NEW SCHOOL BUILDING NAMDO
Hooray, the new school building is finished!
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We are very pleased that all the buildings of the new school building are now complete and fully usable. They house 10 classrooms including a library and a toilet block.
Of course, pupils and teachers are most pleased that lessons can now take place all year round in bright, friendly and insulated rooms. They are particularly proud of the library, especially as it has already been well equipped with books and other learning materials thanks to targeted donations.
Children from all grades were interviewed by their teacher Yungdung about their new school. You can find the interviews here.
The teachers were very supportive of the project. They realized the lessons under difficult conditions during the entire construction phase and actively helped with the building work.
Many thanks to all the sponsors who made this project possible!
They trusted us, encouraged us and supported us financially with this major project. It was only thanks to their generosity that we were able to build the school without having to tap into the association's reserves. Thank you very much!!!
Why a new school building? A new building had become necessary because the existing old clay buildings had been so badly damaged in 2018/2019 by prolonged rain in the summer and heavy snowfall in the following winter that repairs were no longer possible. In any case, the school could only be used in summer, as the rooms were too cold, damp and dark in winter.
In 2019, together with the Rural Municipality, the village of Namdo, the school committee and the school association, it was decided to realize a new building in the form of modern, stable, weatherproof and earthquake-proof buildings to ensure access to education in Namdo in the future.
And so the new school was built in Namdo in 2019-2023 with significant support from the Lo-Manthang school association.
Modern construction
The buildings consist partly of a steel frame construction with prefabricated elements and partly of stone and reinforced concrete. The advantage of this construction is that they are more stable than stone buildings (earthquake-resistant) and the need for wood is minimized. Wood is extremely difficult to obtain
in the Upper Dolpo.
The roofing of all buildings is a steel truss construction with a metal roof. Pitched roofs are necessary to hold the roof load during snowfall and to ensure that the buildings remain dry during rainfall. The walls and roof are thermally insulated. The design is based on the plans of the Australian architects Taylor/Thomson/Whitting, designed for the "Australian Himalaya Foundation". This construction method fulfils all the essential requirements for a school building:
• wind and weather resistant
• earthquake resistant
• durable
• bright, warm and modern rooms
• flexible and expandable room concept
The buildings are simply and functionally furnished with tables, benches and blackboards (whiteboards), which were built by local carpenters. The wood used comes from the Shey-Phoksumdo National Park with the permission of the national park administration.
Costs
The complete new school building, including renovation costs, cost a total of CHF 409,289. The district government (Shey Phoksundo Rural Municipality) covered CHF 17 000 of this amount. The originally budgeted costs amounted to CHF 293 000, but were exceeded by CHF 116,285 due to the difficult conditions during the Corona period and the lack of knowledge of the first construction manager. The main additional expense was caused by the necessary repair work. The association assumed CHF 67 814 of the additional costs. The responsible construction company and the supplier contributed CHF 48 471. The construction was therefore 23% more expensive for the association than originally planned.
Everyone involved is happy that normal everyday life has now returned to the school grounds.
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Here you will find further information on the various construction phases.
