GARMA SCHOOL REBUILD FEATURED IN THE SMH
We were thrilled to have been featured in the Sydney Morning Herald at the weekend for our ongoing work rebuilding schools in Nepal. Click here to read the article, or below a summary of the journey so far.
In 2015 Nepal was devastated by an earthquake that killed nearly 9,000 people and displaced the lives of many more. Davenport Campbell principal Neill Johanson was trekking when the earthquake struck, an experience that he will not soon forget.
“You see it in movies. All the birds and horses go crazy and across the valley I could see this 6,500-metre mountain range starting to sway like jelly. You could see the shock-wave move through the range. The building that we had just come out of started to fall apart and the track that we had been walking on collapsed.”
This was the beginning of an extraordinary link between a Sydney design firm and a small school in the remote village of Garma. Over the next 4 years Davenport Campbell with the support of the Australian Himalayan Foundation designed and constructed an earthquake proof school and community hall for this devastated community. After a mammoth fundraising effort and plenty of help from volunteers – both the school and community hall have now been completed.
The impact of this endeavour has gone much further than bricks and mortar – the expertise that Australian volunteers taught local workers during their visits has helped to grow the skill base of the Garma community. Skills that will see them continue to grow their infrastructure for many years to come.
