Ex-teachers respond to the call of Nepal

Val and Mick Bullen, of Ingram Road, Steyning, will interrupt their retirement to work with charity Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO).

They will travel to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, to help develop the quality of education in the country.

Val, retired head teacher of Manor Hall First School, Southwick, said: "We have always wanted to do VSO, but the time was never quite right. We decided it was now or never."

Mick, who used to teach at St Andrew's Primary School, Steyning, explained literacy rates in Nepal were low '“ 62 per cent for men and 34 per cent for women.

He said: "It is a deeply unequal society, a situation made worse by the recent political unrest.

"We both have skills which can be put to use in Nepal, so it seems a waste to not take up this opportunity of sharing them to help a disadvantaged country."

Val added: "It is a desperately poor country. It is squashed between India and China, which are giants. Only 15 per cent of people have got electricity."

The pair have been preparing relentlessly for their trip, attending VSO training courses in Birmingham and having 14 different injections. Val has also started learning the local language.

She said: "I have begun learning Nepali. The script is quite different; it looks a bit like Chinese. We have six weeks' intensive language training once we get there. It is more than a bit of a challenge."

Val added the couple had also had a lot of contact with volunteers out in Nepal now.

"We have had a lot of contact with volunteers who are out there. I am taking over from somebody who is coming home in the middle of March, and so I will be meeting her.

"She has left lots of files and things, but a face-to-face meeting will be invaluable," she said. Mick will be working with teacher trainers to help bring the methods of teaching in Nepal up to date and involve children more with their lessons.

He said: "The model of teaching there is very, very old-fashioned. In the past, the typical VSO situation would be a teacher going and teaching a class. Now they try to be more sustainable."

Mick said he and Val would miss many things when they left, including the South Downs, the sea, ballet and opera, as well as family and friends.

"I think going together will be the big benefit in that sense. Having each other for support will be a great advantage.

"We go to quite a lot of concerts, so we will have quite a lot of music on the hard drive of the computer," he added.

Val added they hoped to travel in India, and that family and friends had practically booked their tickets to visit as soon as the couple had a leaving date.

VSO receives approximately three-quarters of its funding from the government, but relies on charitable donations for the remaining portion.

It costs about 15,000 to send each volunteer, so Val and Mick are hoping to raise as much money as they can before departure to help the charity fund their stay.

Val said: "VSO is a charity, so they ask you to do what you can. It is sharing skills and changing lives '“ that is the slogan. We just hope we have some beneficial impact."

The couple held a ceilidh at the Steyning Centre on Saturday and raised 750.

Anyone wishing to donate can do so online at www.justgiving.com/valandmick