TEHRATHUM, DECEMBER 11

The Um Hong Gil Human Foundation today handed over a school building to Pranami Secondary School at Atharai RM -4, Iwa, Tehrathum district.

The handover ceremony was conducted with the chief guest KP Sharma Oli, Prime Minister, Hikmat Bhadur Karki, Chief Minister Koshi Province, Sita Gurung, Federal Parliament Member, Panchkarna Rai, Minister of Social Development, Koshi Province, Durga Prasad Chapagain, Koshi Province Assembly Member, Kamala Darnal, Koshi Province Assembly Member, and Bali Raj Ingnam, Vice-Chairman of Aathrai Rural Municipality among others.

'PM Oli reached his birthplace to attend the school handover ceremony,' said UHGHF in a statement. During the event, PM Oli thanked the UHGHF and Captain Um Hong Gil for supporting Nepali communities in need.

The donors of newly built building include Park Yun Soon, Chairman of YM Welfare Foundation, Korea along his wife Park Sung Hee, Captain Um Hong Gil, Executive Director, UHGHF, Park Sung Hee, Opera Singer as well as UHGHF member, Kim Jae Bong, Director UHGHF and other stakeholders of the project were present on the occasion.

More than 250 students, 22 teachers, parents and distinguished guests from Korea and Nepal also attended the event, which was chaired by Bhim Prasad Ghimire, School Management Committee Chairperson.

Three-storey RCC school building with 18 spacious and child friendly rooms and gender friendly toilet building with septic tank was built under the UHGHF project while the project also covered sufficient furniture for classroom and office, library facility, and playground, UHGHF chief Captain Um Hong Gil said.

A set of gifts that includes school uniform, bag and stationary had also been distributed to all the students with the support of YM Foundation, a charity organization established in Korea with the motto to serve the underprivileged people of the world, he said.

Captain Um Hong Gil is a legendary mountaineer and has scaled 16 highest peaks above 8,000m in the world where 10 peaks are located in Nepal, and Captain Um self-promised to build at least 16 schools to support physical infrastructure in rural part of Nepal to improve the quality education in Nepal. Since 2009, UHGHF is working as an INGO in the education sector of Nepal and has built 19 schools including Pranami Secondary School (19th Human School) and two more schools are in construction phase, according to UHGHF.