Infrastructure Built with Japan’s Support Handed Over to Schools

 

Dipayal – Physical infrastructures constructed in two schools under Shikhar Municipality have been officially handed over. The child-friendly, gender-friendly, and disability-friendly toilets, kitchens, drinking water taps, and waste management structures built under the project “Improvement of Children’s Nutritional Status” were handed over to the schools amid a formal program.

The infrastructures, along with essential kitchen utensils, seeds and agricultural materials for school gardens, and equipment including laptops, printers, and backup batteries, were handed over to Radhakrishna Secondary School located in Ward No. 5, Tijali, and Saraswati Secondary School located in Ward No. 6, Chundi of Shikhar Municipality.

The project was implemented in these schools with financial support from the Government of Japan, technical support from Good Neighbors Japan, in partnership with Good Neighbors International Nepal and Community Development Center Doti, and in coordination with Shikhar Municipality. A formal program was organized on Thursday at the project-implemented schools to hand over the infrastructures and materials.

According to Tej Prasad Sharma, Cluster Coordinator of the project, the materials were distributed in the presence of Shikhar Municipality Mayor Dirgha Bahadur Balayar and Deputy Mayor Sunita Rawal Jora. As per him, two toilets in each school, one kitchen building in each, drinking water taps with filters, and waste management structures were constructed and handed over. The cost of infrastructure construction for one school amounted to NPR 4,907,315, while the total cost for both schools reached NPR 9,814,630. In addition to the infrastructure, other materials worth approximately NPR 150,000 were also handed over.

Speaking at the handover program, Mayor Dirgha Bahadur Balayar expressed gratitude to the donor agencies and supporting organizations. He stated that at a time when Shikhar Municipality has been prioritizing education, the additional support has been highly valuable, and extended his appreciation to Good Neighbors, the Community Development Center, and the Government of Japan. “We have been working by giving special priority to education,” Mayor Balayar said. “Within the limits of local government resources, we have been carrying out construction and educational improvement programs. In that effort, Good Neighbors, under the Government of Japan, has extended support. This has further encouraged and assisted us. I express my heartfelt thanks to all supporting agencies.”

Deputy Mayor Sunita Rawal Jora also expressed her gratitude for selecting rural schools and supporting them in becoming child-friendly, gender-friendly, and disability-friendly. She expressed confidence that the constructed infrastructures would make it easier for female students and students with disabilities.

Miyuki Tsujii, representative of Good Neighbors Japan, stated that the support was provided with the belief that it would improve children’s nutritional status and make things easier for girls and children with disabilities. “I must say that the investment in this project has been made from the taxes paid by the people of Japan,” she said. “I am confident that it will be properly utilized and maintained. The structures built here are child-friendly, gender-friendly, and disability-friendly, which will benefit such children. Filtered drinking water facilities have been arranged so that children can drink clean water. A kitchen has also been constructed. By growing vegetables in the school’s own garden and cooking them in the school kitchen to feed the children, their nutritional status will also improve.”

Executive Director of Community Development Center Doti, Hemraj Joshi, emphasized the need for proper utilization and maintenance of the constructed infrastructures. “These important and much-needed structures have been built with the support of the Government of Japan and Good Neighbors, in coordination with Shikhar Municipality and in partnership with the Community Development Center,” he said. “From today, these structures belong to the schools, and it is the responsibility of the school community to ensure their proper use and preservation.”

Principals of Radhakrishna Secondary School, Tijali, Janga Bahadur Air, and Saraswati Secondary School, Hemraj Upadhyaya, stated that the constructed infrastructures have greatly supported the students and the school community. Expressing that such infrastructures were beyond their expectations, they extended their gratitude to the supporting organizations.