Shanti Sewa Griha
Shanti Sewa Griha (SSG) is a non-government organization situated at Gaushala, Kathmandu. It was established in 1992 for people with leprosy and for others who are poor, helpless, handicapped, mentally challenged and orphaned. Till now in rural areas, leprosy is considered a curse of God rather than a disease, so that people with leprosy are humiliated and unaccepted by society. Believed to be carrying a curse from a previous life, lepers are not allowed to touch or come near anyone. Some people with the disease have even committed suicide because they couldn’t tolerate the insult, hatred and discrimination.

Leprosy is a normal disease that can be cured by regular use of prescribed medicines. People with leprosy can live normal and respectful lives like other people. With this vision, Mr. Krishna Gurung and Dr. Rameshwor Man Singh established the Shanti Sewa Griha. German citizen Marianna Goshpriye helped them in this project.

Besides assisting leprosy patients, the organization also helps handicapped and mentally challenged people. SSG has also provided living space and work for displaced people.

About 1,200 people from rural areas have become independent due to the organization. They include Indian and Bangladeshi citizens. At SSG help is their religion; they believe that it must be given where it is needed.

SSG gives different kinds of vocational training to increase patients’ independence and boost their self-esteem. It makes a wide variety of products, including Nepali paper, jewelry, necklaces, Dhaka topi (traditional Nepali hat), carpets, handicrafts and furniture. Organic vegetables and honey are also produced at SSG. Its products are sold in and outside of Nepal.

SSG also has a clinic that provides free medical check-ups.

SSG believes in building esteem rather than just consoling victims. Their duty is to help financially backward individuals; their aim is to make them independent.

The SSG child care center at Gaushala houses 65 children. There is a separate classroom for physically challenged children, where 11 students are receiving care. 90% of the laborers at SSG are illiterate. Believing that their children should not be deprived of education, Shanti Sewa School has been set up at Budhanilkantha, which includes a health clinic. A modern hospital is being built at Tilganga.

The SSG philosophy is that only when there is peace in a person’s mind can there be peace in that person’s family. Peace in one family will flow to another family, then to a group, society and finally the whole country will be at peace. SSG appeals to everyone to help to develop these children and their families so that they can live in simple and safe environments.

Shanti Sewa School
Shanti Sewa School (SSS) was established in 1998 at Lipikot, Budhanilkantha in Kathmandu, under the management of Shanti Sewa Griha. At first, it was established only for the children of leprosy patients but today it also admits students who are victims of the conflict and poor children whose families are economically not able to send their children to school.

The school is in a walking distance of 25 minutes from Budhanilkantha, nestled among trees and other greenery in a very calm and beautiful environment. When new students see the setting, they forget their troubles.

88 students – an equal number of boys and girls – attend the school. There is an infant care unit, which cares for 14 children. The school has also established a special class for physically and mentally challenged students, who now number 11.

Although the school was initially established for children of leprosy patients, today these students number only 10. Children admitted on the basis of economic hardship number 17 and there are 13 students who are conflict victims. According to Mr. Krishna Gurung, chairman of SSG, increasing emphasis has been given to children whose families are financially unstable and/or conflict victims. They are admitted based on their personal accounts of their situations; no proof of their stories is required.

The students also include six physically handicapped children, nine who are victims of domestic violence and five orphans. There are seven teachers. Most of the students are from rural districts, including Sindhupalchowk, Kavrepalanchowk, Humla, Mugu, Nuwakot, Janakpur, Dolakha, Makwanpur, Bara, Baglung, Nawalparasi, Chitwan, Sarlahi, Dhading, Khotang, Bhojpur and Solukhumbu. Some are even from India.

Mr. Krishna Gurung aims to make the school a pollution-free area, which is why they use only simple cloth bags rather than polythene bags. Three dozen leprosy patients and their families live in the school compound, about 100 people in total. SSS provides lunch to all the students, using solar power for cooking.

Pencils, pens, books, notebooks and other stationery items are provided free to the students, along with school uniforms. The money for these items comes from foreign aid agencies. Vice-Principal, Mr. Sabin Khadka, says, “Foreigners who have a keen interest in the children do their best to support the school.”

