Vocational Education & Career Counselling

NYF’s Vocational Education & Career Counseling (VECC) social workers help link motivated young adults with the holistic resources and training they need to start lucrative careers in Nepal’s growth sectors – starting each on his or her journey to an empowered future. The VECC also serves as a vital resource to academic Scholarship recipients who are working towards job placement.

Services here include:

  • Vocational trade school scholarships
  • Skills training courses through Olgapuri Vocational School
  • Job placement support
  • Entrepreneurship classes
  • Start-up microgrants
  • Resume-writing & job interview coaching
  • Basic computer training
  • Networking connections to other young adults on similar paths towards personal economic empowerment
  • Life skills workshops through Ankur Counseling Center, including goal setting & decision making, self-care, personal development, self-esteem & motivation (designed for young adults who have experienced systemic marginalization), and more

Aditi*, 21, received a VECC scholarship to attend a local technical school for nursing. The three-year program is preparing her for a career that will allow her to build financial power and help provide better medical care for women in her community.

Nepal’s Growing Economy

Youth unemployment and underemployment is an entrenched crisis in Nepal, standing in 2021 at a staggering 35%. Nepal’s young people have big dreams, but due to challenges like limited educational access and systemic oppression, many struggle to escape generational cycles of poverty.

At the same time, Nepal’s developing economy and infrastructure demands skilled workers across sectors from veterinary science to textile manufacturing to plumbing to nursing. Careers in these sectors often pay enough for one worker to support his or her entire family—including providing educational opportunities to their own children.

However, though the demand is high for these skills, Nepali companies often struggle to find qualified, trained local young people. As a result, many of these high-paying positions are filled by workers from India and other countries. Wages paid to these foreign workers flow out of Nepal rather than stimulating the domestic economy.

Meanwhile, young Nepali men and women can often only find job prospects beyond their country’s borders and far from family, where language barriers and other factors make them vulnerable to exploitation. These overseas positions separate families for months on end and provide workers with barely enough money to get by.

Kuldeep*, 25, takes a short break from his culinary studies to visit with his VECC social worker. He always loved cooking at home. Soon he'll be serving delicious, high-end dishes at a Himalayan resort!

One way to help strengthen Nepal’s economy is to allow young Nepali people to participate fully in the growth their country is experiencing.

Nepal’s rising generation is full of passionate, determined young people eager to build the Nepal of their dreams—and reap the rewards of their labor. NYF’s Vocational Education & Career Counselling program aims to help Nepal’s young adults do just that.

 

Sadhri’s Story

Sadhri*, 22, spent four years of her childhood as a domestic slave (or “kamlari” – learn more here) beginning when she was 9. During that time, she had no educational opportunities, and she was frequently demeaned and beaten for making the slightest mistakes. After she was rescued by NYF, Sadhri eagerly re-entered school—but due to years of trauma, she struggled to progress, and she finally left school after grade 9, discouraged that the injustice of the kamlari system was still robbing her of opportunities to grow her own financial independence.

In October 2019, Sadhri signed up to take NYF’s special three-week “Tea and Snacks Shop” training through the Vocational Education & Career Counseling program. This training includes practical lessons on bookkeeping, inventory management, health and safety, and other important small business principles. It also includes start-up expenses and the gift of a basic food cart with a built-in cooktop.

Whether serving up lunch and snacks near a construction site or parked in her covered market stall, Sadhri is bringing home profits every day from her small business.

Sadhri opened her new business days after completing the training, parking her cart near the site of an ongoing construction project and tailoring her small menu to the workers there. By January 2020, she was already earning a net profit of $350 per month (well over twice Nepal’s minimum wage!) and sending her children to a good school. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sadhri’s family was able to make ends meet thanks to the additional income, and Sadhri hopes to expand her business soon.

