GUTHI and Jana Prabhat School celebrated a huge milestone on June 5th, 2017.
Amidst various World Environment Day activities, the foundation for Rain Water Harvesting System was laid at Jana Prabhat School which marked the beginning of the project. The foundation stone laying program was graced by the newly elected Chairperson of Ward No. 13, Ward Secretary and member of Management Committee. The Ward Chairperson, Mr. Dhurba Narayan Manandhar performed Puja on the stones based on Hindu rituals to bestow the foundation with good luck and success.
Water scarcity is a major problem in Kathmandu Valley and Jana Prabhat School is no exception. The current sources of water are not enough to sustain the water demand of the school. So, a joint initiative of GUTHI and International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance (IRHA) with the support of Canton of Geneva, City of Geneva and City of Meyrin is installing Rain Water Harvesting System at the school to fulfill the water demand and ease the scarcity.
A Kick-off event was first held on 23th May 2017 to officially mark the beginning of the “Rain Community” project. The direct stake holders including the Principal and Vice Principle of the school, PACT (Parents, Authorities, Children and Teacher) committee members, School Management Committee, Representative from District Education, from Resource Centre and about 40 students attended the program. Mr. Prakash Amatya, Technical Adviser at GUTHI briefed about rain water harvesting and how the project will be preceded. The Project Coordinator of Rain Community addressed the students about their roles and assisted the formation of Rain Club. Being pleased with commencement of the project, Mr. Satyandra Lal Karn, Principal said “This concept of rainwater harvesting will be very useful to our school. So, we promise to take good care of it”.
In order to spread our message to entire school, a large scale program was organized on 5th June, 2017. In the assembly, the Vice-Principal, Mr. Shiva Hari Manandhar, shared information about Rain Community Project and briefed activities of the day. He also thanked GUTHI, IRHA and all donor agencies for selecting the school.
Following it, the project’s Communication Associate conducted an interactive session explaining students the importance of Environment Day, Plantation and Cleanliness Campaigns. The program was followed by Plantation and Cleaning Campaigns being held simultaneously. The students were divided into four groups and each group was assigned separate area for plantation to ensure long term ownership and belongingness. Cleaning the area, making the ground ready for plantation, planting the saplings, and watering them made the students more connected with the nature. The students also cleaned their school area with full enthusiasm.
Students from grade 1-5 were involved in Art Competition where they put their imagination into art. Students were also very enthusiastic in participating in the Rainwater Quiz. KAP (Knowledge, Awareness and Practices) survey was conducted to assess their awareness level on water, sanitation and hygiene. Poster and photos related to Rainwater, Sanitation and Menstruation were exhibited throughout the day. At the end of the day, the students were taught how to correctly wash hands.
Reflecting back on the program, the students got an opportunity to be connected to nature through plantation, by cleaning their own school premises and through starting off rainwater harvesting. Working to bring a change in the students, the future of our country was a big achievement for GUTHI team.
