*Please bring cash*

is holding a

Concert for Malagiri

at St. Edward’s RC Church, 2 Lodge Lane, Keymer, BN6 8NA.

Suggested donation, £10

Please join us to enjoy a joyous mix of traditional and contemporary music from this popular choir and guest soloists. What a perfect way to spend a Summer’s afternoon, browse some stalls, and sample some delicious, seasonal refreshments.

The Malagiri School continues to thrive and recently, the pupils have been learning how to meditate – the images (below) provide a glimpse of this activity that event the youngest children are beginning to master.

The plant sale held at Lovebrook farm was a huge success. With the addition of two generous donations, £874.30 was raised. Thanks to everyone (especially Denise and Alison) who organised and supported this event. As can be seen by the images below, it took place on a perfect day in an amazing setting.

Exciting Future Plans

We are delighted to announce that two visits to the Malagiri School are being planned to take place during October / November 2026. Jessica Atkinson, a former University of Brighton student and Early Years teacher will spend a few weeks volunteering at the School. This will be a unique professional opportunity to exchange ideas, expertise and learn from one another. Jessica writes:

‘Whilst studying, I was completely inspired by Kevin Fossey and I knew that one day I would visit Malagiri. Now I have the opportunity and I’m really excited to meet everyone, learn about the culture and share my experiences too. I have worked in bilingual settings in the UK and Spain with years 2, 4 and now (possibly the best year group!) Early Years. I’ve embraced the challenge and creativity Early Years allows for. Supporting language development, through storytelling, songs and poems with drama, imagery and Makaton has been a highlight and a driving force in the pupils second language learning. It is a privilege and a dream so I really want to thank Jill and Lorraine for helping to make it possible.’

Three members of the Friends of Malagiri Committee are also planning to visit the School. Jill Munday writes:

‘It was 2024 when some of us last made a visit to the Malagiri School and it is pulling at our heartstrings again, so Louise, Karen and I are planning another trip this November (accompanied by Saskia, Louise’s daughter and possibly another youngster from Canada). Another exciting dimension to our visit this year is that we will be at the School during the time that Jessica will be volunteering there. We are immensely excited by Jessica’s commitment and looking forward to working alongside her for a day or so.’

First hand experiences like these are irreplaceable and enable us to deepen our understanding of the School context and ensure that future fundraising is tailored to the needs of the pupils, their teachers and parents.

Watch this space….we’ll be posting more updates as our plans develop.

Our last fundraising event – a quiz evening held on 10th April – raised an amazing £481.80. Thanks to everyone who supported the event and made this possible. The School recently celebrated ‘results day’ – an important day in the school calendar. The oldest children will now move on to the next phase in their schooling – secondary school. The images (below) provide a glimpse of this very important day for the pupils, their teachers and parents. We wish the children luck and success as they embark on a new chapter in their lives.

An evening of musical entertainment with Bad Sneakers playing classic Steely Dan songs from the 70s with the occasional dip into the Doobie Brothers back catalogue. The programme will also include some acoustic guitar covers of songs by Dylan, Bruce Cockburn and Simon and Garfunkel. Expect an evening of great harmonies and fantastic guitar playing that will bring a smile to everyone’s faces.

Drinks and snacks available for purchase at the bar – or book a meal directly with the Pub for a time to suit you.

This event is being held to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the Malagiri School in Nepal. There is no charge but donations for the school are welcome (cash if possible).

The Malagiri school continues to thrive. This month, the children have been busy clearing litter from Bibhuti Park. It is wonderful to see that they are making such a contribution to the local environment and that they were willing and eager to undertake a lengthy walk before they could carry out the task!