*Name has been changed

Olgapuri Vocational School

Olgapuri Vocational School (OVS), located on the Olgapuri campus in Kathmandu Valley, brings 20-student classes of men and women together for 3-month certification programs in electrical, plumbing, carpentry, welding, and more. Programs shift to match needs NYF has identified through contacts at major Nepali companies. Specialized courses are also occasionally offered in fields like industrial tailoring or special agricultural topics including unique crops (like mushrooms or henna) and innovations (including greenhouse technology). OVS is discussed in more depth on the Olgapuri Vocational School program page.

Empowering Freed Kamlaris

Young Tharu women associated with our Empowering Freed Kamlaris program are still eligible for special skills-based trainings held in their native Terai region of western Nepal. Most of these women join our “Tea and Snacks Shop” training program, which teaches the principles of small business ownership and provides start-up funds for each woman to open her own roadside business.

Graduates of this program have used their proceeds to buy livestock, to purchase farmland outright, or to educate their younger siblings. Some have even hired their parents or husbands to run secondary locations!

As a child, Durga*, 24, spent years working as a kamlari servant. Now she's her own boss, running a successful clothes shop at a central market in her town. Thanks to entrepreneurship and small business training through the VECC and a startup microloan (already repaid!), Durga is now investing in her children's future and putting money aside for emergencies.

Other trainings are developed for the Freed Kamlaris by request, when relevant. For example, in early 2021, a group of over 100 Freed Kamlaris requested industrial tailoring training, with the aim of working together in the growing garment industry (more on this on the Olgapuri Vocational School program page).

 

Vocational Diplomas

Finally, young people may receive scholarships for earning Vocational Diplomas at long-term technical institutions.

Careers include nursing, engineering, agriculture, the culinary arts, and hotel management—but many other unique programs are eligible, if a prospective student identifies a suitable certification course.

One recent student requested (and received) support for an intensive mixology course and graduated directly into a position as the lead bartender at a high-end resort for tourists in the Himalayas. Another young woman earned a vocational diploma in motorcycle maintenance and repair. She now runs a successful motorcycle repair shop—the only such shop in her region.

Between 50 and 60 individual students receive vocational training scholarships each year, with some vocational scholars supported through our Sponsorships program.

Bindu*, 24, always had a love for animals. Now graduated with a technical diploma in veterinary medicine, she's working at a local animal hospital caring for pets and farm animals as well.

Olgapuri Vocational School

Olgapuri Vocational School (OVS) offers comprehensive training courses in high-demand trades including electrical, plumbing, welding, and carpentry. Young adults in this program receive intensive skills training from expert instructors, entrepreneurship guidance, small business administration and accounting lessons, resume-building and job search support, start-up microgrants, and connections to other young adults on similar paths towards personal economic empowerment.

In normal years, around 90 percent of OVS graduates are employed in their chosen fields within six months of certification. Certifications earned through OVS are recognized in areas throughout Nepal as signifiers of excellence.

Arjun*, 25, works on an assignment as part of the OVS Welding course. Due to Nepal's dramatic geography and natural resources, wood is more expensive in this nation than other materials. Metal work is a lucrative skill Arjun can put to use in many ways, making this course highly valuable for career options moving forward.

Current Courses

  • Welding
  • Carpentry & Furniture Making
  • Electrical
  • Plumbing
  • Industrial Tailoring
  • SAAET Project (Sustainable Agricultural and Entrepreneurship Training)

Young women in OVS's SAAET Project (Sustainable Agricultural and Entrepreneurship Training) practice planting together using drip irrigation. They're enjoying working together to learn new technologies, which can be applied quite simply to extraordinary effect. This program is especially popular with young mothers in farming communities.

How We Work

OVS brings 20-student classes of young men and women together for certification programs in skilled trades NYF knows to be currently in high demand. Programs shift to match needs NYF identifies through contacts at major Nepali companies, in discussion with local government officials, and in community organizations.

Construction-related trade courses are almost always available (plumbing, welding, electrical, and carpentry), as work in these sectors is booming with Nepal’s efforts to expand and improve infrastructure nationwide. Specialized courses are also occasionally offered in fields like industrial tailoring or special agricultural topics including unique crops (like mushrooms or henna) and innovations (including greenhouse technology).

