Women's Empowerment in Nepal

We are grateful for your ongoing support for our Women's Empowerment in Nepal project.

Our project focuses on education for women and girls. The aim is to support the development of confidence and skills through individual, small and large group workshops.

We continue to facilitate English lessons for women in several communities. Lessons are not only an opportunity to develop language skills but also a great social setting where women can build friendships and networks. Your support helps us purchase resources such as stationery and texts to run these sessions.

Health education is another focus. With increased knowledge of healthcare, women and girls are better equipped to understand health topics. Understanding positive health practices, and having opportunities to discuss topics in a safe and supportive environment empowers women and girls to support the health of themselves and their families.

Menstrual health is an example of a topic that we have focussed on. Along with education, we have supported the groups we work with, with sanitary supplies.  We are currently running a fundraiser to continue our support with menstrual hygiene supplies and hope to raise enough funds to support 50 females for six months.

Thanks again for your interest and support of this project. We appreciate your contributions and look forward to reporting our continued progress.

We are pleased to bring you our latest report for this project there have been some exciting developments.

We have been focussing on sport for women and girls, particularly volleyball. Did you know that volleyball is the national sport in Nepal? 

Our team have been setting up opportunities for both women and girls to practice and develop their skills in volleyball and other sports and games.  Not only is this beneficial for physical skills and promoting active lifestyles but it also develops teamwork and camaraderie. It is a wonderful social opportunity.

It is fair to say that both women and girls have been having lots of fun and enjoying the challenge of engaging in volleyball sessions.

Many women and girls dont have the opportunity to play sports for a variety of reasons including access to resources. Often the government or rural schools don''t have the same access for their students as private schools and often boys teams are given more focus. There are many barriers to girls and women having equal access to sporting opportunities.

Our goal is to keep promoting this initiative and to help women and girls continue to build their skills and confidence through volleyball sessions.

Meanwhile we have continued our work with a range of Women's Empowerment activities.  Our English lessons continue with women being keen to keep improving their skills. We have also included skills development sessions, one favourite was some painting sessions. For many women it was their first opportunity to try their hand to discover their artistic flair!  There were some fun sessions.

We look forward to bring you our next report, we are keen to share our progress especially with the volleyball program. Your support can help us with important resources to help move this project forward.

Thank you so much for your ongoing support, it is much appreciated.

The United Nations Sustainable Development information says that SDG 5, Gender equity, is crucial for a sustainable future, and states “ it’s proven that empowering women and girls helps economic growth and development”.  Your ongoing support of Women’s Empowerment in Nepal contributes to these wide-ranging benefits. 

One of the challenges for women in Nepal is access to adequate sanitary items. Menstrual health is challenge in several ways.  Lack of education on the topic, long-held traditional views in some parts of the community, and the financial challenges of access to products are all barriers for women in Nepal.    

Our team did a fantastic fundraiser that was well supported by our followers.  The women in our targetted groups have received access to sanitary items and we are developing education programs for women and girls to increase understanding of menstural health and decrease the stigma often associated with menstruation. We are currently building local partnerships so that our support can be wider-reaching.  We will keep you posted on the progress of this initiative and thank you for your support of this program.

English continues to be a key objective of the Women's Empowerment in Nepal project.   There are many benefits to learning English.  These include; opportunities for employment, expanding the interaction with younger family members who have been learning English at school, widening access to learning opportunities, and developing a network of women who are learning English too!    It is important to remember many women were unable to complete school or further education due to family and other commitments so the workshop sessions are an opportunity to continue learning that they would otherwise, not have an opportunity to do. Resources such as textbooks and stationery as well as a supportive learning evironment are important for this project and your donations go a long way to providing these resources.

Our Women’s education project is not just confined English and health.  Recently a group of women to planted trees at a local school.  Tree planting is it has an environmental impact and school children will have the chance to care for and nurture the trees. 

In years to come, the added advantage will provide shade and shelter in the school and make it certainly softens an environment having trees in the area. There are benefits of nature on the school grounds not only for the students but for the teachers who work there.

