Contributing to the School's Infrastructure

The April 2015 Nepal Earthquake and its impact on the School

The Situation

The earthquake which struck Nepal in April 2015 and the after-shocks in May 2015 caused severe damage to many of the school buildings some of which are nearly 100 years old. Since the earthquake some temporary classrooms have been rebuilt with prefabricated boards and major repairs have been carried out to other buildings, such as the library, staff room, office and canteen.

Soon after the Earthquake

Soon after the earthquake, the Trustees separately raised £35,000 which was used to help support school and village families with emergency relief as well as contributing to structural repairs.

“Through your support, we the Nepalese Jesuit Society with the help of 3000 of our students, staff and parents have:

Assisted more than 60,000 families with rebuilding homes and providing them with food;
Built 18 semi-permanent shelters;
Supported 81 Government schools with furniture;
Provided 10,783 earthquake victims with books and stationery;
Provided 250 families with seed to grow food.”

Although there are sufficient repairs to keep the school running, some of the damaged buildings are beyond repair. Due to the nature of the materials used in the buildings, any amount of repair will not guarantee their integrity and safety; particularly in the event of a further earthquake which is not uncommon in that part of the world.

As a short-term measure the School has constructed a number of prefabricated buildings as temporary classroom and students have occupied these since June 2015.  However, although these buildings allow schooling to continue they have a short life and more permanent school buiding were urgently needed.  As a result, the school management were compelled to consider the construction of new buildings which are earthquake resistant in order to provide a safe and secure environment for their students and staff.

Why help is needed

A project, called the New Academic Block has commenced to construct a three-storey building consisting of 5 Blocks ( 1 -5) with 33 classrooms (including science labs and multimedia rooms) and 6 staff rooms. The first phase of the project commenced in June 2017 and the progress can be seen from the Building News Blogs below. It is anticipated that this construction work will  continue for the next two to three years.

Status of Construction of the Academic Block

August 2017 – Clearance of Site and Foundations.

November 2017 – Completion of the Foundations and commencement of the basic structure (pillars and floor) for Blocks 1 and 2.

January 2018 – Blocks 1 to 5 in different stages of completion with Block 1 being the most advance completed to roof level.

May & June 2018 – Further progress on the building works.

August 2018 –  Blocks 1 & 2 completed and St Xavier’s Godavari inaugurates the First Phase of the New Academic Block.

December 2018 –  Good Progress made on Blocks 3, 4, and 5.

August 2019 – Blocks 1 & 2 occupied by Year 11 &12 students. Blocks 3,4 & 5 nearing completion.

December 2019 – Two and a half years after inception the New Academic Block at St Xavier’s Godavari was inaugrated on St Xavier’s day, a momentous occassion for the School.  See Blog below for details.

November 2020 – Completion report received.

Main Outcomes of the New Academic Block Project

The four main outcomes of the rebuilding project are:

  •  An earthquake-safe environment for students to learn and one in which future earthquakes will cause less disruption.
  • Much improved young people’s achievement levels through improved facilities such as the library, multimedia room, dance room, art room, staff room and offices for the current and the next generation of students.
  • Increase access to education for girls and boys, not only in Grade 1 to Grade 10, but an extension into years 11 and 12 and college education.
  • A boost to the morale of the staff and students of the school and a general improvement to the well-being of the wider school community becoming more self- sufficient, supported by educated young people. Their general well-being will improve as literacy and socio-economic conditions improve.

How we help

Appeal for the New Academic Block Construction

On 30 October 2017 the school Principal Fr Samuel Simick S.J. launched an appeal for funds from the School’s alumni, parents/guardians and other funding sources. This was published on the School’s website as well as through fundraising gatherings.  There is a shortfall in the funding of the New Academic Block and the School urgently need funds to complete the buiding works.  JMB Educational Fund has targeted to raise funds for a number of classrooms with the remaining funds raised through different sources.

How you can help

We would be very grateful if you could generously support the appeal for funds for the New Academic Block at St Xavier’s. You can support as an individual or as a group contributing any amount. If you would like to support a classroom the School will include the donors name(s) on the donor’s list in the classroom. Other donor’s names will also be displayed in an appropriate area. Your support will be invaluable to the School.

If you require more information on the construction of the New Academic Block (design and building plans, Project Management or Project Governance) please Get in touch.

GET INVOLVED

Latest Building News

Spring Update from Father Samuel

Spring Update from Father Samuel

by | May 19, 2018 |

Dear John and JMB Educational Fund Family, Greetings from SXG We are at the end of our Academic year for classes 1-10, Final terminal examination for classes 1-7 and 9 are over and teachers are busy in evaluating the papers. Class 8 is writing their Basic Level...