Hakuna Matata - capacity building

Hakuna Matata is a 5-year capacity-building program that supports the children living in the low settlement and slum areas around Kathmandu and Lalitpur. Currently, in its 3rd year, the children participating in Hakuna Matata have received 24 hands-on Leadership and Public Speaking workshops in the last 2 years.

Year 3 at Hakuna Matata is on Social Skills and they have been exploring the significance of social skills and approaches to master the skill through our workshops. 

During April the children worked hard to be ready for their SEE exam in their schools which helps them graduate from Grade 10. Besides them being busy with studying, we organized a brief informal rapport-building session with selected children of Hakuna Matata. The session took place in the UN park, a public and open space for recreation and the rationale for the session was to create a space where the children could be themselves and enjoy their children. 

We also had a workshop with the children in social skills where the children learned about empathy and perspective taking, and how to use them in their interactions with others. They also learned about responsibility and how to own up for their mistake and how important it is to learn from your previous mistakes. This has helped the children to develop their personal and social skills in meeting with other people as well as with themselves. At the end of the workshop, the children created some beautiful thank you letters for the donors who have been supporting the Hakuna Matata, Year 3 workshops through the GlobalGiving platform.  

Similarly, we have been carrying out home visits to the children to understand their additional needs and be familiar with their environment. With 4 workshops complete, we will also be conducting a BootCamp on Computer Skills and a Recreational Camp for the children this year.