Final Reports

Ri Zang Primary Boarding School Improvement Project Manager: Lijia (Simon) Assistant Project Manager: Drolma (Serena) Increase the number of Tibetan children from remote areas attending school. Build more dormitories for the students. Provide adequate resources for the students; including PE equipment and teaching equipment. Improve health and sanitation in this school. Funds needed: $15,511   ( 128,385 rmb) The Canada Fund funded this project

Drolma is from Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture , Qinghai Province, China. She graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Qinghai Normal University Nationalities Department's English Training Program.

What? Dormitory Construction for Rizang Primary Boarding School
Who?Nouza and Shunwo villages , Gaba Sengduo Township , Tongde County, Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Qinghai

Photos of project implementation


The new dormitory buildings funded by the Canada Fund in Beijing


Students and teachers in front of the dormitory rooms in Rizang School.




The new dormitory buildings are constructed in Tibetan style


Female students outside of their new dormitory rooms


The Tongde Education Bureau provided new metal double beds in the Canada fund supported dormitory rooms.




The students are pleased with the new dormitory rooms and the new beds




Grade four students studying in the refurbished classroom


Some students look for Tongde County on the map bought with the Canada Fund's contribution


Students and teachers play basketball on the new play ground, the stand and balls were contributed by the Canada Fund and the ground was flattened by the villagers


girls play football




Students enjoy the new readers purchased with the Canada Fund's contribution






Maps and posters now adorn the classroom walls




New toilets

Summary of Project Objectives & Background

Canada Fund Contribution:
135,000 + (interest) 141.21 =135141.21 rmb
Local Contribution:
69,777.16rmb
Total Project Cost: 204,918.37 rmb
Implementing Agency: Rizang School Project Committee , Ms. Michelle Kleisath, Mr. Simon(Lijia) and Mrs. Serena(Drolma).

This is a school project funded by the Canada Fund in Beijing with the purpose of:

•  Improving accommodation conditions for nomadic children in Rizang Primary Boarding School, in Gabasumdo Township, Tongde County, Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
•  Increasing the number of Tibetan nomadic children from remote areas attending school to gain a primary school education
•  Improving the safety for the present students and prospective students living in the school.
•  Improving school's sanitation and reducing health problems among the students.

The Canada Fund contributed a total amount of 135,000 rmb , to build twelve new Tibetan style dormitory rooms, and toilets and to buy student readers and play equipment. The Tongde Education Bureau, Gabasumdo Township Education Bureau, and the villagers cooperated well with the Canada Fund's support and, an amount of 45,480 rmb was contributed in cash to complete the buildings and purchase the equipment. In addition, the villagers repaired the village road and built the school walls. Furthermore, the construction group built the school gate free of charge.

Some local villagers worked with the construction group and thus learned basic construction skills in addition to earning some cash income.

The construction was carried out under the supervision of Tongde Education Bureau. Mr. Simon and Drolma managed the project through repeated visits to the project site to inspect the project processes and quality of the buildings under Dr. Kevin Stuart and Ms. Michelle's direction. Readers and play equipment were purchased in Xining after discussions with the schoolteachers, students and the project committee.

Local Beneficiaries
161 students (71girls, 90 boys), 9 teachers and 2 cooks benefited immediately from the project. Around 220 students will directly benefit after 3 years. 90 young people from age 16-35 will receive short-term literacy training for 40 days every winter. 1,730 villagers will benefit indirectly from the project.
The actual direct beneficiaries are more than was estimated in the original proposal.

Review of Project Implementation Process

Problems or Challenges
•  At first, the construction group didn't want to do this project because the village road was too narrow and bumpy to deliver materials by truck. Simon and Serena repeatedly discussed and encouraged villagers, and finally they agreed to repair the road, making it wider and smoother.
Because of bad weather, the construction group could not complete their work according to the agreed upon schedule. We requested an extension from the Canada Fund, and also agreed to send a second final report in April, 2006, with more pictures.

