On 13th December 2018, the foundation laying ceremony for a child friendly school building for Shree Gorakhkalika Secondary School was conduced in the presence of representatives from JCYCN and KANALLAN, School Construction Committee, School Management Committee, Elected Representatives, Municipal Officers, Parents, Teachers, and students. There was a participation of over 500 people in the ceremony. Jagriti Child and Youth Concern Nepal with support from //KANALLAN is constructing the school building for Shree Gorakhkalika Secondary School in Bulingtar Rural municipality, ward number-4.
The Chief guest for the Foundation laying ceremony was the Honorable Roshan Bahadur Ghaha, Member of Parliament for province number 4. Special Guests for the program included officials from the district Education Department, Municipal Officers, Ward Presidents of ward no.4 and surrounding wards, Board Members of JCYCN, and other representatives from JCYCN and KANALLAN. The event was organized by JCYCN in collaboration with Bulingtar Rural Municipality and with the support from //KANALLAN. The ceremony started with a ceremonial walk up to the school led by local musicians, playing traditional musical instruments. Which was followed by the opening and introduction session.
After the opening and introduction, the foundation laying was done, the first brick was ceremonially laid by the Chief Guest, Honorable Roshan Bahadur Gaha; Member of Parliament, Province no.4 and Mr. Quintin Clover from //KANALLAN. The laying of the first brick, called “Shilanyaas”, that marks the beginning of construction work for buildings, also has itself rooted in the traditional values, for the foundation laying is done to ensure the auspiciousness of the construction work and to ward off any possible obstructions in the process.
After the laying of the foundation, the program continued with a speech from the school principal. He gave an introduction to the school’s history and expressed his gratitude towards JCYCN and //KANALLAN for the school building. He said that the school was in dire need of support and with this help, the school will make itself sustainable and better in terms of education as well so that students from around will not have to travel a long way to go to a different school. This was followed by a speech from Mr. Chet Bahadur Godami, the ward president for ward No. 4 where he expressed his commitment and full support to make sure that the school building is completed on time and to gather any other resources that might be necessary for the timely completion. Along with the speeches, the students also entertained the guests with their cultural dance performance and songs.
Following the dance and song performances, Mr. Quintin Clover from //KANALLAN expressed his best wishes for the school and the students. Mr. Tilottam Paudel, President of JCYCN also gave a speech where he reminded all the parents and the teachers that it was their responsibility to make the school a model school. He encouraged the communication between the parents and the teachers and asked them to ensure that the school is also child friendly. He interacted with the students and reminded them of their duties and asked them to make the child clubs active and participate in extra-curricular activities as well.
Honorable Mr. Roshan Gaha, Member of Parliament of province no.4 and the chief guest for the event, ended the program with his speech where he addressed all the people of the community and requested them to focus on educating the children. He said that education is the key to get beyond all the obstacles the community has been facing as a whole. He encouraged the community people to engage more with the political leaders and elected representatives and work towards making the ward a model ward.