Japan Assisted the Reconstruction of Namuna Machhindra Secondary School: Ambassador Kikuta's speech (September 15, 2021)

Rt. Hon. Prime Minister, Mr. Sher Bahadur Deuba,
Honorable Ms.Pampha Bhusal, Minister for Energy and Water Resource,
Mr. Shankar Das Bairagi, Chief Secretary of Nepal,
Mr. Chiri Babu Maharjan, Mayor, Lalitpur Metropolitan City,
Mr. Sushil Gyewali, CEO, National Reconstruction Authority,
Mr. Ram Saran Sapkota, Project Director, Central Level Project Implementation Unit (CLPIU),
School Management Committee Chairman,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
 
          On behalf of the Government of Japan and JICA, I would like to congratulate all of you on the completion of the reconstruction work of Namuna Machhindra Secondary School, Lagankhel in Lalitpur District. Following the completion of Patan Secondary School in April, the completion of this school is also the outcome of the efforts made by the Government of Nepal and all those who have worked together under the "Emergency School Reconstruction Project" (ESRP).
 
         Since the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, the Government of Japan has been supporting the post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction in Nepal. At “The International Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction,” which was held in Kathmandu on June 25^th, 2015, the Government of Japan pledged to assist recovery with 32 billion Japanese Yen (equivalent to approximately 35 billion Nepalese Rupees). Because the earthquake severely damaged a number of schools and classrooms, putting teachers and students in a difficult environment to manage their daily classes, Japan launched the “Emergency School Reconstruction Project (ESRP)” as a part of Japan’s pledged assistance at the conference. ESRP originally aimed at the reconstruction of 236 schools with 15 billion Nepalese Rupees, but later 38 schools were added to the project, thus 274 schools in total will be reconstructed by November 2022. Moreover, ESRP aims to rebuild and refurbish schools under the concept of "Build Back Better," improving both education services and earthquake resilience, to achieve the sustainable socio-economic growth of Nepali society.
 
Taking this opportunity, I would like to express my respects to the head teacher, the School Management Committee, teachers, and students of this school. Namuna Machhindra Secondary School is the only school which is an education institute for visually impaired students under the ESRP. In addition to the "Build Back Better," Japan also considers the importance of the concept of inclusive education and "Child, Gender and Disabled (CGD) Friendly." We worked for the reconstruction of this school with the hope that it would be comfortable for differently-abled students. The new school building and the dormitory are arranged with reduced steps, braille blocks and handrails to make students feel at ease during their studies and school lives. Additionally, the new dormitory for visually impaired students has a motif of cherry blossoms, which reflects the friendship and goodwill from Japan to Nepal.
 
 I am very pleased to support the reconstruction of this school to make a better future for students, with the traditional Japanese spirit of caring for others called “Omoiyari.”
 
Unfortunately, there are still difficulties caused by COVID-19 and it seems conducting face-to-face classes at schools will not be not straightforward. I hope that school officials, parents and students will be able to enjoy their healthy school lives at the earliest in this new school building. This new building will provide a safe environment that allows students to concentrate comfortably on their studies.  Moreover, the school can also be used as an evacuation shelter for the community people when they are affected by a natural disaster.
 
With regards to COVID-19, the Government of Japan donated about 1.6 million doses of Japanese-made AstraZeneca vaccine to Nepal last month. This too is a demonstration of the relationship between our two countries.
 
          Finally, I wish that the ESRP schools will further strengthen the relationship between Japan and Nepal, and the friendship between the peoples of the two countries for the future generations.
 
Thank you and Dhanyabad.