2013 was a busy year in our Pathways Program with three separate teaching placements occurring through the year. The Pathways Program is our volunteer and placement program for connecting skilled people from around the world to communities we work with in Nepal.

The second teacher placement for the year was an independent RMIT University pre-service teacher, Tiffany Holland, who spent four weeks in October at Bhumeshwor teaching English and computer skills.
 
 

 
 

 
 
We would like to thank Dr Nicky Carr (Lecturer), Hilary Clarke, Erin Schulz, Joanna King, Mindy Saunders and Tam Shama from RMIT University who spent three weeks teaching at Bhumeshwor under the Pathways Program.
 
 

 
 
The RMIT group and children from the Shree Bhumeshwor School participated in the 2013 eTutor project where RMIT pre-service teachers tutored students from Bhumeshwor and children from schools in India, Nepal, Australia and Malaysia. The Office of Learning and Teaching provided funding to RMIT for the eTutor project with further funding being provided under the Australian Governments AsiaBound project to support the students’ practicum experiences in Nepal.
 
 

 
 
“This is our first large group of teachers we have had at a project site at one time” said Logged On’s CEO, Mark Pinoli, who was also in Astam with the teachers. “It was inspiring to see what the RMIT group and local teachers achieved together.”

“I just sat and watched how the children were completely absorbed in learning. Seven teachers with all their effort focused on a group of children over several weeks can make a big difference” Mark said.

“The opportunity I was given was the best possible professional experience I could be granted. It was challenging but it also made me aware of all aspects involved in a schools functioning as well as the aspects of teaching in great detail” said one of the participants, Erin Shulz.
 
 

 
 
The RMIT group also worked with local teachers to explore different approaches to teaching that were locally relevant and met local curriculum requirements.

Outside of school hours, the group spent time in the community at festivals and weddings, visited cultural sites, and learned Nepali cooking at the Annapurna Eco-village.

We would like to thank Ves Raj Bastola, Sita Adhikari, and the teachers at the Shree Bhumeshwor School for their contribution to the success of the program. We would also like to thank all the crew at the Annapurna Eco-village in Astam, especially the Adhikari family, for taking care of just about everything.
 
 

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