Empower 400 Girls and Boys to be Leaders in Nepal

As a part of Women LEAD's flagship program, LEAD Course,  LEADers (LEAD Course participants) “pay it forward” by applying the knowledge and skills they gained to empower other girls and boys by investing 300+ hours in creating change as they co-lead a four-month School Leadership Program (SLP). In the course of implementing this sub-program, each LEADer spends over 150 hours in training;  establishes a formal partnership with a middle school of her choice; sets her own selection criteria and recruits participants; plans 15 sessions using WLEAD’s toolkit, and co-leads the sessions; mentors the SLP participants;  and helps organize a Closing Ceremony.

The 2022 School Leadership Program began with a three-day orientation session for our LEADErs from 2nd to 5th November 2022. The orientation programs focused on approaching school management and presenting orientation sessions among students, application screening, interviewing participants, selection and onboarding participants to the program, etc. After two years of adopting virtual and hybrid modalities in our programs, we conducted in-person sessions this year!

The LEADers, in their assigned pairs or a group, led ten sessions on various topics among students of class 9. Some sessions included (and are not limited to) Goal Setting, Time Management, Team Work, Effective Learning, and Bullying. This year SLP was successfully conducted in 13 schools, out of which 5 were government (public) schools and 8 were private schools. 224 participants (young girls and boys aged 13-15) graduated from the program. Out of these participants, 166 were girls, and 58 numbers of participants were boys. The 2022 SLP concluded in March with a closing and certificate distribution ceremony that celebrated the achievements and successes of the participants.

 Hear from some of our SLP Participants -

“SLP was a golden opportunity to learn some important skills and knowledge. I am confident to become successful.”  - SLP Participant.

“I applied for SLP to know more about myself and build my confidence as I used to be very shy to maintain eye contact while speaking. I feel I am active and have started participating in the sports of my school and can speak in the public maintaining eye- contact.” - SLP Participant.

“After SLP, I can now openly accept my gender identity.”- SLP Participant.

Our 2022 LEADers are now preparing for Professional Development Week and Advocacy Week. Stay tuned to hear more about our LEADers and their LEAD Course journey!

Links:

• Check out Women LEAD's website!

The new iteration of Women LEAD Nepal’s year-long flagship program, the 12-month-long LEAD Course, commenced on the 3rd of September with 29 amazing LEADers (young women currently studying in the 12th grade). The Leadership Institute is an intensive two-week-long training module that includes sessions on topics such as -  public speaking, Time Management, Active Listening, Goal Setting, Gender stereotypes, and Privilege and Bias. The guest speaker was invited to facilitate various sessions per their experience and expertise. The sessions employed a participatory approach instead of a traditional lecture format to enhance learning. Each day session would end with a debriefing. Sessions like these mostly helped young LEADers have personal growth and have personal growth and social awareness.

After two years, the Leadership Institute was held in person, where 29 young women with various experiences, abilities, skills, and backgrounds participated. We also updated various aspects of our curriculum to be more inclusive and relevant. The 2022 institute gathered the most determined, remarkable LEADers, who will spend all year understanding themselves, their society, and the need for fair and just systems where everyone can live with freedom and dignity.

One of our 2022 LEADers says, “In the 14-day-day long Leadership Institute by the Women LEAD, I had the opportunity to learn and understand many things which I hadn't learned before. I learned Time Management, leadership, and teamwork. I learned how to explore outside my comfort zone.”

Currently, our 2022 LEADers are in the first phase of the School Leadership Program, such as - searching for a school, communicating with the school authorities, and finalizing logistics to start their SLP journeys. The 2021 LEADers look forward to transforming their learning into action through SLP.

Stay tuned to learn more about their journey!

Links:

• Check out Women LEAD's website!