Bikes and Rights for 200 Schoolgirls in Nepal

Dear friends and supporters,

Thank you all for your generous support of Bikes & Rights, a project which aims to empower and educate girls through mentorship, human rights awareness and BIKES!

Aura Freedom will be putting this project on hold in order to concentrate on our earthquake relief work and to address the escalating violence in Nepal, both inside and outside the displacement camps. Your funds have already been put to important use for the design and research of Bikes and Rights, as well as for the initial implementation stages with our local staff and partners. We thank you. Aura Freedom has every intention of continuing with implementation of this project once feasible...a project which has received recognition from Girls Not Brides, Canada's Foreign Affairs and other groups. Thank you for believing in the work we do.

OUR CURRENT FOCUS: Female Friendly Spaces in Nepal's Post-Earthquake Camps

After the earthquake hit Nepal four months ago, our focus has been on combatting gender-based violence in post-earthquake camps both in the Kathmandu Valley and beyond. There is URGENT need for an intervention in Nepal's displacement camps addressing gender-based violence. Reports from camp officials have identified an increase in rape, including the rape of a 5-year-old girl in one camp. This is unacceptable. Sex trafficking is also on the rise, as girls have become even more vulnerable due to food/water shortages and a lack of shelter. According to the UN, during natural disasters the likelihood of rape and sexual exploitation greatly increases the likelihood of unwanted pregnancies, STIs and reproductive health complications. There are more than 3.2 million women and children whose protections is at risk in Nepal. Cramped situations and a lack of law and order may exacerbate the existing vulnerabilities faced by females. Among the 8 million+ people affected by the earthquake are 40,000 women and girls at immediate risk of GBV including harmful practices such as child marriage.

For women and girls, relief means much more than rice and a blanket.

We are targeting this violence through our Female Friendly Spaces ("FFS") project, which provides a roving safe space that travels to various post-earthquake camps in Nepal where women and girls can go to report incidences of violence, seek services, be referred to medical or trauma counselling, attend awareness workshops and feel safe. The FFS also provides activities for children and adolescent girls, temporary shelter and 24-hour protection for females. In emergency situations, violence against women and girls increases drastically, as well as harmful practices such as child marriage. 

This project is already seeing success. See the photos attached from inside our Female Friendly Spaces and find out more about how you can support this important project here: https://www.globalgiving.co.uk/projects/safe-spaces-for-girls-in-post-quake-camps-nepal/

Thank you again for standing with us,

Marissa Kokkoros - Founding Director, Aura Freedom International