Peace Education Tour

Peace Education Tour:

This project is aimed to heighten the practical learning in students of Gati VDC about different ethnic groups, cultures, and religions followed in Nepal through a peace education tour. Since 2017, Namaste Nepal has been organizing a peace education tour for grade 8 students from Gati VDC, which Imagine Peace, South Korea, funds. Imagine Peace; South Korea is a network of people who work for peace in various areas such as culture, arts, education, citizens’ movement, and publication that had provided financial support for the project. Education institute is a great platform where one can begin to spread peace from the education they get from their surroundings. Human memory is picture-oriented and not word oriented.” This is the main concept behind an education tour. Peace education tours would provide an opportunity to enhance students’ knowledge and help them see the clear picture of the theoretical things they have learned so far.

The students who only learn from textbooks are totally unaware of the outer scenario of Nepal. This project could be the appropriate platform for the student to learn besides the textbook. The project has chosen class 8 students to implement these project activities because the age group of this class is seeking proper guidance and have plenty of time to build new concepts. It’s a time of preparing a certain perspective in their mind. Apart from just learning from books about Nepal, the students get to explore the world of Nepal by participating in a peace education excursion.

The objective of the project

To introduce a particular program in the school curriculum to understand an alternate lifestyle and appreciate the multi-culture of Nepal.
To provide knowledge to students about maintaining social harmony.
To document a report of the travel and also collect unique thematic showpieces in the school library.

The expected outcome of the peace education tour

The major outcomes from the peace education tour are as follows:

A mutual friendship between students and also the teachers
Learn conflict resolution skill
A student could enjoy and get refreshed from the visit.
A student could learn the multi-culture, lifestyle, educating system, and peace-related monuments that exist in different places of Nepal.
A student could experience a new scenario of western Nepal.
The student could learn at least one topic while travelling and observing different scenarios.
The student could share their views and opinions on what they want from the school environment.
The student could learn to report writing skills based on their observation and documentation of reports with picture arrangement.

Destination for the peace education tour:

Sight-seeing at world heritage sites of Kathmandu,
The Tharu settlement, Tharu museum, Tharu culture centre,
Chitwan National park,
Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha (the light of Asia), Maya Devi Temple,
Madrasa (Muslim holy book teaching institute),
Magar community in Syangja district,
Pokhara.

Activities in detail:

Program 1: Orientation on peace education tour and team building workshop

Orientation on the subject of peace by peace education expert

Before students leave for the tour, they shall have detailed orientation on report writing skills, travel diary, and overall matters to present in written form. Another student shall learn about preventive measures while taking a hike, bag pack, and some general photography skills. The participants in the orientation will be students of Class 8 and teachers of Shree Kali Devi Secondary School, Shree Gorakhnath Basic School, and Shree Khada Devi Basic School. The class teacher of grade 8 and the Social studies teacher will be responsible teachers for peace education. A peace education expert will facilitate and instruct on peace education tours. Peace education experts explain the program schedule and planning for the tour during orientation, which will be at the end of each academic session.

Team building activity and group formation

In team-building activities, the students learn about the importance of teamwork. Also, the formation of a logistic management group, reporting group, finance group, and photography group will take place during the team building workshop. The experts explain the duties and responsibilities of the entire group on the excursion. The students from each group are supposed to take their responsibility sincerely.

Program 2: Excursion/Travel and Study

Organizing a peace education tour

Students shall focus on making friends around the visited area, learning different cultures, rituals, and traditions, and observing the lifestyle of different communities. Thus, on the first day of the tour, students shall visit the Tharu settlement, Tharu museum, Tharu culture center, Chitwan National Park, and canoe Ride on the Rapti River run along Chitwan National Park. The second destination of the tour will take place at Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha (the light of Asia), Maya Devi Temple, On the same day, the team shall visit several peace-related monasteries built in the Lumbini Development area. The next day students shall visit and learn about the Madrasa (Muslim holy book teaching institute), a totally different education school generally found in Nepal. Students can share about the education system they have been having since their childhood. After learning about Muslim culture, the team will visit the Magar community to learn about Magar culture and their lifestyle in Syangja District. The next place to visit will be Pokhara, a naturally blessed place in Nepal. The team shall visit Shanti stupa, peace pagoda, David Falls, Gupteshor Mahadev, and Fewa Lake of Pokhara. The final destination of the tour will be Kathmandu, and students shall visit some world heritage sites listed by UNESCO and back to Gati Valley.

The participating students are supposed to write a diary on their every visit during their tour. And the final reports from the reporting group about their tour visit will be given to the school library along with the name list of the participants in the tour. Moreover, the annual peace education excursions schedule will be included in the School calendar.

Program 3: Reflection with student/ sharing session in the assembly and Library Set up

Reflection with student/ sharing session

Reflection sessions help students to reflect and think about the visit from different perspectives. Every evening a reflection session will be held. Similarly, in the sharing session, the group leader from the logistic management, reporting, finance, and photography groups report shares his/her experience and knowledge about the tour. The sharing session will be conducted during the assembly hour of the respective schools. This sharing builds confidence in students to speak in mass. The entire students in the school get to know about the peace education tour.

As well the sharing will be done through the thematic talent show. The students reflect on their learning about other cultures, religions, and living styles through drama performances and dance.

Program 4: Library setup

The library setup aims to showcase the culture and lifestyle that students learn during the peace education tour. The final report will be prepared by the reporting group of students who participated in the tour and will be available in the library. This will help students from other grades learn about the diverse culture, religion, and lifestyle of the people in Nepal, as presented in the report. Additionally, materials purchased during the tour that represent the culture of Tharu, Gurung, and other religions will be displayed in the library of their respective schools.