Review of the Annual Funding Arrangement for Support of the Projects of the Himalayan Trust in Solu Khumbu, Nepal
Report Summary | Eva0715

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Date | October 2007
Team | Mike Bird, NZAID, Development Programme Manager

Background

The current Annual Funding Arrangement, in place since 2003/04, was set up by ministerial decision in April 2003. New Zealand Agency for International Development (NZAID) agreed to provide NZ$290,000 per year to the Himalayan Trust to support its work “to assist Nepalese people with the building and upkeep of schools and hospitals in remote areas, with a focus on the Solu Khumbu region.” The funding builds on a long history of NZ Official Development Assistance (ODA) support for the work of the Himalayan Trust, established by Sir Edmund Hillary in 1965. Through its Education Programme, the Trust is now supporting the work of 63 schools with a total of over 6,500 students. Through its Health Programme the Trust supports Kunde Hospital and seven satellite clinics. The hospital and clinics treated 16,327 patients in the year 2006/07. The Trust also provides support to Phaplu Hospital.

The Himalayan Trust submits to NZAID an annual list of priority projects for funding. The education projects include the supply of textbooks and stationery to schools, incentive payments for teachers in remote schools, scholarships for students, teacher training and women’s’ literacy classes. The health projects include the provision of medical supplies and the upkeep of infrastructure to enable the hospitals and clinics to continue to function. The main stakeholders in the Funding Arrangement are the people of Solu Khumbu who benefit from the services provided as well as the staff of the schools and hospitals, through which the services are provided, and the Himalayan Trust. Other stakeholders include the Government of Nepal, NZAID and NZ Government Ministers who set up the arrangement.

Purpose and Objectives

The ministerial decision establishing the Funding Arrangement states that: it would be appropriate to undertake a low key ‘stock-take’ of the work of the Trust, including outcomes achieved and any issues, and to report findings and recommendations to Ministers. The intention of this Review was to serve as a learning exercise for the Trust and NZAID as much as a verification that projects funded have been an effective use of ODA.

Main Findings

The Review confirmed that the Trust has been carrying out those activities agreed under the funding arrangement with NZAID, and that these activities have had a positive impact on the lives of the people of Solu Khumbu. Current challenges are a function of Solu Khumbu’s remoteness, small population and fragile environment. Other problems are linked to the general poverty of Nepal. One of the main strengths of the work of the Trust is that it has focused on helping people to help themselves, rather than importing ready-made solutions. The Trust occupies a position of influence in Solu Khumbu and has a great opportunity, and a certain responsibility, to accomplish all it can, to the highest possible standards, while continuing to leave the development agenda in the hands of the people of Solu Khumbu.

School supplies: teachers see the supplies, and their continuation, as an essential form of support. The system for identifying the numbers of students in each grade of each of the 63 schools and conveying this information to the Trust in Kathmandu for ordering supplies is well established and works well. Supplies are procured in Kathmandu and as far as possible are made in Nepal. The Trust no longer builds classrooms, as there are now sufficient for the numbers of children in Solu Khumbu (now and future) and also because other organisations have been supporting classroom building. The Trust therefore focuses on providing predictable, reliable support for teaching materials and stationery. The constancy of support is particularly recognised and valued by the people of Solu Khumbu.

School governance: Nepalese government policy requires schools to set-up Management Committees. The committees of the Solu Khumbu schools are generally active and encourage participation by parents and the community in the school. For example:

Namche, where parents pay fees to hire three additional teachers from Namche itself so that the school can offer the government’s English language medium syllabus. Fees are not charged to those parents who cannot afford to pay. This arrangement was reported to be working well
Thamo where the committee gained the agreement of parents for a 50NPR fine for each day that a child was kept out of school for an avoidable reason
in many schools the committees are active in organising fundraising activities, so that additional teachers can be retained in small schools in order to offer all grades.

Most committees mentioned difficulties in finding people to take on roles. The women teachers at Thame school suggested that local women should be encouraged to participate as committee members.

School staffing: the Association of Teachers in Nepal has estimated that there is a national shortage of 62,000 teachers in schools, due to insufficient Ministry of Education funds to pay them. This is why most schools are finding ways to raise additional funds to employ more teachers. Given that the District Education Officer (DEO) must give higher priority to bigger schools further down the valley, there is a solid equity of access justification for the Trust to focus on the Solu Khumbu region. Due to the national shortage of teachers in schools and the remoteness of Solu Khumbu, consideration could be given to encouraging Sherpas to stay and work as teachers in their home areas and there are indications that this is happening, e.g. at Khumjung the improving living conditions have encouraged teachers, both local Sherpas and others, to stay on at the school.

