After an eventful few days in Bhaktapur, it was time for us to head to the final teaching destination, Pokhara. The journey to Pokhara was long and bumpy but beautiful. Waking up at 6am, followed by what seemed longer than a 10-minute walk, it was expected that everyone would have a nap on the bus. However, once we saw the stunning views along the Prithvi highway, everyone immediately reacted by grabbing their phones to capture the jaw-dropping views.
During the competitions in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, we handed out survey forms to the students who debated, which we later had to copy into the online survey forms. With 8 hours to spare and over 250 surveys, the group thought it best to start inputting some of them on the bus ride. Many of us passed surveys around to those who had been personally written to by their mentors, emphasising the connection we had made with the students in such a short period of time.
Eventually, the journey came to an end, and the group said goodbye to the Prithvi highway and hello to our long-awaited rooms. Having experienced day 1 of teaching in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, we knew what to expect and were excited to meet a whole new school, especially our classes.
As we walked into the Pokhara Samata school, we were greeted by the deputy headteacher, Dipesh. We soon found out that Dipesh had previously competed in the Debate Mate Nepal grand final many years ago for Pokhara, which was so incredible for the team to hear. We were then introduced and greeted by the headteacher, Jhalak, who expressed how happy the Samata schools are that Debate Mate has returned for the international programme in Nepal after so long. He then told us about students from the school who, since we last came, have gone on to have successful careers not only in Nepal but in the UK and USA. Jhalak kindly gave us some traditional Nepali Tea before we allocated around 160 students between us and officially started the first teaching day.
The second day of teaching started at 7am, which meant the students had to be up quite early – we really had to bring the energy to the classroom. Amazingly, the students had enjoyed day one so much that they were in their seats at 6:55am with a smile on their face, ready for the second day. The “Zaa” activity was a massive hit in Pokhara, and it was refreshing to see all the year 8s and 9s in the courtyard playing the game with their mentor.
After teaching for two days in the school, we observed that the Pokhara school was more systematic than Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, which required us to be stricter with our timings. We finished the second day of teaching in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day recharging for the final day of teaching.
Once we reached the school for our third day, the students’ excitement was infectious, and the revitalised Debate Mate team jumped straight into the final day of teaching. With the prospect of their first-ever competition the following day, the Pokhara students were both nervous and excited, so the mentors started with one final game of ‘Za” to expend some nervous energy before we had to dive into learning about POIs, speaker roles, and the structure of a full debate. The second half of the teaching day was focused on running practice debates, and it was incredible to see so many students, shy and reluctant to share even their names at the beginning of the programme, volunteer to speak in the debates. The promise of a coveted Debate Mate pin badge for every team member may also have played a small part in encouraging the volunteers!
One benefit of the early teaching days was some time in the afternoons for the team to explore Pokhara and engage in team-building activities, such as the kayaking session we participated in after Day 3. After braving an extremely bumpy bus journey, we were rewarded with stunning views of Lake Begnas, where we were the only people on the vast expanse of water. Most of the team had never kayaked before – it was time to try embodying the confident attitude we had been teaching the students for two and a half weeks! While some mentors and PDs took to the sport like naturals, others were less fortunate. The sight of Daria and Arielle, in particular, spinning uncontrollably in circles was a source of great amusement for the team and our lovely kayaking instructors. We discovered that one of the instructors was originally from Bhaktapur and bonded with him about our experiences teaching there. This resulted in a rousing group rendition of the Nepali national anthem, which echoed across the lake. Safe to say, it’s fortunate that some of the team have chosen to pursue a career in education rather than music.
The day of the Pokhara competition dawned, where we would see eight teams compete for the regional trophy. We insisted that the students come up with their team names after explaining that they couldn’t simply choose their mentor’s name – Team Bea and Team Alia just don’t have quite the same ring as Team Strikers and the Killer Samurais! Each mentor gave their team a brief pep talk before we began, reminding them of the essentials of PEEL, POIs, style and last but not least, sportsmanship in the ‘game of debating.’
The competition ran smoothly, with impressive and well-structured debates on topics such as lowering the voting age and banning social media, particularly topical for the students, as TikTok is already banned in Nepal. One aspect of the competition which was unique to Pokhara was the impromptu student performances in the intervals, where members of Daria and Alia’s classes performed a beautiful Nepali song and then, unexpectedly, Night Changes by One Direction! There was great excitement following the final. We announced Team Sparkling Stars (mentored by the brilliant Arielle) as the Pokhara champions and told the students which teams would be travelling with us to Kathmandu.
We then had to say goodbye to the rest of our classes, who would not travel to the Grand Final. This was a bittersweet experience: emotional as we wouldn’t be seeing our students again but also one of the most rewarding parts of the programme, as the students thanked us for helping improve their confidence and told us how much the programme had meant to them. Several mentors were also highly touched to receive beautiful letters, drawings and gifts expressing their appreciation; the bond formed with our students in every region is certainly something the team will never forget.
The final leg of our Pokhara teaching was the journey to Kathmandu alongside the two finalist teams from Pokhara and their teachers. Once again, we had an 8-hour journey ahead of us. The stunning nature made us all sit in awe alongside the students.
The journey took us through clouds and past rivers. Many of us spoke about how we truly felt connected to the students and the programme in a way we could have never imagined or predicted. The ability to positively impact so many young people is a connection that is so much bigger than ourselves, paralleling the jaw-dropping scenery around us. The journey ended in us playing songs and dancing with the students who were so excited for the Grand Final.
As the next day came, so did the chance for all of our students from the three regions to meet and battle out their debating skills. Some of us had more than one team make it to the final, and we spent some time chatting and prepping them, not knowing if they would be competing against each other. All teams then debated in two rounds on topics such as paying students for good exam results and whether we should encourage students to have dream jobs. The debates were phenomenal, and it was brilliant to see all the skills that we had taught the students used in these debates.
The time for the two finalist teams to be announced came, and surprisingly, both finalists were mentored by our Programme Directors! The Argument Avengers (mentored by Alia) were from Kathmandu, and Team Mount Everest (mentored by Elissa) came from Pokhara. As they were called to the main stage, the central space began to fill up with students, and quickly, an excited and energetic crowd formed. Once again, we had impromptu performances from students who began singing along with the rows of eager students. Phenomenal points and arguments were made, such as tourism affecting the beautiful nature of Nepal, which is a topic close to many students’ hearts. The opposition team rebutted, arguing that tourism helps with cultural exchange and the growth of Nepal’s economy. After much deliberation from our judges, Team Mount Everest were crowned our Nepal Programme 2024 Champions!
The day ended with us wishing the students and teachers the best, hoping to return next year and for many more years. Many began following our social media pages and said they would always remember the programme and the mentors. We received letters and gifts as we said our goodbyes. The atmosphere was both one of pride and joy at how far the students had come in building their confidence and communication skills, which many said they would use throughout their lives. It is a privilege to mentor students like those at all of the Samata Schools; their positive attitudes, effort, and desire to learn genuinely made the programme a success.
Written by Ali, Alia and Bea
