By Matthew Pritchard

The Naya Bato language school in Aldershot is offering free English lessons to the Nepali community. The school runs weekly classes on Wednesday mornings and is actively seeking new students and volunteer teachers.

Richard Morris runs Naya Bato, which was founded in 2010 and is linked to the Maddhat Shamuha charity. A former officer in the Brigade of Gurkhas, Mr Morris speaks Nepali and has spent time living in the village of Ghanpokhara, in Nepal’sLamjung District.

He said that Naya Bato provides ‘a weekly meeting–point where students can chat to others outside their own family . . . and learn about everyday situations in the UK, such as dealing with doctors, dentists, and solicitors, so they do not have to rely on others to translate when discussing private medical or legal information.’

Mr Morris said he was looking to build school attendance after it was adversely affected by the COVID pandemic. ‘Before COVID we were getting about 100 students-a-week,’ he said, ‘with an even balance between men and women. Since COVID, though, the numbers have reduced, particularly among the men, so now is a perfect time for new students to get involved with the school.’

Naya Bato runs three different classes, divided by ability in English: basic, elementary, and intermediate. The largest class is the lowest ability level, comprised of 25 female students who are learning to read and write English. It meets each Wednesday between 11:00 and 12:30 at the Mormon Church on St Georges Road in Aldershot, GU12 4LJ. Classes are free to attend.

The school is also seeking experienced volunteer teachers, especially native English speakers and those who speak both English and Nepali.

For more information, contact Richard Morris via email – trmllb@hotmail.com