In 2012 XCP landed in Nepal for the first time, carrying out amazing activities, which bridged different worlds: East and West, young and old, students and teachers, the Deaf and the hearing.

 

Watch ‘We can do it all’, produced by
the Deaf students of Garma School in
Nepal’s Solukhumbu District, with the
support of XCP.
(CC) XCP | November 2012.

 

 

MUNICH - Garma School has the only class for Deaf students in the entire Solukhumbu District of Nepal. Students aged between four and 15 years old, study, play and live together. They produced a movie about their daily lives, and through their laughs and their words, they show a beautiful world, and the potential they hold to truly become agents of change. They show us in their way, that ‘We can do it all’.

 

Garma students and Felix Hoch in Nepal,
November 2012.
(CC) XCP | Katharina PichlerThe XCP team, Felix Hoch and Katharina Pichler, witnessed their world, worked and supported them to make their voices heard in a language no one can hear. Throughout all production stages the students took charge of their film, and Felix says: “The pupils really had a lot fun filming and editing, and of course we had a lot of fun as well”.

 

In two month, the XCP members Felix and Katharina volunteered to carry out different projects in Nepal. From working with the group of Deaf students, delivering donated media equipment, to training radio and TV staff, the team of two worked with Nepalis in Kathmandu and in Solukhumbu District, located in eastern Nepal. These projects were implemented in cooperation with the Himalayan Care Foundation.

 

They facilitated a workshop with the other students of the Garma school. The school, aside of its Deaf students class, cares for the orphans of the district, who benefited and enjoyed the movie production training, as it was their first experience in film production, another thing they share with their Deaf schoolmates.

 

XCP’s Katharina Pichler during a film
production workshop with the Garma
students, November 2012.
(CC) XCP | Felix HochAnother part of XCP’s project in Nepal was the delivery of donated media equipment, collected from different companies and media outlets in Germany, namely Avid Technology GmbH, Ludwig Kameraverleih GmbH, Canon Deutschland GmbH, Sennheiser 2012 electronic GmbH & CO KG, Bayrischer Rundfunk and ANTENNE BAYERN GmbH & Co. KG.

 

We would like to thank all our supporters who helped make this project come true, in particular Mr. Garke, Mr. Pedersen, Ms. Stroh, Ms. Annen and Ms. Petzold.

 

The camera and editing software used for the production of the movie at Garma school remained after XCP’s departure, with the hope and confidence that the children will continue what was started during the XCP workshop.

 

The rest of the donated equipment was delivered to Solu FM, located in the same district as the Garma school. The radio station is in the process of expanding its reach with the establishment of a TV station. A week-long film workshop was carried out with the staff members of Solu FM, focusing on camera work and editing.

 

XCP’s Felix Hoch during a film production
workshop with the Garma students,
November 2012.
(CC) XCP | Katharina PichlerThe last stop of the XCP team was in Kathmandu, where another training was carried out with the newly established Sherpa TV, a TV station targeting the Sherpa communities mainly living in the eastern part of Nepal, but as well in India, Bhutan and Tibet.

 

XCP hopes that this first visit will only mark the beginning of a series of projects in Nepal in general, and with the Garma school in particular, if further funding and support is secured.

 

Therefore, please consider a donation to support community-based media initiatives worldwide. Please donate through Betterplace today to support Xchange Perspectives’ upcoming projects. Thank you!