Tsharka Tibetan Elem/Middle School, Dolpo, Nepal

Since 2003, Tsharka Elementary School has operated during the summer months, from April through October, when most families are at home in the village. During this compressed six-month school year, students worked hard to complete the full nine months of studies. As students grew older and we added more classes, it became more and more difficult for students to learn all the required material during the summer months. Last year, for the first time, Tsharka Elementary School operated during the winter months. This gave students a chance to complete the full year’s studies without trying to rush through them. In 2020-2021, our School Coordinator stayed in Tsharka for the winter to manage the winter school program. Plans to build a new passive solar building, including classrooms, were delayed by the COVID pandemic in 2020. However, almost all the building materials are now in Tsharka. We hope that during the summer of 2021, the building can be completed. For now, students study in our recently-completed regular classrooms. Our greenhouse, itself a passive solar structure, gives a few students a place to study in a more comfortable temperature.