The Sankhu Township was settled long before what are now the main cities of the Kathmandu Valley but is not situated along any of the major trade routes of Nepal. In actuality, the road leading to Sankhu is a dead end and the government provides little support to no for communities such as Sankhu for their survival and development. Spiny Babbler is conducting a community program in cooperation with Friends of Sankhu (FOS). The realization of Spiny Babbler is that the arts can strongly influence a person's self-confidence and psyche, leading them to a more active and positive role in society. This is a necessary step that needs to be taken by the community in order for grow under its own strength, without the need for help from the government and organizations like Spiny Babbler. The program aims at breaking down community divisions among the three Sankhu village development committees of Bajrayogini, Sunton, and Pukalachhi that have long been determining factors in how the members of the Sankhu community think about the things and people around them. With common goals in mind, Spiny Babbler has been working to establish a long-term relationship within which everyone involved can expand starting with the youth of the township and involving them in an arts festival called "Human Values in the Sankhu Cultural Monuments." Divisions across social status, gender and age will be targeted as students explore the heritage sites of their community and write essays, draw pictures, and make three-dimensional models of the sites.

Many of the Sankhu inhabitants are poor and underprivileged. In fact, many of the students from primary classes will experience difficulties in finding appropriate time to explore their sites as they work as servants and laborers during evenings and on weekends. Due to their inability to properly devote time and effort to their studies, many lack the opportunity to develop skills as rapidly fully as those students attending private schools. Because of this, they are often viewed as inferior within the community and, particularly, among private school students their age. The arts festival, "Human Values in the Sankhu Cultural Monuments," will place these students on the most equal level possible as they will have never done anything similar to this type of research, nonetheless the construction of a three-dimensional model. Similarly to the status division is the gender division. Traditionally females play the role of housewife within Nepal and are raised to act as such. Their opinions and expression are frequently suppressed, particularly among male peers. The art festival will give them the opportunity to express themselves not only among the males of their group but among their entire community. Several age groups will also be taking part in the festival, giving the younger members of the community the chance to express themselves to their elder peers and community members. It is important that not only the older class of the primary and secondary groups compose the teams so that the younger ones can learn to work with those older than them and become involved within the community at an early stage of their mental growth. Teachers have been educated on how to deal with these issues that become prevalent over the course of conducting the research and the following work.

Spiny Babbler recognizes that the sensitive nature of the issues present in the Sankhu community will require an ongoing, lengthy and demanding commitment. Because of this, creative workshops have also been taking place in which teachers and community leaders can learn how to properly educate their students for the development of their artistic abilities and confidence. The workshops are expected to support the teachers and community leaders to think with a different perspective on arts education as it applies to gender and other specific issues to the community. It is necessary for the success of the community that they can, in time, independently develop programs like those Spiny Babbler is conducting in Sankhu, Thaiba and other communities so that the community can become independent from outside aid. The desired outcome is to insure that everyone involved gets something positive out of the festival so as to encourage future arts and community interest with the participants. Follow-up studies relating to projects conducted by Spiny Babbler in the Sankhu community will be conducted by a committee formed with Spiny Babbler representatives and representatives from the Sankhu community. By determining the results from one project to the next this will ensure greater effectiveness for those to come.

If you would like to help support an underprivileged student in Sankhu through Friends of Sankhu's Children Education Fund, please contact them or make a direct contribution to the fund with the following address and account information.