Courses are offered at NYF’s Olgapuri Vocational School facility in Kathmandu Valley (with enrollees traveling from multiple communities to attend) as well as in a new “satellite” format on-site in rural communities (establishing hubs of expertise within areas in need of local tradespeople).

Most OVS courses last three months, with different training courses running concurrently. Enrollment in each course typically caps at 20 students (flexibility is applied for satellite courses). All genders are encouraged to enroll, though some programs, like the SAAET Project, are focused on women.

Course work is the core of the program. Activities are split between hands-on instruction and practice (approximately 80% of class time) and theoretical material (20% of class time).

Theoretical elements include relevant course reading, as well as health, first aid, and safety training, entrepreneurship development, and life skills components like goal setting and decision making, communication, basic computer use, and job search skills. Life skills components are provided through Ankur Counseling Center.

Plumbing Instructor Arjun Lama (center, without helmet) quarantined in this rural hilly village before beginning the OVS Satellite Training course here. Everything about his course is exactly the way it would be on Olgapuri campus - just with a different view! Students listen carefully as Arjun explains the drafting principles they’ll need for their next hands-on assignment. Several of these students will be needed at home once class ends for the day. This was an unexpected benefit of the “satellite” model - the inclusion of students whose families could not spare them for a 3-month training course in Kathmandu.

Satellite OVS Courses

During most of the COVID-19 pandemic, NYF was unable to operate our OVS facility in Kathmandu Valley. However, we knew that as Nepal’s economy suffered during this pandemic, young people throughout the country would need these opportunities more than ever.

In mid-2020, we piloted experimental Satellite OVS courses. Instead of bringing individuals from multiple villages to OVS, we sent our trainers—fully equipped with the necessary tools and equipment—to quarantine in individual villages, conducting the regular 3-month training on-site before moving to another village.

Soon after launching these satellite courses, municipality offices and schools began reaching out to request more. Requests arrived from all over: including a girl’s school, a children’s home, and an addiction recovery center for young adults. The shift was such a success that NYF leadership decided in early 2021 to make OVS satellite courses part of our regular programming. The hope is to scale the program up significantly in the coming years.

OVS plumbing course graduates pose outside in their home community of Tanahu, in the foothills of the Himalayas. These graduates are about to massively improve the standard of living in their communities by helping neighbors incorporate water tank plumbing at home - improving access to running water for handwashing and more. The coming improvement to community health is immeasurable!

Pradip’s Story

Pradip, 21, grew up in Yangsing, a remote village with only 7 public water taps serving 55 homes. He dreamed of attending college and eventually finding a lucrative overseas job—but due to expense and other obstacles, the dream could not become a reality. Instead, he tried settling in the big city, finding a job as a waiter in Kathmandu as he hustled towards a brighter future. Unfortunately, Pradip’s wages didn’t even allow him to meet his meager monthly expenses. When COVID-19 reached Nepal and the nationwide shutdowns began, a discouraged Pradip returned home to Yangsing.

Then, Pradip’s rural municipality (similar to a rural county in the U.S.) requested an OVS satellite plumbing course for young adults in the surrounding areas—and Pradip signed up, imagining that perhaps this would be the opportunity he had always been searching for.

Pradip took to the work immediately. He took special delight in installing modern flushing toilets, which he had learned to use in Kathmandu. Pradip never tires of hearing his neighbors, who are encountering these toilets for the first time, as they marvel at the way the plumbing works. But best of all, Pradip and two of his classmates have been hired to work on the “One House, One Tap” project in his own home village, bringing safe running water to each of his neighbors.

“It gives me immense joy that the government people recognize my work and offered plumbing work,” Pradip says. “Besides this, people in the village have been coming to me for repair and maintenance work. I am hopeful in finding a lot more work. It feels great to be able to live in my own village and work for the community.”

Pradip fits piping to a rooftop water tank. Soon, every home in his village will be linked with a municipal water supply through Nepal's One House, One Tap program, but for now, the homeowner who has hired Pradip will use a simpler gravity-based system for handwashing and toilet flushing.

