Tintale Village Teaching Center

In the summer of 2007 William Aura traveled to the remote village of Tintale in Nepal's eastern valley. He was the first western man to see how the villagers there lived from day-to-day. At that time the place had no electricity, no telephones, and no modern sanitation. The people of Tintale had lived and worked in almost complete isolation from the outside world for centuries.

We decided to make a contribution to the community, and initiated a music program in this remote world. Our efforts have provided brand-new music instruments for the students and first-time salaries for the music teachers as well as humanitarian aid in the village including medicine, school supplies, and gifts for the children. Ishor Bajracharya and Shyam Basnet administer this vital music program. Classes are taught by flute and drum teacher Jeevan Magar and harmonium teacher Dhruba Kumar Ghimire. Local farmer Jeevan resides and teaches in the village. Dhruba treks two hours each way from Katari to teach harmonium and general music skills to the children of the village.

PFCF is very proud to announce our affiliation with the Tintale Village Women’s Alliance. These “Players For Change” are a group of powerful women led by Devi Karki, who use drama, music and movement to teach young girls about the perils they face from dark hearted traffickers. Traveling to neighboring villages in an effort to educate the innocent, Devi discovers too many villagers are surprisingly unaware of this tragedy in their midst. Through creative story telling and mesmerizing song and dance, the locals become familiar with the trafficker’s techniques enabling them to recognize the potential threat when introduced to their village. “There is no question this basic education saves lives,” Devi states firmly.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International report most occurrences happen right here in the southeastern Tarai region. Young girls and women are easily trafficked because of their low cultural status. It is estimated that between 7,000 and 10,000 girls, between the ages of 9-16, are trafficked each year from Nepal to India. Devi and her group are deeply committed to saving children from this tragic fate through education. PFCF’s support enables them to make costumes for the performance as well as provide travel expenses to remote villages to help spread the word.