Ambassador of Japan to Nepal Masashi Ogawa signed a grant contract for the Project for Assistance for Strengthening the Resilience of Earthquake Affected Schools in Nuwakot District.

The grant contract was signed between the Embassy of Japan and Takafumi Miyake, Country Director of Shanti Volunteer Association (SVA) Nepal Office.

The Project for Assistance for Strengthening the Resilience of Earthquake Affected Schools in Nuwakot District is funded under the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects Scheme for FY2017. The total grant assistance is USD 591,810 (NPR 60 million).

Shanti Volunteer Association (SVA), an international NGO based in Japan, will work with a Nepalese partner NGO, Community and Rural Development Society Nepal (CARDSN), to implement the project.

According to a press release issued by Embassy of Japan, the goal of the project is to reconstruct school buildings in earthquake-affected areas, develop school level disaster preparedness plans, and increase awareness and provide education in disaster preparedness in Nuwakot District. This goal will be achieved through four main activities: Reconstruction of earthquake resilient school buildings: three schools, affected by the devastating earthquake in 2015, will be reconstructed to be earthquake-resistant with designs approved by the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), thus, providing safe learning environment.

The practice of psycho-social care for children and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) education: Introducing story-telling and recreational activities as methods of psycho-social care for children and developing DRR education materials for schools. A workshop will also be implemented for the teachers in collaboration with local authorities.

Development of Disaster Preparedness (DP) Plans at schools:

DRR training for teachers will be carried out and a DRR expert will check the contents of the DP plan prepared by the teachers who participate in the training. In schools, evacuation drills will be carried out to practice the DP plan guidelines.

Enhancing awareness of school-level DRR among communities:

In collaboration with the School Management Committees (SMCs)and the District Education Office (DEO), workshops for sharing the school DP plans with the surrounding communities will be carried out.

“The Embassy of Japan in Nepal expects that the success of this project will develop communities’ capacity for disaster preparedness and create a safer environment for school children.  It is also expected the project will enhance the cordial friendship between the peoples of Japan and Nepal,” said a press release issued by Embassy of Japan.