SPACE Kathmandu

trajectory of their lives, fostering a new kind of leadership in their own community and country. Secretary General of the United Nation BAN-Ki moon says that education is a major driving force for human development. It opens doors to the job market, combats inequality, improves maternal health, reduces child mortality, fosters solidarity, and promotes environmental stewardship. Education empowers people with the knowledge, skills and values they need to build a better world. But in Nepal, more than 50% of children fail their School Leaving Certificate (SLC) every year and they never get opportunity to join college and university. Through our theatre workshops, mainly three types of problems are explored at government funded schools which are hampering children for their better education. These problems are:

1. Lack of educational materials (They do not get the stationery in time for their school works)

2. Violence (Sexual assault to girl-children by male educators, school corporal punishment, gender discrimination at home)

3. Overwork (Children have to work a lot at their home before and after school and they do not have time to their school works)

We are using theatre and community drama to create more favorable educational environment in Nepal. We work at three levels to reform school education in Nepal believing after some years we will have peaceful and prosperous community. At the first stage we conduct theatre workshops and encourage children to share their daily based educational problems. After a series of workshop children become open to us and share their problems. Their problems are transformed into a play. We invite community people, school management committee and children in public gathering where children make dialogues with their community on their educational problems and asks for better solutions. The do this through a forum theatre technique. After a series of dialogues, they find a better solution. They also express their commitment to resolve the problems. We let them fulfill their commitment within their expected time. Then we go to follow up the progress. We continue follow up until the problem is solved. The major issues are carried out to the central level organizing a children theatre week event with aim of making aware the policy makers to influence them for carrying out a proper policy for the raised issues during the event. Equally we urge people to be more aware and alive as well as empowered to take action toward more just, peaceful & open society through theatre workshops, performances and films. We also do several theatre activities on different social issues to enhance change in our community.