Students in rural Nepal have missed vital years of schooling as the country continues to rebuild two years after the 2015 earthquakes. Temporary schools were set up across Nepal to compensate for the hundreds destroyed in the earthquakes. However, in remote regions of the country roads were so severely damaged that access to schools was limited. 

Carolyn Hamer-Smith, CEO of the Australian Himalayan Foundation (AHF), said “many children were cut off from being able to access these [school] facilities. A lot of people lost their homes and livelihoods. We saw whole farms erased, farming is their income and only way of existing so sending a child to school wasn’t a priority for many months.”

The 2015 Nepal earthquakes measured 7.8 and 7.3 magnitudes on the Richter scale. According to United Nations the quakes left almost nine thousand people dead and displaced 2.8 million. 

There are many organisations in Nepal attempting to rebuild the country and provide sustainable developments in infrastructure and the quality of education. The AHF has been in the rural area of Lower Solu Khumbu, the Everest region, for almost 15 years working to improve education, health and conservation in this remote Himalayan area. The second earthquake struck close to the epicenter of the Solu Khumbu. Ms. Hamer-Smith said,  “of the 360 [schools] we’ve been working in almost 250 of them collapsed or were damaged during the earthquakes”. “Practically [the earthquakes impacted children’s education], with classes getting disrupted but at a deeper level, I think it had a psychological impact”. That sense of what makes Nepal really special is their people and their hope and resilience. “I don't think they've been defeated but I think they've really been tested,” said Mr Thapa.

He said there was “one silver lining” as a result of the earthquakes. “There wasn’t much infrastructure to begin with so it presented an opportunity to rebuild and if we’re going to rebuild we can do it better.

“When you think of Nepal, you think of mountains, the people are nice, Kathmandu is crazy but it's pretty cool, it’s a spiritual place, there is poverty, politics, earthquake devastation and a lot of corruption,” said Mr. Thapa. From his perspective there is no reason why Nepal can’t be known for its education system as well. 

He said the country still has a long way to go. Two years on and the village he grew up in looks much the same as it did immediately after the earthquakes. “I'm from a small village, in our village when you go they used to be disappointed if you didn't have something to eat in their homes, but when I go now they almost don't want you to come to their house because it is a tin shed. It's like when you’re completely naked you try to hide the front but then the back gets exposed, that’s how they feel”.

According to Ms. Hamer-Smith there is “a lot at play that hangs in the balance for Nepal’s future. It’s going to be a big journey to observe. With upcoming elections the country has a chance to move forward. It’s all about good governance from inside the country and the relationships in a geo-political sense. It’s the government that will limit Nepal’s capacity to get back on its feet”.

Nepali born Amit Thapa, Chairperson and Co-Founder of Friends of Nepal Association (FONA), said “my village is about 70km from Kathmandu [where the first earthquake hit], every house and all the villages’ infrastructure was destroyed.” The earthquakes affected the basic needs of the Nepalese people, in particular “the elderly and women and with the government in limbo land, they [the country’s issues] all piled up at once”.  

Nepal’s ability to respond to the situation relied heavily upon the government capacity. “Nepal has always lacked a functional and stable government and I think that’s what’s at the root for all the need for aid,” said Ms. Hamer-Smith. She said “Nepal's government has received a lot of criticism in that it received a huge amount of international aid from countries all over the world but wasn't able to disperse those funds and make decisions about how it was sent to rural areas and in fact a lot of it hasn't been programmed or actioned, it's still sitting with the government and the Nepal Recovery Special Task Force. There’s been no coordination of the efforts and that sadly has been why Nepal has struggled to get back on its feet.” 

There are many organisations in Nepal attempting to rebuild the country and provide sustainable developments in infrastructure and the quality of education. The AHF has been in the rural area of Lower Solu Khumbu, the Everest region, for almost 15 years working to improve education, health and conservation in this remote Himalayan area. The second earthquake struck close to the epicenter of the Solu Khumbu. Ms. Hamer-Smith said,  “of the 360 [schools] we’ve been working in almost 250 of them collapsed or were damaged during the earthquakes”. “Practically [the earthquakes impacted children’s education], with classes getting disrupted but at a deeper level, I think it had a psychological impact”. That sense of what makes Nepal really special is their people and their hope and resilience. “I don't think they've been defeated but I think they've really been tested,” said Mr Thapa.

He said there was “one silver lining” as a result of the earthquakes. “There wasn’t much infrastructure to begin with so it presented an opportunity to rebuild and if we’re going to rebuild we can do it better.

“When you think of Nepal, you think of mountains, the people are nice, Kathmandu is crazy but it's pretty cool, it’s a spiritual place, there is poverty, politics, earthquake devastation and a lot of corruption,” said Mr. Thapa. From his perspective there is no reason why Nepal can’t be known for its education system as well. 

He said the country still has a long way to go. Two years on and the village he grew up in looks much the same as it did immediately after the earthquakes. “I'm from a small village, in our village when you go they used to be disappointed if you didn't have something to eat in their homes, but when I go now they almost don't want you to come to their house because it is a tin shed. It's like when you’re completely naked you try to hide the front but then the back gets exposed, that’s how they feel”.

According to Ms. Hamer-Smith there is “a lot at play that hangs in the balance for Nepal’s future. It’s going to be a big journey to observe. With upcoming elections the country has a chance to move forward. It’s all about good governance from inside the country and the relationships in a geo-political sense. It’s the government that will limit Nepal’s capacity to get back on its feet”.