Daily Gatherings that Built Unity and Boosted School Attendance
During Covid-19, schools across Nepal were closed for a long time. To keep learning alive, the Education Department asked teachers to visit students at their homes.
When teachers came to Nayagaon, they were surprised to find all the children already gathered together at Our Study Place, Console Mission’s community learning centre. Started as a four-month test project in July 2018, it grew into a meaningful initiative. The children, dressed in school uniforms, were excited but also disciplined—meeting daily, holding assemblies before class, and creating a structured rhythm in the village.
Around 30 students from Nayagaon, and sometimes children from nearby villages, joined in. Their daily presence built unity and helped protect vulnerable groups—children, women, and older people—from isolation. Though some tried to disrupt the gatherings, the habit of coming together improved school attendance and academic progress, as teachers later confirmed.
Console Mission became known for this quiet transformation, even without wide publicity. With Nepal’s public school network reaching across the country, Console Mission hopes to extend this model more widely, building resilience and safeguarding communities through education.
(2020-10-17)
