Working together to find partners and funding for a school in Tsharka, Leona and Barbara obtained a matching grant from the non-profit organization Room-to-Read. It was the most remote region in Nepal in which Room to Read had ever attempted to build a school.

The enthusiasm of the villagers convinced Room-to-Read to make the effort. Room-to-Read provided building materials and the villagers provided all the labor. Village men and women carried stones and cement and planks of wood to the building site. Working through the summer of 2004, they constructed a school of adobe and stone, comprising six rooms and a courtyard.



With the cooperation of Marin Sunrise Rotary Club and Rotary Kathmandu Metro, a matching grant through the Rotary Foundation purchased tables, benches and chairs, books, stationery, and basic hygiene supplies (toothbrushes, toothpaste and soap).

Everything for the school had to be transported by truck as far as the roads went, then by horses and porters the rest of the way.


Leona and Barbara hired two teachers who spoke Tibetan, the mother tongue of the village children, to teach at the school.




Once the school building was complete, the Nepali government sent a headmaster.

Tsharka village school, officially Chharka Bhot Primary School, opened in 2005 with 37 students. In 2006, there were 54 students, and in 2007, 60 students. The capacity of the existing school is 65 students – which permits one child from each household in Tsharka to attend school.

In 2010, with a grant from the non-profit organization Drokpa, a small greenhouse was built. Teachers use it to teach students how to grow vegetables -- practical science classes.