When In Rome, Be Roman. When in Syangja...

Since Sunday is a working day (and therefore a school day) in Nepal, I spent my Sunday in Syangja, a rural district outside of Pokhara. I traveled to Syangja (an hour and a half car ride through the mountains) with Rai ji from the Gandaki Association of the Deaf. He was going to learn about the Syangja association's efforts to secure land and funding for a school building while I did my usual surveys and observation.

When Rai ji and I were walking to the deaf association's office, we were stopped by a group of people who were giving tikas (a blessing or celebratory mark on the forehead). We were ushered over to receive the tikas before I had figured out what holiday we were supposed to be celebrating! As we walked away, Rai ji commented that "today we are Maoist". He proceeded to inform me that the tikas were given in celebration of the anniversary of the first day Maoist military education began in Nepal. He continued: "I always say, 'When in Rome, be Roman!'" So, when in Syanjga, be Maoist?

As always, the most important part of the day was seeing the school. To give some background, the Syangja deaf school is still in its infancy, only separating from a hearing school with a deaf class 2 years ago. Currently, they have been tentatively registered by the government as an "official" provided they can build their own school soon. Before I describe the school in detail, it's important to know how schools come about in Nepal.

Registered schools are typically required to be separate from any other school, have their own land and building (which can be built on specified government land), and all schools must start from Class 1. The concept of "middle schools" and "high schools" is foreign here, as schools must start from the beginning and can only add one grade per year. This regulation has made it difficult for deaf education in the country because there are many deaf primary schools (up to Class 5) or lower secondary schools (up to Class 8), but very few secondary schools (Class 10) and even fewer higher secondary schools (10+2). Thus, even if students are able to attend school at the beginning, they may not have a place to go after completing the grades offered at their school, due to lack of room at the HS schools, money for lodging, or transportation to and from the school. Even when the original plan is for a school to be secondary or higher secondary, by the time the 12th year rolls around, it's not uncommon for funding to have slowed to a trickle or dried up completely.

At the moment, the Syangja school has 15 students in Class 0 (Kindergarten) and 1, who are attending school in a small rented house outside of the main town in the district. Nine of the students live in the "hostel" which consists of one room on the second floor. There are two teachers, both deaf, Sarita has a B.Ed and MA degrees (obtained without access to an interpreter or any other accommodations)and Rajendra (also the principal) completed through Class 12 (IA degree) at the Pokhara school for the Deaf. Other staff include the hostel mother (mother of Sarita) and an interpreter who works with the local deaf organization. As of now, none of the staff has worked for pay for the last 2 years. The only funding source is the small fee that parents pay for their children's lodging, and small donations from the teachers themselves and members of the Syangja Association of the Deaf. To make things more difficult, in order to remain a government registered deaf school, they must have their own school building (therefore, needing funds for the leveling of the land, foundation, building, interior needs, etc.). Hopefully, once the building has been built, the government will begin allotting some funding for the school.


One of three "bridges" to the current school building. Fortunately, the place where the school will most likely be built is accessible by road!


The Syangja school's current "home"


Me in the hostel portion of the house, decked out in all my finery. In Nepal, special shawls and leis can be given to honor someone. When I arrived, the students met me in style, honoring me with leis, flowers, and shy greetings. I felt humbled by the welcome, and more determined than ever to complete my work here to the best of my ability.


Sarita in the middle of an English lesson.


Most of the school children, staff and members of the Syangja Association of the Deaf. To my right is Rai ji, the secretary of the larger Gandaki Association of the Deaf in Pokhara, whom accompanied me to Syangja and has proven to be both a friend and a wealth of information for me!


The area surrounding the school. The plot of land currently expected to house the future school building is around the top left corner of the picture.

One extremely important thing to note: A survey done in the district to collect data about the number of deaf people in the area estimates that there are more than 500 school-aged students with a hearing loss in the Syangja district alone. This is a staggering number given that there are only 15 students in the school, and only a handful of others attend local hearing schools with deaf classrooms or distant schools such as the deaf school in Pokhara. It only highlights the need for a large, self-sustaining deaf school in Syangja. Until this goal is met, many of the children will continue to be denied access to education and, quite possibly, language as well.

Kudos to the committed teachers and staff (of both Syangja and throughout Nepal) who are working extraordinarily hard with so few resources in order to bring the best possible education to the deaf children of Nepal.