January was a major month for ICA Nepal, as the project completion ceremony of Changunarayan was held this month. The completion ceremony of the project: “Renovation of Community Learning Center for vulnerable people of disaster”, was celebrated on the 24th January, 2016 in Changunarayan, Bhaktapur. ICA Nepal and ICA Japan together organized the event in coordination with the Progressive Women’s Society. It was held in the Women and Children Learning Center, Changunarayan. Almost 200 community people attended the program. The Community Learning Center was opened after the renovation by the Hon. Former Prime Minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal, who was the chief guest for the ceremony. Along with Mr. Nepal, several delegates from government bodies as well as Representatives from the Embassy of Japan, Nepal, attended the function. All the guests looked around the learning center and were impressed, appreciating the renovation and the starting of the income generation activity, such as sanitary napkin production by a local women’s group.
Similarly, another major highlight this month was the visit of the ICA Nepal team to Khanigaun VDC, Parbat. ICA Nepal has been involved since the beginning in Parbat, and for three years where it worked with ethnic minorities, and a so called low caste group, for economic empowerment. It has supported women empowerment in the village, by forming saving and credit cooperatives, providing leadership and literacy development training, compost making and vegetable farming training etc. Another major work of ICA Nepal in Parbat was setting up the drinking water system and tree plantation which has contributed greatly to environment preservation and agriculture to date. The ICA Nepal team evaluated the impacts of these programs, which after 15 years was found to be highly impressive. ICA Nepal is looking forward to resuming its work in the village in the coming days.
ICA Nepal is raising funds for the promotion of menstrual hygiene, through Village Earth, where it will distribute sanitary napkins, (made by local women of Changunarayan), and provide awareness materials for menstrual hygiene with every $100 raised. Kindly consider donating through this link: 5000-nepali-girls
This post was written for ICAI’s monthly bulletin the Global Buzz, February 2017.
It’s great to read about the many ways ICA Nepal is contributing to the communities it serves – the learning center, the empowerment programs of lower caste peoples, the tree planting,…… Thank you.