Gurkha Peace Foundation

KENT NEWS: A tragic death has prompted a group of Gurkha women to improve their English to help them integrate into British life.

Bhimraj Tumbahangphe, from the Gurkha Peace Foundation who helped organise the courses, said: “It came from the Gurkha wives group. One of the ladies from our community was with her husband when he had a heart attack.

“She dialled 999 on her mobile phone but was unable to tell the operator where she was. Because it was a mobile phone the emergency services were not able to trace the call and the ambulance arrived too late. We did not want anything like that to happen again.”

The courses run on Saturdays and Sundays at International House in Ashford.

At the class I attended more than 40 women packed out the office room eager to make a start learning their first words.

Ashford now has the second largest community of Nepalese people in the country and the need for families to learn English will grow as more settle in the UK.

Andrew Owen lead tutor said: “I feel very privileged to be involved in this process from the start. Everyone is highly motivated and we are now moving beyond just conversational English.”

The professional teachers volunteered to take the classes after the Gurkhas won their appeal to be entitled to settle in this country after military service last year.

Ashford Cllr Bob Davidson, who also leads the project, said: “We raised more than £1,500, which will pay for the first year, but in the long run we to get adult education services on board so we can really take it forward.

“There are more than 2,000 Ghurkas in Ashford now. The husbands get everything they need to be a soldier, but the women have to make their own way.”

The classes have proved very popular with more than 150 women signing up to take part and a massive waiting list.

Mr Tumbahangphe said the classes would also help the women to make an economic contribution towards the family.

He said: “They realised that if they go for an interview for a job, not being able to speak English immediately puts them at a disadvantage. To survive in this country they need to have good language skills. Now we are living in England we consider it our home and we want to be useful.”

Mr Tumbahangphe, who also raises money for poor children back in his homeland, added: “Education is the most important thing. One member of a Nepalese family back in Nepal who is educated can lift the rest out of poverty.”

source: http://www.yourashford.co.uk/kent-news/Tragedy-prompts-Gurkha-women-to-learn-English-newsinkent32947.aspx?news=local