A visiting US university team has handed over new classrooms to Jagriti Basic School (JBS) in Lapsiphedi VDC that lies northeast of Kathmandu. The school was destroyed in last year’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake that claimed nearly 9,000 lives in the country.

Atul Rayamajhi, director of Information Technology from University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), Omaha, Nebraska, handed over the key to school principal Ram Krishan Gotame amid a function on November 5—the very day the reconstruction was completed.

 The effort to rebuild the school building was started six months ago by a team under Rayamajhi. The reconstruction was funded by the university and the Nebraska community.

The reconstruction of school included four brand new classrooms, maintenance of second and third school classrooms and building, maintenance of clean and safe toilet, demolition of multiple old and unsafe building, brand new safe stairs to get to the school from the main road, and a playground.

During the handover ceremony, the UNMC also ran a one-day health clinic in association with doctors from Ask Foundation, Kathmandu.

They attended to around 175 people from Lapsiphedi community and distributed free medicines to the patients.