The 100% Project

Dear Supporters and Friends,

We are working in the district of Baglung in West Nepal with local organisations Daughlagiri Integrated Rural Development Centre (DIRDC), the Nepal Development Foundation (NDF) and international Dutch partners Wilde Ganzen and Stichting Nepal, with the aim of educating boys and men about menstruation, in helping to change attitudes to break down stigmas and improve the education of young girls. 

The lack of basic sanitary hygience facilties in schools prevents many girls from receiving a secondary education comparable with their male peers.  They face problems such as period poverty, restrictions on work and mobility.

Due to the illegal and discriminatory practice of chhaupadi, which sees women and girls exiled from their homes and schools during the period of menstruation, young girls are deprived of education for 25% of their lives and many from the poorest homes may miss out altogether.

The project activities included the necessary construction of WASH-related entities, such as incinerators for sanitary waste, water taps, WASH basins, upgrading of toilets and water supply systems in schools.  Meetings at 40 schools in the Baglung district have taken place.  These have been attended by school principals, teachers, parents and support workers.  There are over 11,129 beneficiaries of the project.  The construction of 40 incinerators have been completed.

The project has incurred some delays, due to heavy rainfall, landslides, annual religious festivals and general elections in Nepal, which are held in schools.

Parents have been involved from the inception of the project, through to planning, implementation and sustainable operation, which acheives their buyin and educates them on these issues.

By working in remote Nepal to construct WASH facilities, educate boys and men, we are able to improve the education of young girls.  I ask that you consider donating towards this worthwhile project, which will support girls in remote Nepal to gain a full education.  How can you involved friends and colleagues to get involved in donating towards this worthwhile cause?  Perhaps you are part of a local community group, sports group, or social group at work and are looking to support a charitable cause?  Every £1, or $1 raised, is a £1, or $1 spent in Nepal.

Please donate here.

You can read the full SGHP Report, dated Dec 2022 attached.

Thank you for your support.

Namaste. 

Links:

• Chaupadi: The affliction of menses in Nepal, Int J Womens Dermat
• Customary practices causing harm to some groups and people

• School Girl's Hygiene Project (The 100% Project) (PDF)
  

Dear Supporters and Friends

The successful completion of phase 1 of this project, 40 schools, has been due to the active involvement of parents and their communities working with school staff and our implementation partners. Phase 2 has now started and we expect the co-operation and lessons learned will only get better. In the first phase of the project 11120 students, teachers and school staff have benefitted from this involvement. In addition, 66 disabled students received specialist support and help to cope with their requirements. The WASH component benefitted over 8000 students from 25 schools.

Parent involvement has been essential for the success of the first phase and the knowledge learned will  ensure the project reaches a successful conclusion. The key objectives learned from the first phase are:

• Connect girl students with their parents to help manage the menstruation period, WASH practices and other hygiene issues helping to spread knowledge to the wider family and community. 
• Engage parents in girls hygiene and WASH activities.
• Involve parents in the maintenance and support of sanitary pits, WASH basins and the water supply.
• Engage parents in decision making including the design and management of construction works. 

The following testimonial  identifies the help and support the project has given to a disabled student (names have been changed).

How the safer wheel-chair ramp was identified/ monitored in disabled school

My name is Ganesh. I am 62 years old. I am from Baglung Municipality-3. I am also the former people's representatives (ward chairperson of Baglung) too. My grand-son Arnab is a child with intellectual disability and hence I enrolled him to Upallachur Bishesh Shiksha School, Baglung (school for intellectual disabled children).

When I repeatedly visited the school, my grand-son including other students used to be thrown down from the steps whenever need to go to toilets. Many times, my grand-son slipped down from the way of so-called ramp. I requested many times to Head Master to make safe walking path to the students but he was also helpless.

One teachers-parents meeting was organized by the Head Master of the school, we decided to request Nepal Trust through DIRDC, Baglung to make safe wheel-chair ramp to pass from up-stair to down-stairs for using toilets and other needs. We then requested to make safer ramp. When the ramp was started to be build, I including other SMC members visited once a day to monitor the construction work whether the bars are properly connected or not.

Now, the wheel-chair ramp is maintained with proper metal bars so that my grand-son including other children are very safe position. DIRDC supported to our school not only for the wheel chair ramp it has supported to enhance the toilet upgrading/repairing/upgrading, supporting for improved water supply in school, and constructing the very impressive WASH basin fit according to the height of the students/teachers with the financial support from NDF/Nepal Trust/WILDE GANZEN/ STICHTING NEPAL.

