Highest School in the World

1st Pangboche Human School

The first Human School is located on the way to Mt. Everest in Pangboche at an altitude of 4060m (above sea level). After the first Human School was completed, students are studying while developing their dreams. .

•Name of the school  Shree Pangboche Basic School

•Location  Khumbu Pasang Lhamu RM-4, Pangbuche, Solukhumbu

• Population  12 Students / 3 Teachers / around 250 Residents

• Size of the construction  4 Classrooms, Auditorium, Library, Nurse’s Office, Computer Lab, Playing Field and etc

•Construction date  May 5, 2009

•Completion date  May 5, 2010 

On May 5, 2010 the first Human School was built in Nepal Pangboche village on a corner of Mt. Everest at an altitude of 4060 m (above sea level). It was a small miracle that the Um Hong Gil Human Foundation made, led by Mountaineer Capt. Um Hong Gil, Executive Director of UM HONG GIL HUMAN FOUNDATION(UHGHF). Everyone said it would be impossible to build a school on the highland at the altitude of 4,000 m (above sea level) because even the locals in Himalaya cannot go further inside the village without cars. Actually, lot of NGOs or other organizations already made efforts to build the school, but every time, they failed. However, Um Hong Gil Human Foundation finally built a new school with the space of 264.5㎡, 198.4 ㎡ size of playground field, 4 classrooms, 1 auditorium, library, toilet, water foundation, and nurse’s office after a year of construction.  

“How naive children were although their cheeks were getting red because of the cold in Himalaya highlands. They are living without good quality of education or medical facilities, and the poverty has been passed down. I wanted to give a foundation for self-reliance, not a temporary support for them. Instead of living like their parents as porters or sherpas, I felt like instilling hopes and dreams for a better life. That was a school.” 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  - 엄홍길 상임이사 - 

   <Completion Ceremony of Pangboche Human School>     

<Children’s Appearance During Dedication Ceremony>

<Pangboche Village, Hometown of Sherpa Suldim Dorje’s,
who is accidently dead while climbing the world’s highest peak 8848 m (above sea level) in winter of Himalaya in 1986>

Capt. Um Hong Gil recalled his memory that he couldn’t forget the fear in 1986. While he was climbing Mt. Everest with a sherpa, unfortunately, the sherpa fell into the Crevasses at an altitude of 1000 m (above sea level). While the Capt. was descending the mountain, he was unable to leave the place for a long time after he found the sherpa’s bloodstain on his clothes and backpack. After that day, Capt. Um swore to help the sherpas’ family. “For me, sherpas and their family in Nepal are like my family. Especially, I always bear them in my mind, who lost lives while climbing mountains together with me.”

Building a Human School in Himalaya wasn’t easy as like everyone thought. Since Pangboche is the place where vehicles can’t enter, all the building materials had to be carried by an airplane and after all or to be carried by the Yak(a long-haired domesticated bovid throughout the Himalayan region) for 3 nights and 4 days to reach the construction site. For this reason, the cost of transportation was much higher than what we expected. Also, when the building materials were not enough during the construction period, the construction was delayed for 3 to 4 days because people had to walk down the mountain even to find small parts for the construction.

 

<공사 마무리 모습>

Capt. Um Hong Gil established the Um Hong Gil Human Foundation(UHGHF) in 2008, after the following year when he climbed 16 different peaks of Himalaya. He began to start the project to build schools in Nepal. By taking the opportunity to build 1st Pangboche Human School, he planned to build more, 16 Human Schools in Nepal. The groundbreaking ceremony of the second Human School in Tharpu was held on April 2, 2010 just before the first school was opened.

The UHGH received school supplies, musical instruments, watches, gloves, wallets and socks donated from Wings, sketchbooks, pencil paints and painting brushes donated from Shin Han Art, laptops donated from Samsung Electronics, first aid medicine donated from Catholic Medical Center, Catholic University of Korea. The items were delivered to students when the Pangboche Human School was opened. During the building dedication ceremony, around 100 Pangboche residents and children had a great time. Mr. LEE Jae Hoo Chairman of the Board of Directors of UHGHF, Mr. KIM Seung-nam, Former Director of Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, Mr. KIM Sung-il, Former Chief of Staff of Korean Air Force including about 40 staff members were present at the ceremony. “With this opening of Pangboche Human School, I will spare no efforts to support for a better facility and for a better studying environment for children in Nepal. Since I came to the first fruition, I will take this opportunity to make a better image of Korea in Nepal at the level of the civilian diplomacy.” Chairman of the Board of Directors of UHGHF, Mr. LEE Jae Hoo said in his opening remarks.