Teaching methodology
Since 2001, the school has followed a new concept of teaching based on Waldorf Education[i]. Its philosophy is that practical knowledge leads to genuine knowledge. SSS believes that students will succeed only if their minds are at peace and so it is the teachers’ duty to provide education in a peaceful environment. Waldorf Education stresses that a pure soul, cool mind and strong bond between teacher and student are necessary for the proper sharing of knowledge. These are all found in Shanti Sewa School, where classes are offered from kindergarten to Class 6.

Before starting the day’s classes, teachers and students cheer and welcome each other and thank nature for a new dawn. The children help to create their own world inside the classrooms, each one of which is decorated with different materials related to natural seasons.

The knowledge that SSS provides can’t be found in other schools. Each subject is taught in a practical way. For example, if the topic is irrigation, they build a dike, sow wheat and observe how the water helps it to grow.

SSS believes that too many people are leading hedonistic lives, fighting for artificial things. Therefore, it provides students with knowledge about such artificial things, as well as about the natural and spiritual worlds. Teachers enlighten their students about human beings’ relationship with the soul and with all living things, animals or plants. They teach that we are all human beings, whether we are black, white, Buddhist, Hindu or Christian. After all, we are the creations of God. Using poems and stories, teachers emphasize that life is beautiful.

Children at SS School learn not only from books and lectures but from hands-on experience, where they see, feel and do. Such first-hand learning remains with us forever. The students are given not only intellectual exercise, but also learning for their souls and minds, which helps them discover their potential in all facets of life.

SS School teachers have been trained in different parts of India and Nepal. They teach painting, sketching and clay modeling. Children also learn dancing, singing and drama and use these skills as tools in studying other subject matter.

One teacher, Mr. Kesab Rimal, used to teach at a boarding school in Kathmandu. He sees a vast difference between that school and SS School, and no longer feels the need to carry a stick to the classroom to discipline students. He says that if the students are finding it hard to understand his teaching, he finds another way to whet their interest. When students are taught according to their interests, they find it easier to realize their mistakes.

SSS celebrates different festivals, such as Dashain, Tihar and Shivaratri. That way, the students learn the value of Nepal’s traditions.

Opinions of former students
Ganesh Pradhan and Sanju Majhi studied up to Class 6 at Shanti Sewa School and are currently studying at Sunlight School in Kathmandu. Their fees are still paid by Shanti Sewa. They say they greatly enjoyed studying at SS School: “When we joined the new school, we found we had less book knowledge but more knowledge outside of books than other students. At SS School, our teacher used to teach according to the needs of students. But these days, we have to focus on studying and homework. We can talk only in English; we have to pay a penalty if we talk in Nepali. We were never punished at SS School.”

Suman Sigdel, 17, spent four years at Shanti Sewa School. A former street child, he says the school provided him with love and care, just like a family. He is also glad to have learned so many things there, and sees a vast difference between it and his current school: “We never learned from our mind; rather we used to learn by playing, painting, sketching and entertaining. This kind of environment is hard to find in other schools.”

Suman says the rules and regulations at his present school are very strict. Students have to do lots of homework and rote learning. They prepare well because they are afraid of punishment, whereas in Shanti Sewa, children were treated as friends. He can’t forget SS School’s decorated classrooms and the weekly nature walks to different villages and forests.

References:
Community Study and Welfare Centre (CSWC). A Decade of Disaster, Human and Physical cost of Nepal conflict, 1996-2005, research report. Kathmandu.
INSEC. 2007. Human Rights Year Book 2007.
Shrestha, SK. 2004. Print Media, Coverage on Children’s Issues: A Report. Hatemalo Sanchar, Lalitpur.
नेपाल शान्ति संस्था। आन्तरिक व्यवस्थापनसम्बन्धी वकालत पुस्तिका २००५। ललितपुर।
नेपाल साप्ताहिक। २०६३ असोज ८।
प्रधान, गौरी। २०६० माघ। युद्धको भुमरीमा बालबालिकाहरू। सिविन, काठमाडौँ।
प्राची द्वैमासिक। २०६३ साउन।
हिमाल पाक्षिक। २०६३ कार्तिक १६-३०।

[i] Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldorf_Education) on Waldorf education: Waldorf education (also known as Steiner or Steiner-Waldorf education) is a pedagogy based upon the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy.