Nepal
Save the Children in Nepal
Save the Children has worked in Nepal since 1981, with a core focus on programs in early childhood development, primary education, school health and nutrition and adolescent development. In recent years we also have responded to children and families affected by political violence, which has exacerbated poverty and displaced entire communities.
Challenges for Children
Progress in ending the political strife is a welcome development. However, the decade of strikes, road blocks and conflict shattered Nepal's fragile economy, leaving already poor families with even bleaker opportunities for a decent livelihood. Children and women have become highly vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, family separation, recruitment for conflict-related purposes and illegal detention. This is in addition to Nepal's long history of caste discrimination and social marginalization, which causes immense disparities within society. With the reinstatement of a stable government, the Nepalese people are also faced with issues of reconciliation, social inclusion and child protection.
Numbers at a Glance
- Over 45 percent of the population is unemployed, half of whom are youth;
- Only 41 percent of children ages 3-5 have access to early childhood development programs; and
- Approximately 84 percent of adolescents and youth have dropped out of the formal education system.
Our Response:
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Early Childhood Development
Save the Children supports community-based early childhood development centers, which provide early learning opportunities to 4 and 5 year old children in some of Nepal's poorest communities. The program helps children enter and succeed in primary school; it also promotes parents' involvement in children's early development and helps communities scale up activities with the government. Save the Children reaches over 15,000 children through centers in the districts of Kailali, Kanchanpur and Siraha.
Primary Education
We increase access to schooling for children ages 6-14, especially girls, children from formerly "untouchable" castes and girls and boys affected by conflict. The majority of our activities take place at schools in Kailali, Kanchanpur and Siraha, where we have enrolled nearly 40,000 children in first grade. We train teachers and involve parents and the community in school management.
School Health and Nutrition
To improve the health status of school-aged children, Save the Children provides basic physical check-ups, iron supplements and deworming treatments for girls and boys in schools in Kailali, Kanchanpur and Siraha. We also increase children's access to clean water at schools, which is vital to their learning proper hygiene.
Adolescent Development
Adolescent programs improve access to learning opportunities, enabling adolescents to become healthy and productive members of society. Our programs, which have reached more than 25,000 adolescents, include activities in adolescent reproductive and sexual health, as well as peer education programs. We also reach out-of-school youth and help them develop literacy skills and knowledge of citizenship and social relationships.
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Maternal and Neonatal Health
Our community-based interventions for newborns and their mothers include educating women on birth preparedness, training community health workers and volunteers in essential newborn care practices, providing postnatal care for mothers and newborns, as well as local management of neonatal infections and needs of low birth weight infants. Save the Children supported the Ministry of Health and Population in designing Nepal's first national neonatal health strategy, and continues to work with partners to develop a replicable neonatal community health program.
Economic Opportunities
Save the Children supports microfinance institutions in Nepal that serve more than 32,000 women. When poor and marginalized women can finance livelihood activities, their improved economic status ultimately benefits their children. Our income-generating programs help women from disadvantaged caste groups, those who were once bonded laborers and those affected by conflict.
Child Protection
Our community and national-level initiatives help protect children who were in harm's way during the recent conflict. Through local child protection committees, we provide livelihood, educational and emotional support to children associated with armed forces and armed groups and other vulnerable children. This is reinforced by media awareness activities, legal aid for vulnerable children and the tracing of lost children. We support conflict-affected families and communities so that they can create a long-term peaceful environment for their children through mediation and peace-building activities. Save the Children also works with communities to prevent trafficking among high-risk girls, as well as to promote safe migration.
Plans for the Future
Save the Children will continue to help children and their families in more than 40 districts in Nepal, with a growing focus on disadvantaged groups such as the formerly "untouchable" castes. Examples include plans to:
- Expand our early childhood development centers to reach more vulnerable and marginalized communities;
- Scale up our School Health and Nutrition program to reach over 162,000 children; and
- Focus on the ongoing and emerging needs of conflict-affected children and families, especially those in socially excluded groups.
Throughout school, Kamal received educational support and basic health services from Save the Children. A bright, eloquent 10th-grader at Shri Krishna High School in Nepal, Kamal says, "I feel lucky to have come this far despite my social and economic background." He adds, "I owe a large part of who I am to Save the Children."
Kamal's father and two older brothers are currently working in India to support the family. He lives with his mother, younger brother and two sisters-in-law. Today, Kamal is the secretary of a Child Club — an innovative youth organization that empowers children to know their rights and bring about change in their lives. It is funded by Save the Children sponsors. Of the Child Club, Kamal says, "It is very heartening to see the changes we are bringing in our community. Caste discrimination is decreasing. Parents are more willing to send girls to school and children are more aware of their rights."
Encouraged by these experiences, Kamal plans to become a social worker. “Apart from supporting my education, Save the Children has also taught me how to look at myself and the world. I want to go on learning and use my knowledge and skills to help transform my society.”
