On 2nd of March, our school year began well, with 24 new pupils resulting from Ann’s leafleting and visits to the nearby Bear’s Den region (about 8km away from Happy days School) and Khop Mountain. This intake included 3 sets of twins!

Looking to the future, Brian and Ann used our donated bus to visit the Peshok Tea Gardens. The plantation has been abandoned and all the workers are unemployed. It is too far away to bus the children to Kalimpong each day but near enough to consider opening a new school there. Ann saw one derelict school building which she thinks could be restored and provide a nursery for the children living in this run-down and deprived area.

Just after the start of term, Covid 19 infections began to spread in India. By the middle of March, there had been 9 reported cases in the foothills of Kalimpong, where our nursery is situated. Our mums, children and staff had kept well.

On Monday, March 16th, the government of India ordered that all schools should close.

We made plans for reopening, including temperature checks, 3 sets of pupil/teacher bubbles, extra toilets and handwashing facilities, wipes and jell at the ready.

However, in line with government instructions, the school has remained closed. We will continue to pay our teachers half their normal wages.

Our teachers have prepared work for the mums to use at home. This will be a first, so we shall have to see how it works.

It is unclear what the situation will be in Kalimpong at the start of term in March 2021.

Ann and Brian only just managed to beat the airline shutdowns and came home via a circuitous route on the 20th March.

In the UK, Covid restrictions meant that our usual major fundraising event could not go ahead. Although we continued to receive donations directly to Ann as well as through the links below, and from activities by Jenny and Corinna, this leaves a significant shortfall in our income this year.