Each month, the whole school participates in a spelling competition and whenever possible, this event is held outside. Spellings alternate between both the English and Nepali languages. It would be interesting to know if children in the UK would find this activity as exciting and enjoyable as the Malagiri pupils do!

is holding a

QUIZ NIGHT

When: Friday 13th March 2026 at 7.15pm for a 7.30pm start

Where: Church of the Good Shepherd Hall, Shoreham, BN435LF (free parking)

To reserve a table/places for your team, (groups of 6 suggested), contact:

Karen – ktaaffe@hotmail.co.uk

Louise – louloua1@btinternet.com

Jill – jill.munday@btinternet.com

Suggested voluntary donation of £15 per person, to include a cheese platter

All profits go to the Malagiri School, Nepal

Recently, the Malagiri School teachers were invited to join an educational exposure initiative, thanks to support from the local Ward Office* and a non–governmental organisation called ‘Being Youth’**.  Between the 15^th and 17^th December, the teachers visited four leading schools in Nepal. They observed teaching and learning methods, classroom management, student participation, behaviour management strategies, physical infrastructure, and academic / extra-curricular activities. These experiences helped them to: understand how quality education is implemented in practice; improve educational standards; and enhance pupil experience. This is the first time that all teaching staff have had an opportunity to participate in this kind of professional development and there is no doubt that it will have an invaluable, long-lasting, and positive impact on their practice. The images (below) provide a glimpse of the activities that the teachers experienced during this initiative.

Heart Health Checks for the Malagiri Pupils

All Malagiri pupils were recently taken to the nearest secondary school where a medical team undertook heart health checks. This is a positive sign that health care for rural Nepalese communities is slowly beginning to emerge. 

The images (below) show how the checks were organised and carried out.

A Message from Gautam, the Head-Teacher

Whilst the School is not a Christian organisation, Gautam places importance upon Christian values and sees this as especially important around the festive season. He said:

‘Today……..we celebrated together by teaching the message that we are all one – rich or poor, from any caste or community. We also taught about compassion, meaning caring for others, understanding their pain, and helping without harming anyone. We shared that everyone needs peace and should avoid bad deeds and actions that hurt others.’

 Gautam wished all friends and supporters a Merry Christmas.

Fundraising Total at the Beginning of January

By January 4th 2026, a total of £2,156.91 had been donated, thanks to the generosity of friends and supporters. The Friends of Malagiri Committee members are currently planning a number of fund-raising events throughout 2026, so please look out for news.

*The Malagiri School is located in Ward Office No 11 of the Thala Municipality. (This is equivalent to a local authority in the UK, although roles and responsibilities are somewhat different in Nepal).

**‘Being Youth’ is a nonprofit and non-government organization, established on 8th April 2012 is a registered charity in Nepal. It aims to alleviate the impact of poor education and poor health opportunities among poor and underprivileged communities of Nepal.

The Friends of Malagiri Committee members held a table decoration / wreath making workshop on Thursday 4^th December. Just over 20 people attended and £500 was raised entirely from voluntary contributions. A huge thank you to everyone who made this possible.

The event was great fun, and everyone learned some new skills – we were expertly tutored by Karen throughout the afternoon. The images below provide a flavour of the afternoon – as can be seen, lots of cutting and arranging activities were going on. 

So far this year, we have raised over £2,000 and we are looking forward to arranging more events in 2026.

New Technology arrives at the Malagiri School.

The school has recently installed a whiteboard – courtesy of an incredibly generous donation from a supporter. The school is delighted with this resource, and it is being put to very good use. Gautam, the headteacher tells us that each class has access to the whiteboard for an hour every day and the children are excited and interested about learning in this way. The teachers are using the whiteboard to explain subjects in a more visual and engaging manner. The children are also able to expand their knowledge and understanding by exploring the internet to find answers to questions they might have.

Here you can see class one (the oldest children) engaging in English and mathematics lessons.

Since we invited friends and supporters to make donations via the Open Collective site, £852.85 has been donated. Many supporters have pledged regular payments, and the estimated annual total is currently £3,698. Huge thanks to everyone who has donated. We would like to reach an annual target of £10,000 and although we’ve made a very promising start, there is more work to do!

At the end of October, our Swedish friends visited the Malagiri School and were delighted to report that everything was running smoothly. The school continues to thrive and has become the beating heart of the local community.

Carin, (pictured below with the headteacher’s wife Saraswati) visits the school every year and has a particular interest in art and design. They are planning a project that combines watercolour painting and animation.

The images below show the pupils engaging with this project. It is wonderful that they have this unique opportunity to learn and apply new skills. Their paintings are very impressive indeed, and are the result of much concentration and enthusiasm.