In south Nepal’s patriarchal society, girls are undervalued and have little chance of realising their full potential. Many drop out of school early due to poverty or child marriage, to face bleak futures as impoverished mothers condemned to scraping a living as day labourers in the fields. Within Nepalese society, disabled girls and women are stigmatised, seen as serving a sentence for misdeeds in a previous life. They face extreme isolation and struggle to find gainful employment.

In south Nepal, we will offer bursaries to girls who are academically able allowing them to complete college education towards entering university or good employment. For those less academic, we will offer six-month long vocational training courses in basic tailoring, providing them with the skills, sewing machines, and start-up grants to launch their own tailoring businesses and associated shops. In Kathmandu we will train and employ young women who are deaf in urban forestry activities.