Project Results/Impact

Examples/Case Studies
1). Simon and Drolma interviewed ‘gyur Med Rdo Rjes , one of the teachers who has worked in this school for ten years, about the project results. The teacher said:
“The kids are so excited to live in their new dormitory. I have taught at this school for more than ten years. When I first came here, there were only five adobe dormitory rooms. They were very dumpy and the beds were made of bags filled with dry soil. This caused many students suffer from stomachaches and other health problems. Since the villagers had no money to build new dormitories, and the government did not pay much attention to our small and remote primary school, over 300 school-aged children couldn't attend school. In addition, the students who did not board with us and had to return home in the late afternoon were always very scared on the way home because of the wolves that are common in this area, and have been known to attack people. Both the teachers and the parents were constantly worried about the health and safety of the students. The richer families didn't send their children to this school because of the poor conditions. But now, because the Canada Fund offered such new qualified dorms, there are over 160 students this year who no longer need to worry about their health or safety. Our gratitude toward Canada Fund and all others who helped with this project cannot be expressed through words. Your generosity will be remembered through history. These words come from the bottom of my heart. Thank you.”

2). We interviewed Gojeb Gyal, a grade four boy (b.1993), from Shunwo Village who lives about 30 km from the school:
Simon: How many times do you go home during a semester? And how do you get there?
Gojeb Gyal:I go home once a month by walking.
Simon: How long time have you lived at the school?
Gojeb Gyal: I have stayed at the school since the new dormitories were completed. Before, I stayed with my relatives who live 8km away from the school.
Simon: Why did you stay with them instead of staying in the school?
Gojeb Gyal: The school didn't have enough room for every student, so the students who have relatives nearby were told to go home everyday after class. Also my parents thought that it was better to stay with my relatives because the dormitory rooms are in very poor condition and students always got illnesses such as stomach problems.
Simon: Do you like the new dormitory rooms? Do your parents prefer for you stay at the school now? Why?
Gojeb Gyal: Of course my parents and I like the new dormitory rooms, because they are in great condition, and warmer than the old rooms. Plus there are only 10 of us in each room, so it is very easy to clean and tidy the room.
Simon: Do you study hard?
Gojeb Gyal: Yes, before even though I wanted to study hard, I didn't have time because I had to walk about three hours each day, also sometimes I couldn't finish my homework and I was beaten because of that, now I don't need to walk anymore and can use my time to study.
Simon: Do you know who donated the money to pay for the new dormitory rooms, toilets and play equipment?
Gojeb Gyal: uh…., Canada, right?
Simon: Yes, almost right, except for a tiny error. There is an organization in Beijing called Canada Fund, which is part of the Canadian Embassy. They gave the funds for the project.

Original Project Proposal

Project Location:
Nouza Village, Bashui Town, Tongde County, Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, PR. China.

Both Nouza and Shuowo villages are purely nomadic. Nouza is divided into two sub villages on a large mountain-top plateau located approximately 39 km from the Tongde County seat. The two villages have 259 households (1585 people and 7 to 8 people in one family on average), which are scattered throughout the harsh plateau. These villages have poor roads and no electricity. The villagers move from one place to another depending on the season. In the summer, they herd on mountains several kilometers away from their winter locations. Most families did not have fixed winter houses until 1996, when the land was divided by the government and redistributed to the different households. The average annual cash income per person is 400 rmb .

Ri Pzang Primary Boarding School is located in northwestern part of Nouza Village in Gabasomdo Town, Tongde County, at an attitude of 3,800 meters. Nouza Village is 39 km from Tongde county seat. The adjacent villages are Sharsang in the east, and Taote and Hager in the south. Tongde County seat is located 280 km or four hours from the Prefecture capital, Chabcha and around 8 hours from the Provincial capital of Xining in Qinghai Province, People's Republic of China.

