Major Projects & Achievements

Educating Children ~ Empowering Communities

Delivering Successful Projects

Our recipe for success in delivering our major projects on time and within budget has been to maintain a tight control on costs by direct payment of suppliers, avoiding cash payments and engendering community engagement through the mobilisation of local labour in the construction work. Where possible, costs have been shared with local government organisations, which also helps ensure our hard-earned funds are spent on schools with a long term future.

2024/25 - New Contracts, New Projects

Under construction

2023/24 - Improvements, Sanitation & Training

Our major achievement in 2023/24 were

At Bhalebas: During a school holiday, local workers completed a project to completely renovate the walls and floors of several classrooms from dirt floors and clay lined walls to properly finished concrete floors and rendered walls.
At all schools: We completed the toilets and sanitation projects at all schools requiring upgrades such that separate toilets for boys and girls were upgraded and, where required, water filters filters were fitted. The aim of this project was to cut infections and increase attendance rates at all schools.
At all schools: Trustee, Barbara Bond, on her annual visit, worked with our local schools coordinator, Saran Saru, to deliver an extensive range of teacher training both centrally and on site at several of the schools.
At the Steve Sinnott Learning Resource Centre: They made an unannounced inspection visit to the Centre (run by Children Nepal) in Pokhara to ensure that our funding was being well used to deliver reading and IT skills to local children.

2022/23 - Improvements, Uniforms and Farewell

Mahachaap, Okhuldunga and Ghorkha schools are great examples of the huge progress made since then.

At Okhaldunga: Recent improvements here include the addition of a science lab, enabling some of our science teacher training to be better put to use. Additionally, the school now has a 4,000 book library, building on our original investment and funded by Room to Read. Poverty in the local community appears to be diminishing and as part of our annual inspections, we identified only a few of its 250 pupils requiring uniform and stationery assistance this year.
At Mahachaap: Again, poverty in the local community appears to be diminishing and as part of our annual inspections, we identified only a few of its 200 pupils requiring uniform and stationery assistance this year. In all, we assisted 65 of the 450 pupils at these schools with uniform and stationery.
At Ghorkha: After 12 years, devastation from the 2015 earthquake and a huge input from ourselves, local community and national government. Ghorkha school has achieved the goal we've set for all of our schools: to be independent of us in their ability to provide education for all in their community.

Okhaldunga - New Library.

2021/22 - Learning Resource Centre Handover

Our 5-year plan for the LRC was to identify which organisation in the community would be best able to maintain and run the LRC in the long-term.
After much discussion and careful selection, we identified a long established Pokhara based non-profit organisation, called Children Nepal, as the organisation most in line with the ethos of the LRC and the most likely to secure its long-term future.
In June 2021, we completed the move of facilities and staff training to enable the good work to carry on in support of street children and vulnerable adults of Pokhara. Giving them much needed education and life-skills to enable them to gain employment.
Based on a 5-year grant agreement with The Steve Sinnott Foundation, Manisha UK are able to cover the running costs of the LRC until mid 2024.

Tansen LRC - Now relocated to Children Nepal for support of Street Children

2019/20 - Project Toilets

Even though the world, and Nepal was no exception, was gripped in the Covid-19 Pandemic, we were able to mobilise local labour and secure sufficient materials to deliver on our aim to upgrade the two sets of toilets in most need of replacement. The project delivered:

New boys' toilet at Bhalebas school
New staff and children's toilet block at Amrit (Anghakola) School

The 2019 and 2020 Everest Challenge, together with our many helpers and supporters who ran car boot sales and craft stalls in those years, raised the funds needed to complete these projects.

These Projects were completed in April 2021.

Bhalebas School - New boys' toilets - What a view!

2018/19 - Project Tansen Learning Resource Centre

With ever greater need for delivery of consistent teacher training, coupled with a need for IT training and local community need for help with child and adult literacy, we worked with the Steve Sinnott Foundation to fund the establishment of the Tansen Learning Resource Centre.

The project covered everything from identifying a suitable site and building, through renovation, decoration and facilitisation of the centre and the surrounding grounds, making it a safe and secure environment for learning.

The project began late 2018 and was complete in the spring of 2019, providing Teacher Training classroom, IT Training labs, Arts centre and library.

Manisha UK have committed to cover the running costs of this centre for 5 years, or until it is self sufficient and able to be handed to the local community.

This Project was completed in March 2019.

Tansen LRC - Converted and operational in just 9 months

2016/17 - Project Libraries

With work ongoing on Project Earthquake, it became obvious that where schools had libraries, the books were old, or inappropriate for the age group being served. Several schools had no libraries at all. The project delivered:

10 functioning libraries, including books, bookcases, carpet and shutters for windows

This project began in October 2016. We worked with the Room to Read charity to establish fully functioning libraries with age appropriate books in all 10 schools.

Our UK twin schools, the 2016 Everest Challenge and friends at BP in London, raised funds for this project.

This Project was completed in February 2017.

Nava Durga and Batase Schools - The libraries arrive to enthusiastic readers!

2015/16 - Project Earthquake

This project and was brought about by the devastating earthquakes in Nepal in March 2015. In particular the project delivered:

Repair of 4 schools
Rebuild of 5 schools

This project began in September 2015 following a huge fundraising appeal and a most generous match funding scheme by the Ashworth Charitable Trust, other funds provided by multiple donors and fund raising events such as the Dormston Cream Tea run and the 2015 Everest Challenge.

This Project was completed in 2017.

2014 - Project Gurkha Roof

Having completed project Gurkha, the following year's monsoon season tore the roof of the school block we had renovated! The task was simple:

Replacement the entire roof of this 2-storey building

This project began in June 2014 and was mainly funded from Manisha UK reserves, other funds provided by multiple donors.

This Project was completed in October 2014.

Monsoon damaged roof repaired at Ghurka (Batase) School

2013 - Project Gurkha

This project focussed on renovating the existing Batase (Bhagwati) school building to meet the basic needs of primary education in the Gurkha district of Nepal. In particular the project delivered:

Replacement of an unsafe high level wooden walkway that connects 3 first floor classrooms
Replace rotten timber work in the ceilings of 3 ground floor classrooms
Renovate and plaster the walls of 6 classrooms
Screed the floors of 6 classrooms

This project began in April 2012 and was mainly sponsored by the Allan and Nesta Foundation via the Steve Sinnott Foundation, other funds provided by multiple donors.

This Project was completed in September 2013.

Pupils enjoying the upgraded facilities

2011-13 Project Palpa

This was our first major project. Beginning in 2011, this project delivered major building and facilities work at the following schools:

Pipaldanda - Complete rebuild of 3-storey school and facilities
Laharepipal - Major extension to existing school and facilities
Basantapur - Major extension to existing school building and facilities

Additionally, each school will benefit from the introduction of free school meals, uniforms and 2 extra teaching staff for the duration of the project.

Funding for this project was from the Teachers General Education Trust (TGET) and was secured for Manisha UK by the Steve Sinnott Foundation (SSF). On behalf of the children, parents and teachers of these schools, our sincere thanks goes to TGET and SSF for their most generous support.

This project was completed in February 2015.

Rebuild Of Pipal Danda (Nava Durga) School

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