ACTIVITY (Simple Past) - VICKY SHERPA

READ THE TEXT BELOW AND FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH THE VERB IN THE PAST-

Victoria Subirana (known as Vicki Sherpa) _____________ (be) born in Ripoll (Girona) in 1959. She _________ (go) to school there and___________ (take) part in different socially oriented activities. Later, she __________ (attend) the University of Vic where she ____________ (train) to become a teacher. When she ___________ (finish) her sudies she __________ (work) for ten years in a school in Ripoll.

In 1979 she ____________(begin) an intensive training process in the field of education. She __________ (attend) various courses in different countries. She ________ (take) courses in special education, music and body language. She ___________ (obtain) her master's degree in "Curriculum and Teaching" from Michigan State University (USA).

Vicki_______________ (visit) Nepal for the first time in 1988. When she ___________ (arrive) in the capital, Katmandu, she was shocked by the poverty and the living conditions there. Then she ___________ (begin)  thinking about starting an educational project for the street children there.

A year later she _____________ (start) learning Nepalese in Barcelona. Shortly afterwards she _______ (go)  again to Nepal to continue learning about the country's language and culture in the Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu.

In 1989 she ___________ (found) the Dorgee School which received 32 refugee children from Tibet.

The Daleki School __________ (be) born in 1993. It received 320 children. Victoria ____________ (start) preparing a series of books – more than 60, for the preschool cycles. Victoria __________ (want) to teach the culture, history and traditions of Nepal, avoiding a western "invasion" of the educational system.

At the same time, the Vicki Sherpa's Friends Association __________ (start) in Barcelona; its mission is to give economic support to the projects through school sponsoring.

In 1995 Vicki __________ (create) the Non Formal Education Project with the goal of promoting literacy and basic education amongst children and adults who _________ (can) not attend normal courses. It covers basic subjects such as mathematics, English and Nepalese.

Vicki _____________ (create) the Family Project in 1998. She _________ (want) to create  training workshops for women, so that they _______ (can) get some money through the sale of the handicrafts made in the workshops (the Vedfon family shop) and also to start a micro-credits system.

In 1999, the first Primary Teacher's School  ____________ (be) created in Nepal.The school __________ (be) closed after the assassination of the King of Nepal in 2002, but nevertheless the training has continued through different programs..

That same year Victoria _____________ (open) the Reception Centre for children at risk. This project ____________ (start) with the arrival of Babita, a 7 year old girl with physical disabilities who _______ (be) abandoned in a market in Katmandu. The centre provides housing, education and medical attention to 12 abandoned children. It also provides psychomotor activity classes with specialized professionals who help these children.

In 2000, Vicki ___________ (open) a second school, Catalunya, with the collaboration Catalonia's Autonomic Government (Generalitat de Catalunya) and Architects Without Borders. This is a primary school for 180 children located in Manamaiju, a rural area near the Nepalese capital.

The old Vicki Sherpa's Friends Association ______________(become) The Vicki Sherpa Eduqual Foundation in 2002. This NGO finances the projects in Nepal. That same year Vicki ____________ (publish) an autobiographical book: "Vicki Sherpa, A Teacher in Katmandu" (Aguilar, 2002), where she narrates her experiences as a teacher in this Asian country. She is now currently writing the second part of the book.

 In 2009 she __________ (be) attacked by Nepalese policemen because she ____________(speak) about corruption in the country. She ____________ (spend) several days in hospital, but she continues with her work to  change the world.

ACTIVITIES:

-          1- LIST VICKI´S MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS

-          2- LIST VICKY´S MAIN PROBLEMS

-          3- WHAT WOULD YOU ASK HER?