Background:
Ri Pzang Primary Boarding School is a non-governmental nomadic education center for both Nouza and Shuowo Villages, It was built in 1968 and began with one teacher and twenty to thirty students who were in grades one to two. The old school only had one adobe classroom and one adobe teacher's office. The children from remote areas had no chance to attend the school since there were no dormitories and insufficient classroom space.

In spite of the low income of the local people, they funded the reconstruction of the school in 1993, at which time it was expanded into a boarding school. As a consequence of poor construction material of earth and wood, the school needed to again be reconstructed in 1998. The local people and the Gabasomdo Education Bureau funded the second reconstruction. In addition, the education Bureau agreed to send and pay for governmental teachers. They built 9 adobe dormitories. However, the small size of the new dormitories cannot possibly accommodate all of the local children.

Currently, the school has 9,592 square meters of land, and the dormitories occupy 404 square meters. The ten new dormitories that are going to be built will occupy 200 square meters of land. The ten new dormitories will be able to accommodate 100 new boarding students.

The school currently has 140 students, 68 of whom are girls, and 8 teachers. It has five levels from pre-school to grade four. It has 6 classrooms, 9 bedrooms, one teacher's office and one dining room. Last year it had to turn away 100 students during registration because the school could not accommodate them.

Because they are nomadic, the families in this area live very far apart from each other. This means that it is difficult to transport the children to and from the school. School-age children in this area still have no opportunity to get an education. According to statistics from a 2000 census, 45,5% of all Tibetans are illiterate or have no schooling. Comparatively, only 7,3% of Han Chinese, 18,8% of Tu, and 7,2% of Mongolians are illiterate. Moreover, the illiteracy rate of Nouza and Shuowo is over 70%, which is the lowest illiteracy rate in the entire county of Tongde.

Nevertheless, the local people are highly aware of the importance of education. This can be seen in the increasing number of the enrollments from 20 students in 1968 to 140 students in 2004 and the balanced numbers of male and female students who are attending the school.

Benefits accruing to target group from proposed project/activity:
68 school-age girls, 72 school-age boys and 8 teachers will benefit immediately from the project. Around 300 students will directly benefit after 3 years (once there are enough dormitories to accommodate the students). 150 young people from 16-35 will receive short-term literacy training for 40 days in winter per year. As a consequence, over 700 children and young people will benefit from the project after 3 years.

Project Goals:
•  To increase the number of Tibetan children from remote areas attending school.
•  To build more dormitories for the students
•  To provide adequate resources for the students; including PE equipment and teaching equipment.
•  To improve health and sanitation in this school.

Justification of project/activity:
•  Low level of education

The crucial reason why the project is needed is the low level of education in these two Tibetan areas. According to the local government census in 2003, the two villages have 203 8-13 year old children, 91 of whom are female. There are also115 adolescents from age14-16, 48 of whom are girls. The adolescents and the school-aged children make up 12,8% and 7,2% of the whole village respectively. The villages have 525 people who are over 50 and under 11 years old. Almost all of these 525 people are illiterate. The villages have 1060 children, adolescents and young people in total, 461 of who are women. 696 people' between the ages of 12-50 are illiterate too. Overall, it is estimated that over 70% of the people in these two villages are illiterate. This is the lowest literacy rate in all of Tongde County. In order to improve the levels of basic education in these two villages, school improvements are in great demand.

•  Low school enrollment and hazardous health conditions.

Currently, the number of students who board at the school dormitory is only 80; this is insufficient. Due to limited dormitory space, the other students have to reside at their own homes or with their relatives who live near the school. The consequence of limited dormitory space is that the students cannot have evening classes or study appropriately. What 's more, the students who board at the school do not have appropriate beds. Ten to eleven students sleep on kangs in each dormitory. This overcrowded bedding style causes many health and sanitation problems. For instance, epidemic diseases such as Tuberculosis and Hepatitis B have become a major problem for the students. Other minor problems like the spread of head lice are also prevalent due to close contact between students. More importantly, many school-aged children cannot attend the school, because of the lack of dormitories. Therefore, there is a great need for a dormitory project.