Welding

This 3-month course, offered on OVS campus and in satellite form for classes of 20, covers the following skills:

  • Bench work
  • Metal arc welding
  • Oxy-acetylene welding & gas cutting
  • Planning
  • Occupational health & safety
  • First aid
  • Customer communication
  • Field practice (1 month)

Students at the OVS facility in Kathmandu Valley practice arc-welding on rounded rods. Their course involves one month of field practice to ensure they've mastered the techniques they've learned. Students who travel to OVS in Kathmandu Valley often graduate into high-paying jobs in the city, where there is plenty of room for career growth!

Carpentry & Furniture Making

This 3-month course, offered on OVS campus and in satellite form for classes of 20, covers the following skills:

  • Basic mathematics
  • Workshop management
  • Machine & tools management
  • Raw material management
  • Structure making
  • Molding & hardware fitting
  • Furniture finishing & polishing
  • Occupational development & communication
  • Entrepreneurship development

Rajesh*, 22, was working a grueling physical labor job in Malaysia when the COVID pandemic hit. Returning home in early 2020 was hard, as his family relied on his income to make ends meet. When OVS brought a satellite carpentry course to his village, Rajesh signed up and found he has a gift for furniture making! Rajesh and another carpentry graduate have now started a furniture workshop business together and their work is incredibly popular in their local area. With his confidence growing, Rajesh can’t imagine going back to work in Malaysia. His high-quality, well-designed pieces are gaining enough attention that he and his small team are planning to shift their headquarters to the town center, where they can attract even more clients. To his surprise and delight, Rajesh has recently realized that he has become a role model for the teens in his village - an entrepreneur whose work contributes tremendously to the local economy. He is looking forward to seeing how much his business can grow!

Electrical

This 3-month course, offered on OVS campus and in satellite form for classes of 20, covers the following skills:

  • Electrical basics
  • Occupational health & safety
  • Electrical tools & machines
  • Basic technical drawing
  • Principles of electrical installation
  • Wiring techniques
  • Safety tools
  • Earthing
  • Maintenance & protection of electrical installation
  • Applied mathematics
  • Customer communication
  • Entrepreneurship development

Early in the electrical training in Barbardiya Municipality, NYF electrical trainer Mandira Bhandari (front, in orange and brown top) critiques practice fixtures assembled by the students. Electricity in the area used to be extremely expensive, because electricians needed to travel over a day to reach this rural region and be housed and fed for the duration of their stay. Now that skilled electricians live right here in the district, electrical projects are much more affordable - and the local economy is seeing a sudden jump due to contracting wages staying local.

Plumbing

This 3-month course, offered on OVS campus and in satellite form for classes of 20, covers the following skills:

  • Occupational safety
  • Tools, equipment & materials
  • Basic benchwork
  • PVC pipe fittings
  • Layout planning
  • Pipe fitting & valve joining
  • Sanitary apparatus & fixtures joining
  • Sanitary system repair & maintenance
  • Basic repair & maintenance of tools & equipment
  • Cost estimation
  • Customer communication
  • Occupational capacity development & entrepreneurship development

NYF strongly encourages young women to enroll in all trainings offered at OVS, though many choose not to pursue the construction-related programs. These young women, studying plumbing in a satellite course, will unfortunately likely face sexism in their careers - but they are also poised to make good money with the skills they are learning. Graduates from satellite trainings often opt to stay local and work for themselves, splitting their time between helping on the family farm and bringing in additional income from their vocational skills on the side and during times when farming labor is less intensive. For a woman, the ability to make use of a skill like plumbing provides an extra layer of security for times of economic uncertainty, when she may unexpectedly become the sole breadwinner in her family.

Industrial Tailoring

This 6-month course, offered on OVS campus for classes of 20, was specially requested by a group of Freed Kamlaris who hoped that by working together in the garment industry, they would be empowered to enter the workforce from a place of strength and take advantage of the opportunities available in this growing sector.

