Nepal school revamped in RAF officer's memory

A trust set up in memory of a RAF officer killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan has helped fund the redevelopment of a school in Nepal.

Flt Lt Rakesh Chauhan, from Cropston, near Anstey, in Leicestershire, died along with four others in the crash in 2014.

The 29-year-old's family set up a charity, Rak's Trust, in his name which has donated £32,000 to pay for six new classrooms at the Shree Shiksha Bodhini Secondary school near the city of Chitwan.

The charity's trustees said the money had been given to the Gurkha Welfare Trust which has overseen the school's redevelopment.

The intelligence officer's family visited Nepal in February for the official opening of the redeveloped school.

A new education block has been built and other facilities have been refurbished as part of a wider investment programme costing £158,000 overall.

The school, which currently has about 370 pupils, was damaged in an earthquake in 2015 and was in need of renovation.

Flt Lt Chauhan's father, Kishor Chauhan, said: "The school will make a huge difference to the community. The younger children didn't have very good classrooms and no carpet.

"Now, they have carpets so that they can jump about and run about and do whatever little children do."

The Ghurka Welfare Trust's deputy field director in Nepal, Phatta Bahadur Gurung, said: "The school now is safer, it is cleaner and it is spacious with some modern facilities like a library, so it will help to break the cycle of poverty long-term."

The charities have been recognised with a plaque on the school wall.

Flt Lt Chauhan's brother, Kesh, said: "To have a building with my brother's name on there, that in itself is a legacy, but knowing what they will take from their school is a wonderful legacy".

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