Discovering the meaning of education

Playing a melodic tune on the basuri sur (local flute), Bikram is transported back to the days when he yearned to supplement his family’s income, not realising how important education was for him. At the age of 12, going to school was not his priority; supporting his father in their ancestral earthen pottery business was all he wanted to do. He did not see the relevance of the classes he attended during the fifth standard in a nearby primary school.

Today Bikram thinks differently. His perception towards education has changed. He attributes this change to the child club he joined four years ago. He recalls, “When I left school, it did not matter to me, but when I came to this community child club, everyone started introducing themselves along with the names of the schools they were attending. I was embarrassed and it was then that I felt the need to go back to school first before joining this club.”

Bikram, now 20, lives with his family – his parents and a younger brother (19) – in Madhapur Thimi Municipality in Bhaktapur District. He has an older sister who is married and lives with her husband. Not only Bikram’s father, but their whole community has been involved in the pottery business for generations. So it was very natural for Bikram to get drawn into the business as there was no one to inspire him to study. His parents did scold him when he made a decision to drop out of school, but that was not enough to make him go back.

It was only after he left school and was helping his father at home that he heard about World Vision’s training in pottery, in Bhaktapur. Thinking this would enhance his skills, he wanted to join the training. But as he was quite young for the training, he was instead encouraged by the trainers to go back to school. Despite many requests by the trainers, he refused to go back to school, saying he had lost interest in his studies and wanted to help his father in the family business. Finally he was accepted for the pottery training.

Shomina Roy, Community Development Coordinator, World Vision Bhaktapur ADP, remembers Bikram as the youngest trainee, and says, “Though we discouraged him from taking the training, he made many requests so finally we had to take him in. He had this knack for learning and he was very regular at the training.” The years went by but little did Bikram realise he was missing out on the many other aspects of being a child. He was so involved in the family pottery business that did not have friends and did not know how to make one. One day he saw many children going to a child club in the neighbourhood. He was curious and wanted to know what it was all about. This is when he first visited Ekta Child Club.

It was only after his first visit to the child club that Bikram realised that he had to go to school to make friends in the club. Since then there has been no looking back. But when he rejoined school at 17 in the standard eight he realised education was not just limited to textbooks and grades. It provided him with the knowledge about many things in his world. He says with a smile, “I found the science classes very interesting. I did not know the water that I drank and used everyday was a combination of hydrogen and oxygen.” Understanding the formula of water was an amazing discovery for Bikram. He continues, “My younger brother was in a higher grade but it did not matter to me. I enjoyed the subjects I learnt in class rather than focusing on passing my subjects. It was an understanding of many simple things in life.” He had learnt the reason for the existence of many things he took for granted.

Going back to school after a break of five years was not very easy though. He had to struggle with many subjects but he saw it more as an opportunity to learn rather than merely to pass grades. At 19 he sat for the tenth grade School Leaving Certificate board examination from Shri Siddhi Ganesh Secondary School but was not successful. He says, “I have no regrets failing this examination. I am not studying to achieve a professional degree like my friends. I will continue with pottery. I just enjoy learning about various subjects.” He will reappear for his board examinations this year. For many, going to school is a means to a good career but not for Bikram. For him it was the doorway to understanding the meaning of education.

Six months after returning to school, Bikram became a child club member. Besides making friends, he has benefited from recreational activities and various courses in the child club such as life skills and gender-awareness training. He says, “I always saw my mother overworked at home while my father had a lot of free time at hand and it bothered me. Now I know this is gender discrimination prevailing in our community and we can do something to get rid of this.” His child club has also been working to increase the children’s knowledge of issues that affect them, issues such as health and the environment. He also learnt to master the art of playing the basuri sur among other local musical instruments that are housed in his child club and belongs to the community. Bikram’s mother, Nhuche Maya says, “I am happy my son rejoined school thanks to the child club. He has learnt a lot of things from the child club.”

World Vision has been supporting 14 child clubs like Ekta Child Club in Bhaktapur Area Development Programme (ADP) under its Education Project. Many activities are carried out in such child clubs with the active participation of children in the community. Child clubs are set up in communities to promote child rights awareness; child rights development; advocacy; and capacity building. The hope is that children will develop a vision, and a plan in their lives. Child clubs have voluntary facilitators, who once a week gather all the community children, teach them how to talk to people, how to respect their elders, help their neighbours, and keep themselves, their house and their environment clean. Child clubs are usually open to any child in the community. Child clubs organise regular activities such as learning how to write better, spelling contests, drawing competitions, skit shows, preparing wall magazines, street dramas. Child clubs also organise street dramas based on social issues such as the discrimination suffered by a female child, the disadvantages of drinking alcohol and drug use, the importance of education. Child club activities provide a platform for children to have their voices heard in their communities and thereby affect decision-makers.

Shomina Roy, Community Development Coordinator, World Vision Bhaktapur ADP, says, “At present World Vision is supporting child clubs in Bhaktapur to raise awareness on providing a supportive education environment for children at home. This will address the problems related to children having difficulties in studying at home, where there is less support from parents and guardians. We also supported our partner organisation, Hatemalo Sanchar, to organise a mural art competition to encourage the children to articulate the problems of education in their community and to explore what sort of supportive environment is needed for the education of children through art. The art was then compiled into one canvas which will be used in one of the government offices. From this canvas, hoarding boards will be printed and put up at strategic locations as recommended by the district government office.” All child clubs supported by World Vision in Bhaktapur have been registered under the District Child Welfare Board so as to form a network whereby they can work collaboratively with other child clubs. Under this network a special Village Child Protection Committee has also been formed.

World Vision International Nepal (WVIN) encourages child participation in all its ADPs. To promote child participation, WVIN has been supporting child clubs in ten districts, namely Bhaktapur, Rupandehi, Jumla, Kathmandu, Kaski, Kailali, Lamjung, Lalitpur, Morang and Sunsari. The goal is to empower children to raise their voices, and influence development activities and social policies related to them.