After 3 months of training in our OVS facility, trainees are hired by a trusted clothing manufacturer to complete a paid 3-month apprenticeship, after which they are hired full-time, earning nearly double Nepal’s minimum wage, with room to grow. For many of our graduates, this is their first experience with a stable income.

As of spring 2022, hundreds of young women are on the waiting list for this course. Garment manufacturers are incredibly impressed with the quality of the work done by our graduates and are eager to employ more. Best of all, these manufacturers know NYF graduates are empowered and encouraged to report unsafe and exploitative conditions, and they know NYF takes such matters incredibly seriously. They are therefore highly motivated to treat their employees well.

The Industrial Tailoring course covers the following skills:

  • Industrial sewing machine operation & its parts
  • Needle functions & machine speed
  • Health & safety considerations, including proper posture during long-term use
  • Stitching control
  • Stitching types
  • Measurement skills
  • Cutting fabric panels for clothing items, including fabric grain
  • Joining clothing parts
  • Shirts & t-shirts, trousers, pants & shorts, track suits, simple jackets, hoodies, gowns
  • Goal setting, decision making, positive thinking, self-care
  • Tours of local garment companies

Lead trainer Anju Thapa (left) helps a student solve a threading issue with her machine. "I'm very happy that I'm able to share my knowledge and skills to help these girls," she says. "These girls haven't had many opportunities in life, and now they are brought to our vocational school. I feel fortunate that I'm able to train them. I've worked for 15 years in different garment industries and I've trained others, but I'm pleased I can provide this service to these girls. Everyone here at OVS is very supportive and encouraging. I'm so pleased when our trainees say they've started earning and saving. "

The SAAET Project

This 1-month course, offered on OVS campus and in satellite form for classes of 20, is focused on young women from agricultural communities who wish to expand their economic power without leaving their home communities. (The course is currently being developed in Dang District in western Nepal, with students from the Freed Kamlari community. However, NYF hopes to expand the program into other communities in the coming years.)

The SAAET course is particularly popular with young mothers hoping to improve family nutrition and bring in year-round income without needing to venture far from home.

The program, taught by Nepali experts in green agriculture, involves 15 days of intensive theoretical and hands-on training followed by 15 days of on-the-job training. Materials are provided for each woman to construct her first greenhouse. When the 1-month training program has ended, students are prepared to run their greenhouses successfully on their own.

One year of expert support is included in the program, with contact available via telephone and in-person field visits at the 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month marks. Graduates receive technical support to fully apply the knowledge and skills covered in the intensive training. It also allows trainers to provide personal advice regarding current fair market values, sales and marketing strategies, and more.

Our students’ greenhouses are sustainable almost immediately following the 1-month course, with upkeep of the greenhouse itself more than covered by income from crop sales. Greenhouses allow these young entrepreneurs to grow off-season crops year-round, fetching premium prices at local markets and from wholesalers transporting vegetables to nearby districts. Many of our graduates are able to use financial gains to scale production within their first year following the program.

The SAAET course covers the following skills:

  • Introduction to organic farming
  • Nursery preparation
  • Production & use of organic fertilizers & pesticides
  • Construction & use of plastic greenhouse and drip irrigation
  • Soil management & line preparation
  • Storage & post-harvest loss control
  • Budgeting, bookkeeping, business planning & farm management
  • Off-season growing & premium crops for maximum profit

Tanushri*, 24, grins in front of the economical greenhouse model she and her fellow students are building as part of their SAAET training. The structures are simply designed using materials like bamboo and sturdy tarps – but the technology and theory behind them will make an incredible difference in each student’s ability to grow nutritious food year-round.

A young girl with pigtails sits in a classroom surrounded by students her own age, all engaged in group work together. The girl looks at the camera, smiling slightly.
Shanti*, 9, dreamed of attending school - but her parents couldn't afford to send her to the special boarding school for deaf students. A special NYF scholarship changed that. Now Shanti is attending classes and making friends with students like herself. She is especially gifted in math!