At the end, I am very much grateful to DIRDC, Baglung, and NDF/Nepal Trust/WILDE GANZEN/ STICHTING NEPAL for supporting my child's school in the areas related to the disabled children.

Ganesh 

(Parent of Disabled Student)

Upallachur Bishesh Shikshya School, Baglung

The above story is one small example of how this project is helping girls and boys to lead an active life in modern times and understand the importance of working together and to also understand how and why the body works the way it does.

Thank you for your help and support. I hope you can continue to support us and please ask your friends to contribute. We have another two phases of the project still to be completed and we do need your financial help. Many thanks and our best wishes.

Namaste

Dear friends and supporters.

Phase 1 of this project has been successfully completed and 40 schools have received health and awareness training together with improved WASH facilities. Initial results indicate greatly improved school attendance particularly for girls and a much wider acceptance of menstruation and its perfectly natural part of growing up.

We are now ready to start Phase 2 which will work with 40 more schools but we need to secure funding first. Total funding required for this second phase £68000. If you can help we would be very grateful. Perhaps you know someone who might like to become part of this groundbreaking project and give a future to women and girls. Give them a future and something to look forward to!

The following is a case study of a young girl (name has been changed) from the poorest community in Nepal. This project has opened up a whole new world for her.

My name is Bina and I am 16 years old. I come from Galcot Municipality. My family has 5 members and we are from the Dalit community and are very poor people. I am the second child of my parents and I am a student in Class 9 in Kharuwa Secondary School in Baglung. My father is a peasant.

Before the project started our school had no proper toilets. There was no sanitary pit for disposal of used pads during the menstruation period. Due to there not being a sanitary pit in the school I always used to put the used pad in my school bag secretly and when I reached my home then I used to throw it into bush areas surrounding my home. This pattern was continued since when I studied in Class 6. Similarly, there was not a sufficient water supply to cleanse my hands after using the toilets as well as using the sanitary pads. I never went to water for a drink because the tap was inside the toilets. Due the strong, bad smell my colleagues did not use that water tap. At a critical time I had to use the tap to wash my hands and face but I had problems to open the water due to my small height. At that time I had no option and felt very humiliated and crying. Sometimes taller students used to help me to open the water.

Now we have maintained toilets with a good water supply in each cabin of toilets with connected sanitary pits to our girl's toilets. I started to throw the used pads in such sanitary pits and not putting inside my bag with my books. Similarly, I felt very happier to wash my hands and face after toilet as well as changing of the sanitary pads. DIRDC* gave support to our school to enhance the toilet upgrading/repair, improving the water supply and constructing the very impressive WASH basin fit according to the height of the students/teachers with the financial support from the Nepal Trust.

At last I am very much grateful  to DIRDC and the Nepal Trust for supporting our school in the areas related to the rural school girls. It is really supporting to the poor and disadvantaged Dalit like me. My goal is to complete higher education in the future

*Dhaulagiri Intergrated Rural Development Centre.

For girls like Bina your help and support is life-changing and has opened up a whole new world for her and her friends. She now sees a future. 

Thank you for your help and support and please spread the good news to all your friends and colleagues and encourage them to help too. Every little helps and encourages girls like Bina to be positive and think ahead.

Namaste.

Dear Friends and Supporters

I am happy to report that, despite all the problems and delays created by the Covid pandemic, we have completed the first phase of this project. In a society where monthly menstruation is stigmatised girls do not get a full education and struggle to compete with their male counterparts. Many girls come from very poor homes and cannot afford the cost of sanitary products to make life easier.

The specific objectives of this project are:

• Raise awareness among girls, boys, teachers, parents and school management committees of the difficulties faced by girls during their monthly menstrual period at school.
• Build sanitary pad disposal ovens at schools.
• Train and educate girls and women to prepare cheaper pads at a local level. 

The main activities successfully achieved includes the construction of incinerators at 40 secondary schools. In addition 25 schools had existing toilet and washing facilities repaired or upgraded and several schools had toilet facilities upgraded to make them more girl friendly. Children with physical and learning difficulties were also included in the upgrades. Altogether nearly 11000 children benefit from the improvements.

Vocational training was provided for 21 adult participants in tailoring and sanitary pad production.

Students and staff now have access to long-term sanitation/hygiene facilities in their schools and have obtained knowledge about girl hygiene and how to deal with the issues for a healthy trouble free life.

The next two phases of the project have now started and we would ask for your help to support this valuable and important project. On completion of the project we will have improved facilities in 120 secondary schools  and improved the lives of girls throughout the district of Baglung.

Many thanks for all the support you have given to reach this milestone and we would ask you to stay with us until final completion. Have you a friend that might also be interested?

With our best wihes.

Namaste