By Kelly Pokharel | Director of Operations
During the first quarter of 2025, Ascend Pakistan focused on strengthening program quality, expanding outreach, and preparing for an impactful year ahead.
Program Development & Recruitment
We refined and enhanced our Instructor Training Course curriculum, ensuring it provides a solid foundation in leadership, facilitation, and women’s health. As a result, we successfully recruited 12 new Instructor Trainees. These women will be trained to lead sessions in women's health and leadership, using rock climbing, mountaineering, and the outdoors as transformative tools for learning and personal growth.
This initiative is not only building critical skills—it’s also creating meaningful employment opportunities in a field where women are rarely represented. By training and hiring women as instructors, Ascend is helping shift perceptions, improve economic outcomes for participants and their families, and equip women with leadership skills they will carry for life.
Community Engagement & Impact
From January to April, our team directly impacted 687 community members—primarily women, girls, and boys—through a series of community engagement projects, including:
Yoga and fitness sessions
Day hikes and nature-based wellness activities
Community clean-ups to promote environmental stewardship
Feminine health and hygiene education workshops
These activities serve as more than just community events—they are part of a deeper commitment to building healthier families through healthier women. By promoting body autonomy, health literacy, and practical tools for self-care, participants gain the knowledge and confidence to maintain their well-being.
The program also lays the foundation for lifelong healthy habits, emotional resilience, and a deeper connection to self and others. These engagements provide a rare and powerful opportunity for women and girls to think outside the box, to see themselves in new roles, and to be inspired by women leaders who are breaking societal molds—physically, socially, and economically.
Looking Ahead
With a strong foundation in place, Ascend is poised to expand its impact through new health expeditions, outdoor leadership training, and broader community engagement. Your support is not only empowering women today—it’s opening doors to new careers, lifelong confidence, and generational change.
Thank you for standing with us.
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By Kelly Pokharel | Director of Operations
By Kelly Pokharel | Director of Operations
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