Dougie Foster is an Evolutionary Anthropology student working as a research assistant for the project run by the University of Oxford investigating the transmission of caste status. He has traveled to Nepal a couple of times to conduct research in his field of study. During his third visit to the country, which happened to be around the time when Nepal was hit by the massive earthquake, he came to know about OLE Nepal.
After learning about our work, he decided to organize a fundraising event in London, United Kingdom, to help us in our earthquake relief efforts towards school rebuilding. Dougie organized a fun-filled tennis match on July 19, 2015, which was attended by more than fifty enthusiastic participants and was named “Hit the Ball for Nepal.”
The event was a great success in terms of the funds raised as well as in spreading awareness about OLE Nepal's objectives. The fundraising campaign run through Indiegogo met the target of 1500 pounds.
OLE Nepal team would like to heartily thank Dougie for organizing the fundraising event to help uplift the education of children affected by recent earthquakes in Nepal.
OLE (Open Learning Exchange) Nepal opens up whole new worlds of learning for children in Nepal who have limited access to adequate educational material, or none at all. By providing remote schools with cheap, custom-designed laptops that store a wealth of engaging content, OLE Nepal provides the keys to unlock children's potential, desperate as they are for exposure to new ideas and technology. Not only that, but the laptops have been shown to actually redefine pupils', teachers', and communities' approaches to what education is. Rote learning fizzles out as pupils take more initiative in their classrooms, and truancy levels plummet because they are motivated to come to school and use the OLE Nepal computers to discover troves of information. The PCs offer multilingual interactive exercises in Nepali, English, Maths, and Science, as well as a host of other incredible features—access to thousands of online books, Wikipedia, virtual instruments, lessons in coding, and the ability to chat with pupils from other schools. And it is all open source (which, if you're a Luddite who hasn't heard of the phrase, is something really cool!). For more information on the content provided, see here: E-Paath
Having taught in and observed a group of rural schools over the past three months, I arranged to meet the OLE team the other day at their office in Kathmandu to find out exactly what they're up to, and can personally attest that what they are doing is revolutionizing Nepal's education sector. The Ministry of Education is fully backing their work, well aware as they are that the system needs shaking up, and that technological literacy will play a vital role in the future of Nepali children.
After the harrowing earthquakes earlier this year, OLE Nepal is zoning in on the worst-affected communities. Pupils there may have to sit under tarpaulins while their schools are rebuilt—we can help to provide them with the necessary materials to continue and greatly enhance their education, and, in turn, their lives.
A huge thank you to everyone at OLE Nepal for their hard work, and Jai Nepal!