TOGETHER: The volunteer team participates in a computer class during their visit.
19 students of HBKU went to Nepal recently on a nine-day visit to help a Disaster Risk Reduction project being implemented by Rota in the country
Nineteen students of the Hamad bin Khalifa University (HBKU) were sent to Nepal on a nine-day visit to help with a project being implemented by the Reach Out To Asia (Rota). The Rota project in Nepal supports the role of schools in Disaster Risk Reduction.
Supported by Vodafone Qatar, the trip offered a unique service opportunity for the student volunteers to be exposed to different social conditions, practice cross-cultural communication and expand their skills.
Working in 22 villages in the Kailali District of western Nepal, the Vodafone Qatar-Rota partnership, through the Disaster Risk Reduction project, has improved the lives of thousands of students and teachers in many schools since the initiative started in 2011.
Departing Doha on February 28, the student volunteers travelled to Tikapur in the far western Kailali District to participate in a focused programme featuring service activities in the Saraswarti Secondary School, cultural visits, and daily student-led reflection sessions. School service activities included facilitating computer classes, designing and creating a three-dimensional library and building a boundary wall to protect the school from rising flood waters from a nearby river.
George Tavola, Rota Volunteer Programme Manager, said, “Rota’s international volunteer trips provide unique opportunities for Qatar-based volunteers to be exposed to the significant impact Rota programmes make around Asia and actually get involved in hands-on work on the ground. Volunteers commit themselves to an exhausting programme of activities over the trip but, in the end, enjoy gaining from an immensely rewarding and fulfilling experience.”
The Rota Volunteer Programme has been taking groups of volunteers on life-changing experiences to countries around Asia for eight years, with the aim of supporting multiple projects that empower Rota’s mission of providing high quality and relevant primary and secondary education, encourage relationships among communities, create safe learning environments and restore education in disaster affected areas across Asia.
Evan Witt, HBKU Campus Life Co-ordinator, said, “This Rota-HBKU partnership provided an incredible opportunity for student volunteers to work with the local community in Nepal and learn about the value of education, interact with another culture, and understand how to contribute to service in a global context. We are proud of this programme and look forward to applying this knowledge back in Doha.”
Dana Haidan, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Vodafone Qatar, said, “At Vodafone Qatar, we believe in the impact that volunteering and community service can have on the personal and professional development of young people, which is why we sponsor Rota’s International Volunteer Trips as part of our five-year partnership.”
After returning from Nepal, the student volunteers attended a Reflection Event where they came together to discuss and share their Nepal experience with the HBKU community.
Rota and HBKU say they will seek to maintain the momentum of their partnership by exploring opportunities to continue engaging with this group of volunteers in order to maintain a link with the school served in Nepal.
For more information about Reach Out To Asia’s projects in Nepal and 10 other Asian countries, visit www.reachouttoasia.org or the Rota Facebook page, www.facebook.com/reachouttoasia.
Rota is a non-profit organisation launched in December 2005 in Doha, Qatar, by HE Sheikha al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. Operating under the auspices of the Qatar Foundation, Rota says it is committed to providing high quality and relevant primary and secondary education, encouraging relationships among communities, creating safe learning environments and restoring education in crisis affected areas across Asia and around the world. Rota envisions a world, where all young people have access to the education they need in order for them to realise their full potential and shape the development of their communities.
BELOW:
1) HELPING OUT: A group of volunteers help with the renovation of a local library.
2) FOUNDATION: The volunteers help with the construction of a wall at one of the schools.