Once again, we thank our donors for their ongoing support of the Nepal Women's Empowerment initiative.  Your support is far-reaching and contributes to a range of experiences and learning opportunities for women and girls in the community. 

We thank our supporters look forward to your continued support.

Workshops form a large part of the Women’s Empowerment in Nepal project. Workshops and learning sessions for groups of women and girls have a range of benefits, including gaining new knowledge, developing networks, learning new skills and enhancing existing skills. Workshops are based on community needs. We identify needs in various ways; interviewing groups and individuals, talking to teachers and principals, informal discussions with people in the community, observing areas of need and discussing this with community members. The community’s needs must always be central to workshops facilitated through our project. So what are some of the topics we have covered in workshops for women? English language is the main topic, and the focus is on the functional language used in day to day situations. There have also been workshops on health topics such as hand washing, dehydration, menstruation and self-care, just to name a few. Skills such as sewing, knitting, and painting are among the craft skills learned in women and girls empowerment workshops. Women also participated in journaling, relaxation and dance sessions. First Aid workshops and social media skills are other examples of workshop sessions. Workshops always need to be suitable for a range of learning styles. Interaction, demonstration and hands-on practice are all approaches for making a workshop effective. Think about First Aid training. A practical session might include explaining a concept and potentially someone translating the information. There are demonstrations and opportunities to practice the skills with real bandages, ice packs, and other materials from a First Aid Kit. This mixture of approaches caters for different learning styles and the hands-on approach helps information to be remembered. The Women’s Empowerment project in Nepal values learning. Your continued support helps workshops and learning sessions for groups of women and girls. Funds support resources, renting spaces for sessions, official certifications for training and local staff.

Wasn’t it fantastic to hear Gaurika Singh named as flag bearer for the Tokyo Olympics?   A young swimmer back in the Rio Olympics, she was rewarded with the honour of carrying the nation’s flag alongside her swimming counterpart Alexander Shah.

We can never underestimate good role models. Gaurika’s dedication to her sport sends a message to other girls in Nepal.  That message? There is the potential to achieve anything with a committed and determined attitude and with some support from friends, family and mentors.

When you see an athlete like Gaurika Singh there is no doubt that there are young girls looking from afar maybe dreaming that they too can achieve in the sporting world or perhaps another field of interest.  Role models help make a difference.

In Nepal women’s empowerment project we embrace the value of role models as well as the importance of learning new things and aspiring to achieve your goals.

Our programme supports women to learn English,  a valuable asset in a country that relies heavily on tourism.  The added value is young children seeing the mothers and other women in their lives, dedicating themselves to learning new skills.  Showing that even with the commitments of family and work, taking the time for self-improvement is important. The women in this group show that even if you left school at a young age there are opportunities for learning and these opportunities can be embraced.

The women’s empowerment programmes also bring awareness to potential.  In our school programmes, for example, we can explore career opportunities and draw attention to role models in the community as well as more well-known models such as Gaurika Singh.  We can also draw on local success stories. What comes to mind is the SASANE an organisation that trains women to achieve their goal of being a paralegal. Women who have survived extremely challenging situations have gone on to develop skills to support other women in their roles as paralegals.  

When we think back to the Olympics team we can also think about the connections one makes through sport. Our women’s groups have that element too!  Getting together to learn, share ideas and feeling comfortable with each other.  It is not unlike the sense of belonging you feel as part of a sports team. Your support in allowing these groups to happen means women are not only developing their skills but developing a sense of belonging with other women, building networks and support systems.  All valuable connections.

Your ongoing contributions allow programmes to reach a range of females,  Some young students perhaps aspiring to reach the level of a Gaurika Singh or maybe with their heart on learning new skills or following a new hobby or interest, The women benefit from workshops that develop new skills and interests.  Our programmes help build supportive networks in the community.

We thank you for your ongoing support.  The women and girls who benefit from your support can be inspirational role models for others.