Excalibur Donate Tablet Devices to Primary School in Nepal

Excalibur Communications have donated seven tablet devices to a primary school in Nepal via the St James’s Place Foundation (SJP).

The school in Pangboche, a small village around six miles from Everest came to the attention of SJP in 2012 when 24 members of their community trekked to Everest basecamp and flew the flag from the top, raising over £700,000 in the process.

The Sherpa team that helped them were invaluable and without their expertise, the team would not have reached their goal and returned safely. To show their gratitude, SJP wanted to help out their tiny primary school in Pangboche and help to get them over 2000 story and educational books to start a library.

English is seen as a passport to opportunity and those who learn even the basics from studying, stand a good chance of earning a living from the many trekkers that visit Nepal each year. A child who is given the opportunity to learn English seizes the chance with both hands.

Excalibur heard about the cause and decided to supply some tablets with book apps loaded so combining technology with education, plus ample storage for hundreds of books on each device.

Amongst the books and tablets, computers, stationary, sports equipment and even a climbing wall have been donated to the school. They then get transported 80 miles by yak to reach Pangboche.

Roger Owen from SJP Cirencester, who leads the Everest expeditions, took delivery of the tablets in ready for his next trek there in March.

Roger, who was was thrilled to have the devices said, ‘A huge thanks to Excalibur for this incredibly generous donation of tablets for the children of Pangboche village. They will make an enormous difference to their learning. Access to the internet, (though sometimes rather patchy in this remote corner of the world,) nonetheless exists and will help the children understand a little better the world that surrounds them.’

‘We are leaving on 5^th March for a three week trek into the Everest region, and will be taking along with the Tablets you donated 6,000 children’s books to line the shelves of the tiny schools in the area. They have very minimal, if almost non-existent resources, so I cannot begin to tell you how much difference these devices will make.’

Excalibur CEO James Phipps commented, “We were really pleased to be able to contribute to the school and it’s great to know that the tablets we provided will go some way to helping the children in the school improve their education. This campaign that SJP are running will give them every chance for job opportunities in the future, which is hugely important.”

For more information on the SJP foundation and the trek, visit www.sjpfoundation.co.uk