UNMC relief effort in Nepal a success

Jagriti Basic School (JBS), located near Lapsiphedi, northeast of Kathmandu, Nepal, was destroyed during a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2015 that took the lives of more than 9,000 people.

Last week, a group of UNMC leaders and supporters met to celebrate the completion of the school’s rebuilding.

The effort to rebuild the school was started six months ago by a team led by Atul Rayamajhi, director of information services at the UNMC College of Public Health, and Sagun B.C., a teacher and a project manager from Kathmandu. The funding to help reconstruct the school was provided by UNMC and the Nebraska community.

“This is something to be really proud of,” said UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., who spoke at the event. He thanked the many volunteers and supporters, including Valmont Industries, Inc., whose chairman Mogens Bay attended the event.

The total reconstruction of Jagriti Basic School was completed on Nov. 5, 2016; on that very day, Rayamajhi handed over the keys to the school to the principal, Ram Krishan Gotame. More than 250 people from the community attended the ceremony.

Ward Chambers, M.D., and Mogens Bay of Valmont Industries

The reconstruction of the school included four new classrooms, maintenance of second and third school classrooms and the building, maintenance of clean and safe toilets, demolition of multiple old and unsafe buildings, new, safe stairs to get to the school from the main road and a playground in front of school with a basketball hoop.

On the day of the school’s re-opening, UNMC also partnered with doctors from the ASK Foundation based in Kathmandu, and provided a one-day health campaign, treating around 175 people from the Lapsiphedi community for various health-related issues and supplying free medicine to the patients.

Rayamajhi thanked the JBS principal and faculty, the volunteers from UNMC and doctors from the Ask Foundation and the Lapsiphedi community for their help in making the day successful.

During last week’s event, Ward Chambers, M.D., executive director, international health and medical education, College of Public Health, presented “Thank you” plaques to acknowledge the support of Dr. Gold; Ali S. Khan, M.D., M.P.H., dean of the UNMC College of Public Health; Vice Chancellor for Business and Finance Deb Thomas; Valmont’s Bay; and UNMC Controller William Lawlor. Rayamajhi also had a plaque for Dr. Chambers.

Rayamajhi also thanked all of those who were involved in the Nepal project.

“Without their generous giving back to the global community by volunteering their time and love for education, this effort wouldn’t have been possible,” he said. “So thank you once again to UNMC and the Nebraska community, Valmont Industries, the Ask Foundation doctors from Nepal and the UNMC volunteers from Nepal.”

To donate toward ongoing efforts to improve the school, click here.