The school, founded in 2003, offers education – from nursery to class 10 – to about 500 children living in the outskirts of Kathmandu.These children are from some of the poorest families who are often unable to cope with their daily upkeep, let alone the cost of their education. Most parents are weavers, factory workers, beggars, cleaners or those carrying out heavy labour on roads and construction sites. After paying – in the best cases – the rents of their simple rooms and purchasing daily food, these families often have nothing left to pay school fees. Many families get into debt to cover the cost of schooling, facing enormous difficulties, in the hope that their children will have a better future than them; and their biggest dream is to find someone to support their children.
At Gangchen Samling School, the utmost attention is paid to the quality of the education on offer and to the creation of a comfortable and serene study environment for the students. In the nursery and kindergarten classes, the Montessori method is used. All students have access to Taekwondo, music and dance classes which were increased following the earthquake of 2015 due to their great psychological and therapeutic value.
In the state exams, at the end of the tenth class, almost all the students of the school have obtained very high qualifications, reflecting the excellent quality of the education.
In 2018 the renovation of a new and larger school building was completed.
The new building can now accommodate up to 650-700 children, allowing the school the possibility to accept enrolment requests by an increasing number of families; this is thanks to the excellent reputation of the school, and the hope of accessing the long distance adoption programme.
In the newly completed building there are 12-13 more classrooms; science and computer labs, a music room, a play area, as well as a large space allocated to a future vocational training project – probably for electricians and plumbers, both very useful and much needed skills in Nepal.
Ample toilet facilities have been built and a supply of safe drinking water ensured. The school staff consists of 43 people, including teachers, administrators and classroom support staff for the children in the lowest classes.
Most of the students are supported through the long distance adoption programme, which has been active for about 20 years. All the sponsors of the children are regularly sent report cards, letters and photos.