In 2011, Nepali Village Initiatives Association (now QEN) engaged the services of REED to deliver training to 42 teachers of Shikha VDC, Myagdi District in Western Nepal. The program was quite successful and effective so the teachers requested for extension of the programme. NVIA then again continued funding the programme for the year 2012 and 2013. The programme was not only the teacher training but with a whole year package including teaching learning materials support, school visits and monitoring, refresher training, leadership training for lead teachers and head teachers and a community awareness programme.
Realizing its importance LEARN was formed with a slogan “Lifting Education, Advancing Rural Nepal” and started its journey from northern part of Myagdi district. LEARN’s registration was achieved in April 2014 and its first ten- day training course was delivered in April to a new group of 45 teachers of Ghara VDC. It is intended that these teachers should continue to receive training, funded from Australian sources, over the next three years.
LEARN had a dream to extend this training to other such remote and needy areas of the district. For the purpose LEARN made a baseline survey in 10 schools of Rima Resource Center, Myagdi and was in search of adequate fund for the programme. In the meantime, in the guidance of Peter Hall, President of NVIA, LEARN submitted a proposal to the Australian Embassy to extend the training to Rima Resource Center. Kindly, the Embassy accepted and granted DAP funding for the First year of the training package which was completed in May 2015. NVIA (later QEN) has supported since then and is supporting continuously for each year refresher training, materials and monitoring.
Demands and requests have increased from other resource centers in the district. LEARN completed a baseline survey in the neighboring Tatopani Resource Center, Myagdi. Meanwhile Peter Hall, President of QEN Australia, initiated searching the funding resources. His tireless effort with the Rotary Clubs resulted the Rotary Global Grant Project for three years in Tatopani Resource Center Myagdi. After achieving Rotary Foundation Global Grant, LEARN now covers a whole Rural Municipality named Annapurna RM and it has extended the program in Pakhapani cluster of Raghuganga Rural Municipality including total 18 schools from 2018.
Gradually, LEARN was on the way of extending its Lifting Education Program. It initiated a baseline survey for 16 schools in Rakhu Cluster of Raghunga Rural Municipality in February 2020. This was the beginning of Covid-19 pandemic and was tough to every institutions and organization to implement the programmes they promise to. Right after slowing down of Covid, LEARN and Raghuganga RM have signed in an agreement of 3 years Lifting Education Project as a joint venture. A successful first basic training in Oct.2021 and other associated programmes have been completed for the first year of agreement. Now all the programs have been resumed in full fledge and continuing its journey towards another needy area, Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality of Myagdi district.