This is not the only time of the academic year that these students spend working for the project. The students come to this village whenever the school is closed and make some money. [break]
“I came here 15 days ago. The money is good. The school will start in a few days, and I´ll soon leave for my village,” said 13-year-old Gopilal Thami, a sixth grader at Nikobhume Higher Secondary School in Babare, who was carrying wire to Lamabagar.
According to Gopilal, 30 children from his village are currently employed as porters by the Upper Tamakoshi Hydroelectric Project.
Most of the Thami families in Kalinchowk are poor, and without adequate land to yield enough crops to feed the families. Most Thami children have to themselves earn school fees by working as porters.
Surprisingly, the students are good in studies, said Surendra Pradhan, principal of Nikobhume Higher Secondary School. “Thami students from Dusikharka and Kyangpol villages are bright. But wherever the school is closed, they have to look for work,” he said.
Nara Thami, a tenth grader at the school, said the money he makes by carrying loads during holidays is enough to support his education.
Contractors pay these kids Rs 25 per kilo of load they carry. At most, the students carry 25 kilos at a time.
“It takes me two days to take the load from Singati bazaar to Lamabagar. I make around six hundred rupee from each trip,” said eighth grader Padam Thami.
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