely grateful to everyone who participated in this beautiful project.  We did a great difference in this village and this encourages us to carry on our work helping communities affected by disasters.  

From this week, the children of Mulkharka will have access to their new school.  They will be able to follow classes in a good environment during the monsoon season which is approaching.  The construction of the building took 8 weeks. 

Together with you, First Steps Himalaya, all the volunteers and the local workers, we have changed their life and offered them a new secure earthquake resistant environment to keep on their education. Thanks to you and your support.
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​We have a message for you, click on the tent to discover it!

YOU CHANGED THEIR LIFE,
YOU CHANGE THE WORLD !

Our work in Nepal for the construction of the Mulkharka school is getting to the end.  In a very short time, the new school will be built! 

On the 25th of April, we attended the first anniversary of the earthquake where all the villagers got together and remembered the missing ones.  

Last week, we were honoured to have the visit of Dr Owen Geiger, an international earthbag building expert, who congratulated us for our good work, considering the Mulkharka school as one of the ten strongest earthbag buildings in Nepal. According to him, a truck could drive straight into the building and it wouldn't move!
​How encouraging to receive congratulations and support from him, it just made us want to do more!

Before coming back to Kathmandu, we lived a very emotional moment when we saw all the children of the village arriving in single file and entering one of their new classroom to offer us a ceremony of thanks.  In a few minutes, the effort of the last 10 months took on its full meaning.

Now we can say it : together, WE CHANGED THE WORLD!

Last week, on the 12th of April, we had the pleasure to see all the walls of the new school built. A happy and satisfied feeling for this last day of the Nepali year. After a well deserved day break, we tackled the construction of the bond beam, a highly important stage of the construction. After 4 days of intense work under a striking sun, the cement was poured! The next day, our reward was a breathtaking view on the cleared himalayan range!
More than ever, the entire team is solid and provide a very efficient work. The know-how of the locals mixed with the western one gives very good results.
 
At "home", our host family is adorable and provide us everything we need to carry on the good work. This project is not only beautiful and human, but also teaches us another great lesson signed by Gyan, the father of our host family : "simpler living, higher thinking".
 

It has been already 3 weeks we are in Nepal. The construction of the school of Mulkharka is going tremendously fast, local people and children are so happy to see their new school being built! 

To understand better what we are achieving and experiencing, here is our new video "Mulkharka School Earthbag Rebuilding Project". Click on the image below to watch it! Enjoy!

From Nepal and from the whole community of Mulkharka, a huge THANK YOU!

YOU CHANGE THE WORLD!

A few days ago, we arrived on the building site at Mulkharka village.  The works had already started a few days before we arrived.  The team, made of 15 nepali workers and 8 international volunteers, is working hard and fast : the foundations are already dug, a few rows of earth bags are built and the door and window frames are placed. How nice to see the project getting off the ground! 
The atmosphere of the project is great, we are surrounded by the Himalayas, wonderful people and children, it feels good to have our hands full of earth!

We wanted to thank warmly Fred Mersch and Vincent Lens (and his company Oh Yeah!) for their great support in the creation of our project's communication.  Thanks to their help, communication has been a success and we have raised over 16 000 €!

On wednesday the 16th of March, we arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal, after 2 days travelling with Pablo, one one of the volunteer from Gran Canaria who will work with us on the rebuilding of the school.  Yesterday, we met Durga, the director of First Steps Himalaya in Nepal, to organize the weeks to come.  In the evening, we went to pick up Celia, Idaira and Manolo, 3 other volunteers from Gran Canaria, at the airport. They will join our volunteers' team in one week.

Tomorrow morning, we will head to the mountains, where we will start rebuilding the school of Mulkharka, a small and remote village on the heights of the community of Kadambas.  According to the needs on the ground and following FSH's advices, we decided to rebuild that school reusing, in an ecological concern, the existing metallic structure (recycling architecture). This will help saving time and money!

There is already a team of local laborers working on the ground and digging the foundations. The project has well started and runs smoothly.  We are looking forward to putting our hands in earth and start rebuilding.

Thanx to all our donors, this project is getting off the ground.
Thanx you for your generosity and your trust!

YOU CHANGE THE WORLD!

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