Improving rural schools in Nepal

In this update we will cover two interventions which can make a huge difference in Nepal - educational bursaries and anti-trafficking workshops

A glimpse of hope

Subodh (name changed) lives in Bakaiya-11, in the Eastern part of Makwanpur District. He has three older sisters and one younger brother. He studies in grade three at Lal Kiran Primary School. His parents are daily wage labourers and the money they make does't go very far in meeting their basic needs. Subodh comes to school without wearing a school uniform and stationery. He often asks his friends and teachers to provide him with stationery so that he can read and write. But he did not get any, as his friends also had limited stationery for themselves. Teachers were also not able to provide stationery on a regular basis as all the children were from challenging economic backgrounds.

His class teacher said, "We don’t give him any home assignments because the next day he remains absent as he doesn’t want to feel guilty and ashamed in front of his friends for not doing homework. We want him to be at school so he can at least learn something and be safe at school. But, without stationery, it is difficult for us to also improve his academic performance. Now, we are hopeful he will be regular in school and improve his performance".

Subodh, after receiving his bursay, said,"I am very happy today and I will come to school every day and do my homework in these copy books. Now, I don’t worry about being ashamed. Thank you".

The headteacher at the school said,"We would like to thank CRN and their donors for all the support. This will help our children come to school regularly and learn their lessons".

Anti-trafficking workshops

We regularly conduct anti-trafficking awareness sessions in community (government) schools. The main objective of the awareness-raising activities is to increase awareness of human trafficking among the students and to provide skills to prevent the threats of trafficking.  Each awareness session lasts for a period of about one and a half hours with a group of 25-30 in each session. The sessions were conducted with grade 7 to grade 10 students who are aged between 12 to 16 years. This age group of children are most vulnerable to trafficking. Together we organised eight different events. Likewise, we also conduct awareness-raising activities with community people so that parents and carers also know the different tactics that traffickers use to lure their children. We organised four different events with local and community people.

 Our regular programme helps to:

• Create awareness of child trafficking
• Educate local stakeholders on their roles and responsibilities
• Change the attitude of local people
• Reduce child trafficking in the communities
• Ensure people are aware of the different forms of human trafficking and traffickers

Gita Upreti, sub-inspector of Police: "This kind of collaboration to fight against trafficking is a really good initiative. We would like to participate in every step of this kind of campaign to stop trafficking from Makwanpur. Let’s join hands to fight against trafficking. We are always here to support you all!"

Sunita’s (name changed) Shree Triveni LSS “This kind of training made it clear how trafficking happens and how we girls are at risk of being trafficked. Now, I am so much clearer about how to protect myself and stay away from traffickers. This kind of information is not only good for me, it is also good for my friend and family since I can share my knowledge with them as well.  Thank you for organising such an amazing programme at our school. I wish you would come back and provide this kind of wonderful knowledge to all the children and young people in our community.”

Thank you for contributing to this project - your donations really do make a difference!