Teacher training: to improve teacher quality, in 1997 the Trust embarked on six years of teacher training (for 200 teachers from 63 schools). Since then, the Trust has continued to employ two teacher trainers who conduct year round in-service training to teachers in the region. These teacher trainers also provide an important link between the schools and the DEO, and between the schools and the Trust. This in-service training is reported by teachers to be a valued source of professional support and is another reason why teachers choose to stay in the region. The programme of teacher training that the Trust designed and implemented in Solu Khumbu is being used as a model for good practice elsewhere in Nepal. The teacher trainers who worked for the Trust have set up an organisation in Kathmandu called Rural Education and Environment Development, which is used as a resource in teacher training programmes undertaken by the Ministry of Education in partnership with international NGOs. One area that may merit attention is the training of teachers to teach multi-grade classes and/or other initiatives to provide services to small populations in remote areas.

Hospital governance and financing: the hospital at Kunde has had a positive impact. There would almost certainly be no health service available in Solu Khumbu had the hospital not been built and supported by the Trust. Remaining challenges include:

involving the local population in hospital management
repairing the health post at Monjo using local resources (under way)
gradually increasing locally generated hospital revenue–from those who can afford to pay for medicines, tests etc. to improve sustainability of services. A local insurance scheme is another option. New services are already paid for at cost by users. A fund should be established to enable the treatment of those unable to pay
recruiting and paying a second doctor.

Environmental conservation: the Trust has had a positive impact. Denuded hillsides are being reforested and a previously sceptical population is increasingly active in the work Sagamartha National Park. The plans are in place for phasing out the Trust’s direct support for reforestation work as this is now in the hands of user groups. However, the Trust continues to encourage proactive engagement in the user groups and other activities of the national park. There is also a need to deal with environmental effects of increased numbers of visitors to the national park. Raising the cost of entry fees would be one way to retain a steady income, while reducing the cost to the environment by limiting visitor numbers.

Networking: the Trust has a good relationship with the Social Welfare Council and received a positive report from the council after three of its staff members visited Solu Khumbu in May 2007. Further visits are planned for the future in order to assess how the Trust is delivering on the commitments it has agreed with the council.
Save the Children Norway represents the NGOs in education sector meetings with the Ministry of Education and its international donor partners. The staff of Save the Children Norway are interested to learn more about the work of the Trust and to make the resource materials they produce for teachers available for distribution by the Trust to the schools in Solu Khumbu.

Looking to the future: the track record of the Trust is impressive. Much has been achieved through the consistent and long-term support and the appropriate ways in
which it has been delivered over the years. The Trust has adapted successfully to changing needs and circumstances, seeing the need for teacher training in the 90s, supporting additional schools in order to ensure that no children in Solu Khumbu are missing out on a decent quality of education and playing a key role in the establishment of Sagamartha National Park in the early 70s. The Trust now faces the challenge of finding and developing a new generation of leaders for both the fundraising and implementation sides of its work. The current members of the Advisory Board of the Trust in Nepal grew up knowing that they were the first generation to benefit from an expansion of opportunities. The new generation cannot remember a time when there were no schools or hospitals and may not feel the same sense of commitment to the work of the Trust. Similarly the generation of mountaineers who first experienced the generosity of the Sherpa people and committed themselves to repaying it is also growing older. Who will lead the Trust’s work in the future in not clear.

Key Issues and Learning for NZAID

Environment

Solu Khumbu’s fragile environment is under increasing stress due to growth in tourism.

Leadership

The Trust faces the challenge of finding and developing a new generation of leaders for both fundraising and project implementation.

Participatory Approaches

Participatory approaches involving the local community take time but are effective and increase sustainability as local commitment and local resources are increasingly deployed.

Long Term Commitment

Making a difference is generational. Solu Khumbu is reaping the benefits of the Trust’s long-term commitment and a capacity for adaptation to changing circumstances. Education of Sherpas in the past is paying off as they take up key local roles in health and education. The Trust played a key role in the establishment of Sagamartha National Park in the early 70s, saw the need for supporting additional schools in order to ensure educational access for all children and shifted priorities to meet need for teacher training in the 90s.

Follow-up

The Review report was presented in draft form, including NZAID’s recommendations, to the Himalayan Trust at its AGM in November 2007 as an agreed part of the Review process.

To request a copy of the full report email evaluation@nzaid.govt.nz and quote the reference number - Eva0715.

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Review of the Annual Funding Arrangement for Support of the Projects of the Himalayan Trust in Solu Khumbu, Nepal Report Summary | Eva0715

Date | October 2007 Team | Mike Bird, NZAID, Development Programme Manager