Students took part in the annual Tree Planting on the school campus.
Author: Rachel Glynn
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New school term
At the beginning of March 2011, the school resumed after the two and a half month winter break.
Thankfully the wooden floors have survived and have recently been sanded and re-varnished.
In the aftermath of the mudslide disaster, 78 displaced children who had lost their homes or a parent, were taken in by the school as residential pupils. This has left the school with the need for additional classroom and residential accommodation in addition to the planned expansion of the school.
Of paramount importance is to build a defensive structure to protect the school from future similar mud or rock slide events. A structural engineer from Arup, the architects and engineers of the school, is spending four months at the school working with the construction manager during the summer construction programme.
The landscape of the whole school site needs a lot of work because the resulting ground level is 1-1.5m higher than it used to be in many places.
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King of Ladakh
The king of Ladakh, Raja Thinles Namgyal, recently passed away.
The Druk Padma Karpo School wishes to express gratitude for his patronage and his active involvement and to offer condolences to his family.
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Sponsor a 150km bike ride
CONGRATULATIONS to Malcolm and Edwin, who completed a 150km sponsored bike ride. Please help the school by donating to reach their goal of £1000. Go to their Virgin Money Giving page.
Malcolm Hodgson and Edwin Gruber of St Christopher School, Letchworth, are raising funds for equipment and teaching materials for the school following last year’s mudslide damage.
Malcolm and Edwin had never done a bike ride of this length before, but felt they really wanted to show their commitment to the school by doing something extraordinary.
Please support their effort by sponsoring their achievement.
Many thanks for any support you can give.
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Losar – Ladakhi New Year
Dawa Dolma, a student of M-8, describes Losar which was celebrated in December.
“Losar is the one of the important festival of Ladakh. It is a New Year eve for us. On Losar we forget about the past and look forward for a bright and prosperous new year. Day before the Losar we remember our close ones who passed away. We go to cremation ground with a monk and do a prayer there.
On the day of Losar we visit our relatives and friends and they serve food, sweets and CHANG (local beer) to the guests. On Losar we all wear new clothes and wish each other. These days, affluent families distribute gifts to poor and needy. Children always look forward for Losar because it is a day of festival, feast, gifts as well as lots of fun and playing.
HAPPY LOSAR TO ALL OF YOU!!! “
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Repair and resources
The Construction Manager, Angdus, and his teams spent the months before the harsh winter set-in repairing and replacing the broken doors and windows that the mud and rocks had crashed into. Where the mud had been deposited, up to 1-1.5 m deep inside rooms, the lower sections of interior walls, made of mudbricks, had to be removed as the moisture from the mud caused them to deteriorate.
While classrooms were unusable, some lessons were held in tents. Gradually the classrooms were ready for temporary use without furniture.
Apart from the two science laboratories, classrooms and offices have wooden floors and there was concern that the floors might be ruined and need replacing – timber costs are high. Once the mud had been dug out, the floors were cleaned and left to thoroughly dry over the winter for review in the spring.
Before the school closed for the long winter break, lost equipment, resources and some furniture was replaced and the residential dormitories re-equipped using donated funds.
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Devastating mudslide 5/6 August 2010
During the night of 5/6th August 2010 devastating mudslides hit the Leh and Shey areas of The Indus valley. One of these mudslides swept through the school depositing up to 1.5m of mud, boulders and debris across a large part of the campus. All the residential students and staff escaped across a raging torrent of mud in the pitch dark of the night.
In the following days the devastation was recorded in these photographs.
During the first few weeks following the mud and rock slide, the school received immediate help from many volunteers. The Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) sent a team of around 50 workers for three weeks to dig mud out of the buildings which was a tremendous help.
During this time the school received a visit from the Bollywood star Mr Aamir Khan, who filmed part of the hit film ”3 Idiots” at the school two years previously. Mr Khan was the guest of His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa, the school’s founder. This visit helped to cheer spirits amongst the devastation.
Oxfam kindly provided emergency latrines. Médecins Sans Frontières offered counselling to the staff and pupils.
Sir Anthony Bamford of JCB Excavators kindly donated a JCB to the school in Septemebr 2010 at the request of Drukpa Trust in the UK. The JCB has already been extremely useful in clearing rocks and debris from the school campus and is now being used to create a ditch, wall and earth mound protection.
The Construction Manager, Angdus, and his teams spent the months before the harsh winter set-in repairing and replacing the broken doors and windows that the mud and rocks had crashed into. Where the mud had been deposited, up to 1-1.5 m deep inside rooms, the lower sections of interior walls, made of mudbricks, had to be removed as the moisture from the mud caused them to deteriorate.
While classrooms were unusable, some lessons were held in tents. Gradually the classrooms were ready for temporary use without furniture.
Apart from the two science laboratories, classrooms and offices have wooden floors and there was concern that the floors might be ruined and need replacing – timber costs are high. Once the mud had been dug out, the floors were cleaned and left to thoroughly dry over the winter for review in the spring.
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Devastating Mudslide 5/6 August 2010
During the night of 5/6th August 2010 devastating mudslides hit the Leh and Shey areas of The Indus valley. One of these mudslides swept through the school depositing up to 1.5m of mud, boulders and debris across a large part of the campus. All the residential students and staff escaped across a raging torrent of mud in the pitch dark of the night.
In the following days the devastation was recorded in these photographs.
During the first few weeks following the mud and rock slide, the school received immediate help from many volunteers. The Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) sent a team of around 50 workers for three weeks to dig mud out of the buildings which was a tremendous help.
During this time the school received a visit from the Bollywood star Mr Aamir Khan, who filmed part of the hit film ”3 Idiots” at the school two years previously. Mr Khan was the guest of His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa, the school’s founder. This visit helped to cheer spirits amongst the devastation.
Oxfam kindly provided emergency latrines. Médecins Sans Frontières offered counselling to the staff and pupils.
Sir Anthony Bamford of JCB Excavators kindly donated a JCB to the school in Septemebr 2010 at the request of Drukpa Trust in the UK. The JCB has already been extremely useful in clearing rocks and debris from the school campus and is now being used to create a ditch, wall and earth mound protection.