Get 10 000 children out of labour and into school

When our project first visited the small village of Mahawadi, Nepal, there were no records of how many girls populated the area, nor how many attended school and healthcare appointments.  

At Karuna, we work alongside grassroots organizations to help them to acquire the most accurate information they need to deliver successful projects. In this way, we supported the project to gather data as a first step. 

During this research, one of the support workers, who cared passionately about girls’ rights, began making connections with those who lived in the village. She formed friendships and explored how best to support girls in the community. She gathered key insights, such as how accessible schools were to girls and the state of funding or awareness around menstrual healthcare in the area. 

Eventually, she was able to identify widespread misinformation surrounding periods, even discovering that schools weren’t accessible to girls whilst menstruating. This meant educational opportunities were limited to girls and drop-out rates were increasing. 

Based on the data and the needs of the local community, the project started to organise support groups for girls to learn about safe menstrual practices and provide them with sanitary kits. It also funded schools so that they could be more accessible to girls, including private toilets stocked with sanitary pads. The project also began delivering leadership training and awareness groups, where girls could learn about their rights and increase their confidence to pursue any career they set their minds to.  

With your support, all these girls now have access to an education without barriers. 

Thank you. 

Links:

• Visit our website to find out more!

Zunaira is 15. She lives in a rural area of India and belongs to a tribe that is isolated from other villages. Every day, Zunaira must walk several kilometers to her nearest school alone. On the way home, it gets dark, and she fears she may be attacked by wild animals, such as leopards, which are local to her area. Because of this, often her parents don’t allow her to go to school and when she does go, she is very late, and she gets in trouble with the teachers.  

As well as this, the toilet facilities are poor in Zunaira’s school and there is a lack of understanding around menstruation, so when Zunaiara and other girls are on their period, they can’t attend school. 

Zunaira’s grades started slipping and she began to lose interest in school. It felt like such a trial for a girl like her to receive an education.  

Our partner’s project heard about Zunaira and provided her with a bicycle that she can use to travel to school. This has cut down her journey time by half and reduces the risk of wild animals approaching her. She also received period products and her school toilet has been renovated, all thanks to the project! This makes getting an education so much more accessible for girls in the area.  

Your support means that we can reduce the barriers to girls receiving an education. Thank you! 

Links:

• Visit our website to find out more!