Hi,
It is now 7 years since I moved to the UK. Life has been very busy; starting a new family, children, jobs –and accepting different roles my children put me into these days. It is a great joy to see Samden, Asha and Naomi grow and learn new things every day. Nima and Theo are now old enough to fly (on their own) from Denmark.

I am really pleased that YESS has managed to keep its members involved and gradually has developed as a successful organisation. I am very proud of all of the ex-students –some of who are involved in YESS, many of whom have gone on to higher education and beyond. 17 years ago, when we started Yangrima School, one of our aims was to enable students to take care of themselves and others in the community. Your achievement is the proof of that success.

I have noticed re-opening of Yangrima School is high on the YESS agenda. This is an issue which is close to my heart and know that many friends of Yangrima recognise the importance of education in the Helambu region. Under the current situation, it seems natural that the lead to re-open Yangrima School should come from member/s of YESS or YESS as an organisation. It maybe useful to take a staged approach in the re-opening of Yangrima School. The first stage (development stage) could be setting up a small working group (consisting of YESS members, ex-teachers, community members) –which will put all necessary processes in place eg. Consultation with stakeholders, developing a new governance structure, obtaining paperworks, producing a business plan, securing funding etc. The second stage (performing stage) could be where a management committee, staff recruitment, building renovation, enrolments of students etc could take place.

Both the development stage and performing stages will need resources. I am happy to co-ordinate support from the UK, especially at its early stage of the development process. If you have any suggestions and/or are able to provide any support, please let me know.

In the meantime, I wish all the best to ex-students, fellow ex-teachers and friends of Yangrima. I look forward to hearing from you all.

Namaste,
Gopal Lama

E-mail: GoNepal@aol.com
Normanton, West Yorkshire, UK.
Tel: 07812 184322.