By Sarah Allen | Communications Associate
There is nothing better than a friend who can always put a smile on your face.
Sunita and Kabina (above) are best friends — and not only are they making each other smile, but they are also spreading joy among all of their peers.
Sunita and Kabina are members of a BRAC girls empowerment or “Kishori” club in Kathmandu, Nepal, where they gather each day with twenty other adolescent girls in their community. At the daily meetings, which are led by young women from the community who act as mentors, the girls have a safe space to play, sing, dance, and laugh together.
They also engage in life skills and livelihoods education, incorporating crucial topics like sexual and reproductive health, decision-making, gender rights, financial education, entrepreneurship, and technical and vocational skills.
Each day, Sunita and Kabina look forward to Kishori club. Recently, British photographer Natalia Atkins visited their club, and she was touched by their infectious joy and enthusiasm.
“Sunita and Kabina are two very dear friends who undeniably share a close bond,” she said. “After informing me that they are best friends, they were keen to show me a coordinated dance routine — and they tore the house down!”
But the girls clubs are more than just a safe space for girls to gather and have fun.
Studies demonstrate that girls empowerment programs like this one also improve a variety of social empowerment outcomes for girls, including family planning, fertility, and safe sex, while also reducing rates of teen pregnancy and early marriage among participants. They can also lead to higher levels of employment and income.
Sunita and Kabina are just two of the more than 400 girls in Nepal who attend BRAC’s 20 girls empowerment clubs across the country.
The Kishori clubs are a crucial part of BRAC’s holistic approach to development in Nepal, where it also operates programs in health care, agriculture and livestock, disaster resilience, and skills training — empowering participants to build resilience, secure sustainable livelihoods, and lead healthy lives.
Your support makes a real difference in the lives of girls like Sunita and Kabina every day. Thank you for your dedication to empowering Nepali communities with resilience.
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