Children of Shree Mahakali Lower Secondary School at Okharpauwa-6 in Nuwakot—one of the worst quake-hit districts—have thronged to the school from Sunday after popular comedian Sitaram Kattel, known as Dhurmus from the comedy show 'Meri Bassai', led a team that put up a new building at the damaged school within four days.
Children were visibly happy to see the new school building as well as the comedians whom they were used to seeing on television. However, the fear of earthquakes has not left the children who are only too aware of a completely damaged school building close to the new one built by the artists.A total of 15 artists from comedy shows 'Meri Bassai' and 'Bhadragol' put up the new building, with the locals actively contributing their labor.
Dhurmus, Kunjana Ghimire 'Suntali', Buddhi Tamang 'Hanumaane', Surbir Pandit, Kumar Kattel 'Jigari', Hari Niraula 'Cockroach' and Suresh Thapa, among other comedians of the two comedy shows, swung into action since Thursday to raise the new structure.
The team has also built 40 temporary toilets in the nearby villages of Kuley and Chitrey. The comedians partnered with Sagoon.com, a social networking site developed by Nepali Zest Foundation, and the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage to built the school and toilets. An estimated Rs 1 million was spent on the building and the amount was collected from partner organizaitons, according to the team.
"We came here a week ago to assess the needs of this community. The school was completely damaged and it might have taken months for the government to show up to rebuild it. We felt that the derelict school might overshadow the future of the students. So, we have taken the initiative to rebuild it," Dhurmus told Republica.
"The new structure is built with locally available materials like bamboo and we managed the zinc roofing sheets and other materials on our own. The locals provided immense labor support in the construction. This building will last for at least five years," he added.
While the government is planning to reopen schools in the earthquake-hit districts from June 1, school headmaster Ram Udgar Yadav told Republica that they will be resuming classes from Tuesday. The school teaches classes up to Grade 8.
"The first day we tried to soothe the fears of the students by assuring them that this newly-constructed school building would cause no harm even during earthquakes. We will start classes gradually from tomorrow while also trying to entertain the children so that they will be excited about coming to school," Yadav added.
The comedy team also took classes today in the school to entertain the students and encourage them to be regular in their attendence. To make sure the children did not lack stationary items which might have been buried under the debris of their homes, the comedy team also distributed school kits to the 250 school children.
The guardians of the schouol children were equally elated to see the children back in school again. "The future of the students seemed to be uncertain due to the earthquake. The new building has now given us hope," Rishi Kumar Tamang, one of the guardians, told Republica.
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