This is the first of a number of blog posts which are intended to highlight causes Vanilla wants to draw attention to and support. The following is written by our colleague Amy Pettipher.

Before joining the Vanilla team last year, I was lucky enough to live and work in the Himalayan village of Sukhia Pokhri where I volunteered as an English teacher at Magno Vale Academy.

Magno Vale was established in 1998 by local teacher, Deven Subba, in response to the need for an ‘English medium’ school that was accessible to all. The school mainly works with children who are living beneath the poverty line and provides full scholarships to as many students as it can within the financial constraints.

Classes were first taught in Deven’s house and from the outset the aim was to provide a modern, forward-looking centre of learning. Today, 225 students benefit from an education at the school, including extra-curricular activities such as music, drama and sport, plus the ongoing support of the MondoChallenge Foundation and MondoChallenge volunteers.

In 2007, a plot of land was acquired for a new school building that could house the ever-growing student base. Construction began after the school received £4,000 of funds, raised by a volunteer.

It is not possible for the school construction to be completed without charitable donations.

Deven would like to gain affiliation for the school, which means the students can be educated to the national SLC (School Leaving Certificate) standard, sit their exams at the school and graduate with nationally recognised qualifications.

In order to gain affiliation the school is required to be a certain size and have certain facilities in place, such as a library room and a science facility, but, despite Deven taking out a large loan, his current funds still fall short of the full amount needed by approximately £7,000.

It would be great if we could help Deven to complete the school construction and attain affiliation.

The MondoChallenge Foundation has pledged to match any public donations pound for pound. With their support we only have to raise £3,500 to hit the target.

If you would like to support this cause please click on the link: http://www.justgiving.com/magnovale/

Any donations will directly contribute to the completion of the construction of this wonderful school and to a positive future for the young people of Sukhia Pokhri.

Thank you,

Amy