Developing in a Developing World:
A photographic study of education in Nepal

In July 2004, Matt Daw, an active member of HVP UK and a former volunteer at Kathmandu’s HVP Central School, held an exhibition of photos taken during his two recent visits to Nepal. His aim was to illustrate the nature and state of the education system in the economically fragile kingdom. Here he shares his thoughts on the experience for us.

Anyone who has volunteered in a school abroad, or who has heard the enthusiastic stories (whether willingly or under duress!) of a friend who has, will I’m sure agree that there can be no better and revealing way to experience and interact with a culture and people very different from your own. School is in many ways a microcosm of society, and through school life one can observe and understand aspects of a society that could otherwise be easily missed. In school, the youth of a society are bound to obey rules that reflect the beliefs and views of that culture, and are taught the values and skills considered most important by that culture. At the same time, attitudes and prejudices common to the society are displayed without pretence on the playground, and the widespread examples of those attitudes can be better understood. The naïve honesty of children makes them ideal mirrors of the society that they have sprung from, and of course the system that has sought to educate them. Compare an English school with a Nepali one, and you will touch upon many of the key differences that exist between our cultures.

It was partly for this reason that I thought it would be valuable to hold an exhibition of photographs and words devoted to this one aspect of Nepali life – one aspect that naturally spreads throughout - and draws on - all other facets of its society. Of course I was also influenced by the fact that it is the side of Nepali life I am most involved with and interested in, but I had no doubt that it would be an ideal subject for an exhibition with the aim of reaching further into the rich and diverse tapestry of Nepali society.

The idea of the exhibition was with me when I visited Nepal for the first time, in 2002, as a volunteer teacher at Central HVP. At the time I could not have guessed how inspiring the experience was to be and how much support I would find there from the friends I would make. It was not to be that trip, however, as my camera was unfortunately lost when my dugout canoe was swept into rapids and overturned during a jungle safari in Chitwan long before I made it up to Kathmandu! On balance I am not sorry that this happened at all, since my first and formative experience of HVP might have otherwise been less intense, viewed so much through the camera lens.

My second trip out, in 2003, was made with the express determination of taking photographs for the exhibition. It was far from hitch-free, as some weeks before I had completed my planned schedule, the camera which the insurance company so kindly provided me as a replacement for the last was stolen on an extended bus journey across Mid West Nepal! The rest of my trip was far from wasted, spent seeing more of my friends than I might have otherwise managed, and providing support to HVP Central in the development of a new website and set of revised leaflets. I consoled myself with the fruits of those trips I had already made, and determined to hold the exhibition whatever, and perhaps expand upon it at a later date.

And so, after a few months of hard work to build up something of a budget, I secured a venue at the prestigious Art Academy in Southbank, London, and managed in an extremely limited timescale to assemble a selection of photographs and to create illustrated information boards covering Nepal and its education system in general, as well as specific case studies of Nepal-based educational charities, HVP naturally being foremost amongst these.

The exhibition was far more successful than I could have hoped for, and I’d like to extend a huge thank you to all of those who travelled from various far-flung corners of England to visit it in London. Many of those who visited had no previous experience or knowledge of Nepal, and it was fantastic to field questions and to give those people their first taste of this incredible world that has brought so much into my life.

Acclaim for Developing in a Developing World “This is an excellent exhibition. It really represents at an optimistic level the state of education in Nepal and what the future of Nepalese education would be” - Emma Haight “Matt Daw has done a commendable job by showing the situation of Nepalese education to the British nationals and Nepalese residing in Britain The difficult education system of Nepal is probably unimaginable to the people of developed countries. I would like to thank Daw for opening up their eyes towards the real situation of children in developing countries like Nepal “. - Sewa Rijal “I thought the exhibition was great - well done on putting it together”. - Louise Hawson