3) Unsanitary school environment

The school has no toi let. Both teachers and students answer nature's call near and around the school. The feces, which cover the school grounds, create an unpleasant smell and poor sanitary conditions. In order to improve sanitation in this school, a toilet project must be undertaken.

•  Inadequate teaching materials and physical education equipment

The final problems are the PE and teaching equipment. The school has never bought any PE equipment. This has led to the boredom and physical detriment of many students. Furthermore, the school only has curriculum textbooks. These textbooks are not adequate for the student and teacher's classroom needs. This means that many teachers cannot do their jobs well.

•  Poverty

The villagers have a total of 63400 mu of grassland and 40 mu of grassland per person. Because of the high sea level and dry infertile land, irrigation projects would not be successful. Recently, the local government has ordered the villagers to plant more grass or trees on dry lands in order to solve problems like natural disasters and floods in other parts of China.

On average, there are 0.70 heads of livestock per person, but around 50 households have no livestock at all. Some families with no livestock rent their grassland during the summer, which earns them about 2000 to 3000 rmb per family per year on average. Other families who do not own livestock pick caterpillar fungus, which brings in around 3000 rmb per family.

Although the reduction of the tax in recent years is good news for the local people, they still have many burdens. For example, they must pay the full enrollment fee for the children's schooling. Each year, the villagers of Nouza must pay 8117 rmb in school fees, and the villagers from Shuowo must pay 4248 rmb. In addition, each student must contribute one sheep, five jin of rapeseed-oil and a school fee every year. The school fee is as follows: 70 rmb for each student from pre-school to grade three, 90 rmb for grade four. In addition, the two villages need to support the local monastery. After paying school and monastery dues, they are left with little cash income (around 300-400 RMB) to support their basic living needs such as food and shelter.

When it is time to have wedding ceremonies or festivals like the Laosar (Tibetan New Year), the villagers have no choice but to borrow money from banks. According to the official statistics in Gabasomdo's 2000 to 2002 demography, 95 % of the households in Nouza and Shuowo Villages have loans from the banks. Thus, the villagers do not have the money to pay for much needed improvements to the local school. In addition, the government can only afford to pay the teachers' salaries.

The local government supports and manages several different schools in Tongde county, and cannot afford to fund the improvements needed for Ri Pzang Primary Boarding School.

Expected output and results:

Output:

The output of this project will depend on three parts: project management, labor and monitoring. Management will be conducted by the Ri Zang Primary Boarding School Committee, the labour will be carried out by the Nouza and Shuowo Villagers, and Drolma will monitor the project.

Results:

Expected results are that dorms, toilets, and a surrounding wall will be constructed in Ri Zang Primary Boarding School so as to provide a safe and sanitary school environment which is capable of a serving a large number of students. The purchase of Physical education equipment and classroom materials will also improve the quality of teaching at this school.

The steps of the project:

•  The applicant has already held a discussion regarding the importance of improving the school in order to reduce the illiteracy rate and provide better opportunities for village children.

•  Funds need to be guaranteed for the project to be started.

•  Once the funds are assured, a contractor will be hired.

•  The applicant will have a formal meeting to confirm the project plans and create an exact timetable.

•  A copy of the planned actions will be given to the Netherlands Embassy.

•  The funds from the Netherlands Embassy will be used to purchase construction materials such as: steel, cement, bricks, windows and doors.

•  The local villagers will flatten the school grounds, complete the surrounding wall of the school and offer the local workers' food.

•  Ms. Drolma , Mr Hang Qingjia , Jia Rou will purchase the PE and teaching equipment from Xining.

•  Ms. Kleisath, Ms. Drolma, and Mr. Hang Qingjia will supervise the project through its completion.

