Darjeeling’s Roseberry School is Helen Jones’ dream come true story

Himalayan Guardian Jan 12, 2011

Darjeeling, Jan 11: Darjeeling’s newly-established school, Roseberry School, had a unique beginning. Its founder Helen Jones, a retired teacher from Middlesbrough in north England, organized a 100-mile walk in England to raise funds for the school.

The school, founded in 2006, is now four years old. Four years ago, Helen Jones(66) formed the charity School Aid India. Its aim was to set up a school for disadvantaged children in Darjeeling - the Roseberry School.

The project was so successful the tiny school ran out of space after a year, and an appeal for building funds was launched.

After many visits to Darjeeling, Helen and the school’s director found suitable land and got permission to put up an extension.

Helen said: “Darjeeling is in the foothills of the Himalayas, and the land is steep, so construction will be complicated and expensive.

“All the excavations will be done by hand, and all the soil has to be carried away on porters’ backs.

“It is hard and dangerous work, and it needed a lot of planning. So it was fantastic to get an email with the first pictures of work starting - and on Christmas Day too.”

Helen has been helped at School Aid India by a team of trustees and supporters. Together they have raised £50,000 for the work.

Helen said: “It may well not be enough to complete the extension, especially since the value of the pound has fallen, but we will just have to be patient and keep working hard on the fundraising.”

Schools in Darjeeling are closed at this time of year because it’s cold and they have no heating, but when Roseberry reopens in March, there will be almost 100 pupils.

School Aid India buys all their uniforms and pays for the teachers, so that even the poorest children can get a good education.