Speech

BY Mr. Sunil Bikram Sijapati

Good morning / Afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Administrative body of the Cramlington Learning Village, its teachers, the non-teaching staff, the students and their parents, for giving me an opportunity to address on behalf of Nagarjuna Academy High School, Nepal .

First of all I  would also like to thank Ms Rebecca Wright, an ex-teacher of this institution, without whose hard-work, this project wouldn’t have come into a reality. Her enthusiasm was the biggest factor that nurtured and helped this bud to bloom.

The Great Britain, a nation that in the past, colonized and occupied the biggest part of the world, and Nepal a small land locked country, sandwiched between the two big nations, India and China, a land where the highest Peak Mt. Everest lies and where Gautam Buddha was born;  have a very interesting relationship. It’s not because of the fact that the GB could not colonize Nepal, it’s because of the friendship that Nepal had with Britain and was independent since its unification by king Prithivi Narayan Shah, in 1764.  The brave Gurkha soldiers always have been a strong and dependable part of the British Army for more than hundred years. These all show, why we’re friends for century ago.  

There were 53 schools in Nepal which had been involved in this DFID/Global School Partnership programme and had submitted applications for the “Curricular grant” after completing their reciprocal visits. It was our immense pleasure to have been the first to get this grant from Nepal.  I am very much thankful to the team of the teachers of this school, especially Ms. Laura Couch, Lizzie Pentaling and the eco campaigners of this school for their rigorous effort to help us achieve this grant for three years.  I am extremely optimistic that this project will attain success in accordance with the requirements of the DGSP. 

As your country GB is highly developed on the one hand and on the other hand, ours is a highly under developed country. Students of these countries have to work on equity basis, which might prove a little awkward for both of us. But, despite all the differences, we should remember that we are after all inhabitants of the same planet. Deficit in one part of the earth affects entire planate.  This is the time to ‘think globally and act locally’. Similarly, this kind of mutually run projects will help our students to examine their own values and attitudes, to appreciate the similarities between peoples of everywhere, to understand the global significance and relevance of their localities and to develop skills that will enable them to combat social evils, prejudices, racial and other sorts of discrimination. Thus, our students will play an active role in the global community.

 At last, I would once again express my gratitude and acknowledgment to the Head Teacher of the Cramlington LV, Co-coordinator Laura Couch, Art teacher Ian Hardy, Science teacher Fergus, eco campaigners of this school and everyone else, for the contributions they have made to this project and for listening patiently to the few words I have delivered.

Thank you

Sunil Bikram Sijapati