Gender Equality Nepal Project #38083

Help Young Women Break the Glass Ceiling in Nepal!

by Women LEAD

Project Report | Jun 2, 2020
How Women LEAD Helped Shape My Career

By Aishwarya Rani Singh | Women LEAD Alumni and Former Board President

Aishwarya Speaking at a Women LEAD Event

As I take a walk down memory lane and reflect upon the journey I have had since I first became involved with Women LEAD in 2011, I can firmly state that Women LEAD has had one of the biggest influences over my life. The experiences that I have gained by being involved in Women LEAD as a trainee, a trainer, a mentor and as the Board President, have helped me to shape my identity and mould my personality into something which I feel proud of today.

Women LEAD has contributed to making me a professional by offering me leadership and professional skills. These skills have proven to be my biggest strength while taking important steps career-wise and also making decisions in personal life. Being a part of Women LEAD has also helped me feel confident about myself, made me believe in my potential, and also made me realize that I hold this immense ability to bring the change that I desire to see in my community.

Over the years, I have definitely taken on the role of a leader. I have initiated projects and implemented ideas, been vocal about issues that need to be addressed, taken a stand for myself and for others, fought for justice or supporting those who are doing so, and most importantly, followed my dreams without conforming to what society expects of me.

Women LEAD is not just a platform where I have learned essential practical skills, but it is also a family to me. I have had many achievements, which I feel really proud of- from being awarded two national gold medals for my performance during my Bachelor's studies; launching my own project from college, and currently taking on significant responsibilities as a founding Board Member and the Managing Director of a social enterprise called Putali Nepal. Every individual that I have come across through Women LEAD has played a paramount role in helping me achieve these goals and become who I am today. Their constant support, appreciation, motivation and encouragement has helped me discover my strengths and work on my weaknesses.

Words can’t describe how much I value being part of the Women LEAD family. It has played a huge role in making me realize my ability as an individual to make a difference. It is with this belief that I always remain motivated and encouraged to make the best use of what I have learned over the years and help others.

As Oskar Schindler says, ''whoever saves one life, saves the world entirely.'' I am so happy to be clear about my direction in life and to be working on topics I am truly passionate about. I can’t thank Women LEAD enough for giving me the strength and guiding me towards realizing my goal in life.

Aishwarya Receiving a National Medal

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Feb 5, 2020
How Women LEAD Changed My Life

By Sajju | 2016 LEADer

Sajju Presenting to Students at Women LEAD

Since the day I stepped inside Women LEAD Nepal's doors in 2016, a life-time of opportunities has opened up to me.

As a 2016 LEADer, I was able to grow my leadership, public speaking, communication and other professional skills through Women LEAD's flagship 12-month program, the LEAD Course. The LEAD Course sessions also played a big role in moulding my personality, by giving me the confidence to express my opinions and stand up for what I believe in.

The LEAD Course was only the start of my journey with Women LEAD. After the LEAD Course ended, I entered into Women LEAD's Alumni Community and was able to access an entirely new world of opportunities. I received the opportunity to mentor two LEADers which has given me the great responsibility of contributing to younger girls' leadership journeys, as well as the chance for me to grow my own leadership skills.

As an Alumni, I was also able to participate in the Sujata Baskota Changemaker Award. Through this initiative, my fellow alumni and I received a grant to implement our own community project called Naritwa to improve sexual and reproductive health knowledge and services in Mid West Nepal. My teammates and I travelled to a community in Surkhet in Karnali Province to support a health camp for women and conduct sessions on sexual and reproductive health for school students. The success we achieved through this project is one of my life's greatest achievements. It felt so great to see the smiles of women after they received the health services, some of whom had never accessed such services before.

Another amazing opportunity I received from Women LEAD Nepal was the chance to be part of the With and For Girls Collective Asia-Pacific Award Panel in 2017. Being one of the panellists, I got to interview 10 girl-led organizations decide which five of the organizations to award funding from the With and For Girls Collective. I also received the wonderful opportunity to represent the Asia-Pacific Award Panel at the With and For Girls Award Ceremony in London! This visit was a huge opportunity for me to experience being on a global platform and learn about the issues that girls are facing around the world. It inspired and comforted me to know that the whole world is fighting to realize girls rights and create a better world for girls.

Women LEAD has not only given me a wealth of opportunities but being involved in the organization has influenced how others in my community view me. At college, my classmates view me as a role model and look up to me due to my confidence and strong public speaking skills. I feel that I now have built up a solid set up skills to deal with a range of different people and help them to achieve their potential.

Women LEAD has helped me to learn how important it is to step back for others to step ahead, to care for others' growth and to find happiness in other people's achievements.I can proudly say that who I am today is the reflection of what Women LEAD has given me.

Sajju with her Naritwa Project Team in Surkhet

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Dec 7, 2019
My Experience Being in a Decision Making Position!

By Reeya | LEADer 2018

The panelists Nisha, Timila, Reeya, Labbi, Niraja

After graduating from the LEAD Course in June this year, I was keen to still stay involved with Women LEAD. When Women LEAD Nepal posted about With and For Girls Award Interview Panel on our Alumni Group on Facebook, I was super excited and couldn’t wait to apply for it!

The With and For Girls Collective is a group of 11 funders who give grants to grassroots organizations working with and for girls in five regions around the world. I was lucky enough to get selected to be one of the five panellists to interview 10 organizations from the Asia-Pacific region and decide which five organizations would get funding.

Before the interview, we were given two days of training by one of our fellow Women LEAD alumni who had been through the process before. During the training, we discussed each organization’s applications which helped us to learn more about the organizations. We also divided our roles for the interview and did a practice interview to make sure we were all prepared beforehand.

Our learning didn't end at the training- conducting the interviews was a humbling experience. We had the enormous responsibility of choosing the best organizations in such a strong cohort of applicants who were doing such magnificent things to empower girls. From this opportunity, we learnt about girls issues not just from our country, but from different countries like India, Pakistan, Tonga and Japan. After lots of intense discussions and deliberating, we were finally able to choose the five winners. Deciding the winners was a challenging experience and I couldn’t have done this without the decision-making and leadership skills I gained from participating in the LEAD course.

One of the best moments of this experience was when one of the interviewees complimented us on our stellar performance conducting the interviews. I am grateful to Women LEAD for not only providing young women like me with opportunities to learn leadership skills but also giving us a platform to practise these skills.

After we completed all 10 interviews, I felt empowered and proud of myself. This couldn’t have been possible without the constant support of Women LEAD and the trust of the With and For Girls Collective. I am thrilled that I was selected for this opportunity as it helped me to explore and give the best of myself.

The panelists after taking the interviews

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