The Advocacy Project (AP) is seeking $3,000 to help 40 women entrepreneurs launch an embroidery cooperative in Bardiya District, Nepal. All 40 women lost family members, many of whom were breadwinners, during Nepal's long and brutal ten-year civil war. Working with their association, NEFAD, we will use your donations to train them in embroidery, purchase the material for their colorful designs, and help them find markets in Nepal and abroad that will provide them with an essential income.
Around 1,450 Nepalis disappeared during the conflict in Nepal. But instead of receiving support and justice, many of their family members face poverty, marginalization and indifference. "We are victimized every day" says the daughter of one disappeared man. Remarkably, 79% of these families need assistance to mitigate poverty. Women face additional barriers to entering the marketplace, ranging from a lack of access to start-up funds and social barriers such as gender bias in employment.
The goal of this project is to provide start-up funds to 40 talented women who lost relatives in Bardiya, so that they can create a self-sustaining business for their embroidered handicrafts. They will begin by producing a business plan, after which they will identify markets, increase production, and develop a savings group. This will require them to learn money-management skills. Your donations will fund supplies like embroidery hoops, thread, fabric, and needles.
Our vision is that these 40 women in Bardiya will develop marketable skills, attain financial independence to support their families, and provide psychosocial support for one another during the grieving process. The search for the truth and the whereabouts of their relatives is an ongoing process. In working together, the ladies in Bardiya will have the opportunity to advocate for truth as a group and draw on each other to generate an income and support the local economy.