•  A detailed final report will be sent specifying the project activities, cost analysis and budget summary.

Execution:

The local people will send eight local workers from Nouza Village and seven workers from Shuowo village for thirty days to complete the surrounding wall. Ten additional local workers from each village will flatten the school ground for ten days. The value of each worker's labor on the surrounding wall is 20 rmb per day and 15 rmb per day for the workers who are flattening ground. The food for each worker is 6 rmb per day. The total labor value for construction of the surrounding wall is 9000 rmb, the total for flattening the ground is 6000 rmb and total for food is 5100 rmb in total. The local people will purchase half of the beds for 4000 rmb, provide simple tools for the workers and the school itself will contribute 1000 rmb in cash for equipment transportation fee.

The local people will send eight local workers from Nouza Village and seven workers from Shuowo village for thirty days to complete the surrounding wall. Ten additional local workers from each village will flatten the school ground for ten days. The value of each worker's labor on the surrounding wall is 20 rmb per day and 15 rmb per day for the workers who are flattening ground. The food for each worker is 6 rmb per day. The total labor value for construction of the surrounding wall is 9000 rmb, the total for flattening the ground is 6000 rmb and total for food is 5100 rmb in total. The local people will purchase half of the beds for 4000 rmb, provide simple tools for the workers and the school itself will contribute 1000 rmb in cash for equipment transportation fee.

Detailed Budget:

Local Contribution:
a) Financial: The local people will purchase half of the beds for 4000 rmb, and the school itself will contribute 1000 rmb in cash for equipment transportation fees.

b) Labour: The local people will send eight local workers from Nouza Village and seven workers from Shuowo village for thirty days to complete the surrounding wall. Ten additional local workers from each village will flatten the school ground for ten days. The value of each worker's labor on the surrounding wall is 20 rmb per day and 15 rmb per day for the workers who are flattening ground. The food for each worker is 6 rmb per day. The total labor value for construction of the surrounding wall is 9000 rmb, the total for flattening the ground is 6000 rmb and total for food is 5100 rmb in total.

c) Materials: the school will provide simple tools for the workers.

d) Land: The new buildings will be located on land already owned by the school.

Timeframe:
Five months

Sustainability:
Maintenance of material inputs and resources after completion of the project/activity:

The students will clean the school. The villagers have agreed to provide the funds necessary for routine maintenance of the school buildings, toilets, and PE equipment. The villagers will also provide the labor needed to perform this maintenance.

Ownership of material inputs and resources after completion of the project/activity:

Ms. Drolma will monitor the school for five years and a report of the evaluation will be sent to the Netherlands Embassy every year. Gabasomdo Education Bureau will send teachers to the school and have agreed to institute grade five and six in this school starting next year (2006). The local people will send school-aged children to this school every year, and since sending nomadic children to schools is a governmental policy, the local education bureau can fine those who don't send their children.

Additional information:
Effects of project/activity on poverty alleviation:

The project will reduce the illiteracy rate in both Nouza and Shuwo Villages.

and provide an opportunity for more Tibetan children to attend schools.

In consequence, it will create a situation where nomadic Tibetans have better lives through receiving education.

Effects of project/activity on women's situation:

Female students currently make-up almost half of the school's population. Because the local people fully encourage both girls and boys to attend school, the enrollment of school-aged girls will increase if more dormitories and school equipment are available. As a result of receiving an education, fewer girls will face arranged marriages at a young age.

Effects of project/activity on environment:

The toilet will provide an immediate sanitation improvement for the school environment. More dormitories will reduce overcrowding and thus the transmission of contagious diseases, providing a clean environment.

Effects of project/activity on local culture and customs:

Students in Ri Zang Primary Boarding School learn how to read and write in Tibetan. Therefore, increasing the literacy rate in Nouza and Shuo wo Tibetan villages will encourage the preservation of the Tibetan language.