Research on the Girls Not Brides website, which is dedicated to ending child marriage, indicates that Nepal has the second-highest rate of child marriage before age 18 in South Asia. Our objective is to stop child marriage. We believe this can be achieved by nurturing educational settings at home and within the community. Parents are crucial and require support and guidance. Education in Child Psychology and Parenthood is essential for this endeavor.
Ms. Kamala, a community member and project assistant, has identified a concerning pattern: the undervaluing of children's education by their parents. She points out that numerous parents prioritise livestock care over formal education for their children, due to their own lack of schooling. Moreover, the domestic setting often fails to provide an appropriate learning space, with the presence of physical punishment further hindering the children's ability to concentrate on their academic pursuits.
The lack of formal education can leave parents unaware of effective parenting strategies, which are vital for a child's growth. While parenting is a universal challenge, knowledge is key. Presently, formal training is accessible to parents at private schools through various institutes, yet this vital resource remains unavailable in government schools. Hence, this project targets two couples from each twenty-one villages and assist them to reach out with parenting knowledge in their village.
Nepal has 460 rural municipalities. Initially, Console Mission (CoMi) aims to serve three of these, beginning with a single ward to assist over 550 children across 21 villages. Approximately 50 individuals, comprising 25 couples, will receive training and support. A dedicated team will be formed to establish a fellowship with the goal of expanding to roughly 270 villages, enhancing our collective knowledge in the process. These three activities are expected to remove barriers to school dropout.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
