Protect 500 Vulnerable Women and Children in Nepal

This is the second report on our Nepal appeal, launched through Global Giving in June 2015. Working through Nepali partner organizations, we are supporting three groups that have suffered greatly during this year’s emergency – village women with prolapse, child workers and wives of the disappeared. We have shared the $10,207 raised so far between the three organizations. As you'll see below, the results are encouraging. Thank you!

a) Partner #1 – Care Women Nepal (CWN), combating uterine prolapse

Care Women Nepal has used funds from our appeal to screen 1,005 isolated villagers in the eastern district of Dhankuta and paid for 13 surgeries. This has cost around $4,000, of which $3,155 came through Global Giving. The remaining funds were raised by Maya Washington, our Peace Fellow, and by CWN’s supporters in Nepal. CWN has provided receipts and a detailed account of how funds were spent.

Uterine prolapse affects over 600,000 Nepali women and is particularly severe in mountainous districts like Dhankuta where life is grueling for women and health centers are few and far between. The second earthquake made life harder by destroying homes and disrupting services.

CWN organized a health camp in July. As we reported in August, doctors and nurses conducted 285 gynecological screenings; performed 89 ultrasounds; undertook 300 eye exams; issued free medication; and gave pessaries to 34 women with prolapse.

The health camp also identified 22 women who needed surgery. They included Domar, 57, who was suffering from an extended hernia and living in a shelter because her house had been destroyed by the earthquake. CWN took Domar to the district hospital, where she underwent an operation which may have saved her life. The two photos below show Domar with Indira Thapa, CWN’s director, before and after the operation.

In late October, CWN partnered with specialists from the Aloha Medical Mission (Honolulu) to perform surgery on 12 women who had been screened at the CWN camp and found to have untreatable prolapse. The surgeries took place at the Dhankuta government hospital.

We are deeply grateful to the Aloha Medical Mission and to the Dhankuta District medical authorities. We are also happy to report that Global Giving is awarding $20,000 to AP and CWN, to build on this year’s success and fund two health camps in 2016.

Supporting material: see our coverage of the health camp and photos of the health camp and surgery beneficiaries.

b) Partner #2 – CONCERN, combating child labor in the brick kilns

Our Global Giving funds have helped CONCERN, a leading advocate for child rights, to take 25 children out of the brick kilns and place them in school for a year. The total cost works out at $4,376 ($175 per child). Of this, $3,155 came through Global Giving. The rest was raised by Joty Sohi, an AP Peace Fellow who volunteered at CONCERN and by a group of students in Washington led by Grace McGuire, 12.

As we noted in our August report, the earthquake made it harder for Nepali children to escape the brick factories. Srijana, 7, and her family lived in temporary housing after the earthquake destroyed their house and this put additional pressure on them to work in a brick factory when the season began in October. At least Srijana is now in school (photo).

This project has laid a strong foundation for the future. Not only has it rescued children like Srijana from slavery, but CONCERN has proved to be an effective partner. The families of the children are grateful, and teachers at the two schools where the children are studying are enthusiastic. The photo below shows CONCERN’s director, Dr Bijaya Sainju, distributing school bags and uniforms at the Dattatraya Lower Secondary school in Bhaktapur, near Kathmandu.

Another positive outcome is the engagement of 140 generous individuals who have supported our appeal. We are particularly impressed by Grace and her student friends here in Washington, who raised enough to put four Nepali children through school and now want to develop their own school project on child labor.

Nonetheless, much remains to be done. Srijana may be at school, but she is still living in appalling conditions in a brick factory. As a result, we plan to pick up the pace in 2016. Together with CONCERN we hope to rescue another 100 children from brick slavery, while also pressing factory owners to improve living conditions in the kilns. We will continue to seek funding for this important project through Global Giving.

Supporting material: Meet the 25 children on our website and view our photos from the districts of Ramechhap (which exports workers to the kilns) and Bhaktapur.

c) Partner #3 - the National Network of Families of Disappeared and Missing Nepal (NEFAD)

This project seeks to help women whose husbands disappeared during the political violence in Nepal (1996-2006). At NEFAD’s request, we are funding 50 wives to produce embroidery that commemorates their missing husbands. This will bring them some money and help their advocacy. Several wives exhibited their embroidery in Kathmandu on August 31 - the International Day of the Disappeared.

The project has already enabled 23 women to start embroidering panels.  We have already received panels from three women, two of whom are pictured below.  The remaining 20 wives are in the district of Bardiya, which has been under a virtual state of siege following violent clashes in September.  We will continue to sponsor wives of the disappeared in 2016 and help NEFAD become a strong advocate for families of the disappeared in Nepal. 

Supporting material: See our coverage of this project and accompanying photos.