The first workshop was organised at Ghachchok, Gorkha District at Shree Dhansari Secondary School from 12-16 June, 2015 by a team of 29 artists, educators, psychosocial counselors and mental health nurse. Over 300 children from ECD to Class 10 participated.

Parents, grandparents, teachers and teenagers joined some of the activities and tapped into their own creative resources- their own dance forms, songs, and music, laughed and worked together, shedding their fears and inhibitions.

Our program had five specific workshops – Storytelling & Performance; Mural Making Using Natural Materials; Dream Spaces Using Print Media; Primary School Program & Teacher Workshops and Circus Kathmandu Workshops & Performances – spread over three days.

Each workshop was run by an artist or an educator and usually in collaboration between both professionals as well as with a psychosocial counselor. We attempted to be fair to all the students as well as our team members regarding workload, but this was not always possible. For example, the schedule below demonstrates that Circus Kathmandu worked with both secondary school students and primary school students. But at Ghyachchok, most of the workshops were suitable for older students; the primary students mainly read storybooks and participated in child- friendly activities.

For a more detailed reflection, an article, “An Art Experiment in Gorkha”, is available online at Himal Southasian. http://himalmag.com/art-experiment-gorkha-earthquake