New school building at Hill Queen School

The construction of a permanent new school building for the children at Hill Queen School, in the village of Ringtang near Kalimpong was a hugely rewarding achievement for the AV Foundation. This was made possible thanks to the particularly generous support from the Moorfield Foundation and Herbert Smith as well as due to support from former AVs Molly McKeowan, Zoe White, Letty Cook and Chris Cannell.

The project was championed by the AV Director in India, Tendup Lama. Tendup and his wife Uma oversaw the construction of this building and despite delays due to heavy rains, the buildings are now all fully operational and there has been increased demand for school places.

We have also used the AV Foundation to raise funds to help rebuild the houses of two teachers from the Lepcha Night school in Pochok. They were severely damaged in an earthquake which hit the Sikkim area. Richard Venning of AV co-ordinated a terrific effort of fund raising from AVs who had volunteered with the Lepchas and were keen to donate to the families who lost their homes in the earthquakes.