Scholarships for Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities—those with deafness or blindness, chronic health problems, mobility challenges, or other physical limitations—face particularly strong systemic barriers in Nepal. However, once given the chance to pursue their educations, these remarkable students shine.

That’s why NYF created a special scholarship fund especially for them. The work these students do is slowly chipping away at Nepali society’s negative view of disabilities of all kinds.

And each student receiving a Students with Disabilities scholarship is benefiting from the challenge of an education.

Image of a young woman (age 20) working on a laptop. The woman is a double amputee - both forearms end just below the elbow. She wears a purple shirt and a pink sweater.

Sabita, 20, had a deep passion for science - but when she lost both hands in an electrical accident in 2012, she dropped out of school for two years, depressed by the certainty that her dreams could never come true. Fortunately, the social workers at NYF know there are resources for students like Sabita - and they know how to fight for students in unique situations. Sabita's high marks on Nepal's notorious Iron Gate exam earned her a place at a competitive science school for 11th and 12th grade - and once she completes her final exams this year, Sabita will be moving forward into college, studying paramedicine.

Educational Support for Each Individual

Scholarships for Students with Disabilities are available for students from K-12, college, and beyond.

These scholarships are tailored to each individual student’s situation, taking into consideration their particular needs, ambitions, family situation, and more. Expenses covered include tuition, necessary program materials, housing and board near their campuses, and transportation. In some cases, a special boarding school is the solution. In others, in-home tutors or aides are required. Frequently students are provided with devices designed to accommodate their special need.

Where needed, students may also be provided with access to psychological support through Ankur Counseling Center.

NYF social workers keep involved with each student and their schools, advocating for each individual’s right to prove his or her own capabilities. When students experience pushback from school administrations, our social workers intervene to ensure these students are granted the educational opportunities they know they are capable of pursuing.

A smiling young blind woman sits on the floor with one hand on the Braille pages of a book. Her mother sits behind her, smiling.

Rita*, 17 (left), is blind, and she is also paralyzed from the waist down. Her family has worked hard to give her the best opportunities possible, but her lifelong health costs have been a challenge - and many schools have refused to admit her due to her special care needs. Rita is bright and motivated, and she deserves an education! Her scholarship includes Braille books and an in-home tutor who is helping her study at her own pace, to catch up on the years of school she has missed. Both she and her mother (right) are delighted with the progress she has made!

NYF is proud to have supported students with disabilities throughout their school careers who have achieved remarkable things:

  • An early student with blindness now runs a respected Nepal-based nonprofit especially for children with limited sight
  • Scholars with deafness frequently enter the teaching profession, focusing their efforts in schools for the deaf
  • Other students with disabilities have gone on to excel in careers completely unrelated to their ability status—as lawyers, entrepreneurs, and more!

As in NYF’s broader Scholarship program, after graduation, financial support from NYF ends to encourage each student to enter the workforce as soon as possible. NYF makes sure to leverage its network of contacts throughout the country to support these graduates in their job searches, and help is available to each in areas like resumé writing, interviewing practice, and more through the Vocational Education and Career Counseling program.

A young girl in a hoodie leans over a textbook while her tutor, a young woman, reads along beside her. Both are seated together in a homey room full of blankets and pillows.

Srijana* (left) has a chronic health issue that makes regular school attendance incredibly challenging. Though she is highly motivated and very bright, she has also been very discouraged as she's fallen behind her peers through no fault of her own. Her family didn't know what to do differently, and they struggled to keep up with school material costs at the same time as Srijana's hospital and medication bills. NYF stepped in to have a tutor (right) work with Srijana during times when she can't attend class regularly, and the scholarship even includes a bit of medical support as well. Srijana is catching back up with her peers now, and she feels much more confident in her abilities.

History

At the time NYF was founded, educational opportunities were relatively rare for most children in Nepal. In the three decades since NYF was founded, the Nepali school system has come a long way in extending quality educational opportunities to all children. While there is still plenty of room to improve equity across all demographics, NYF is proud to have been part of this remarkable era of change. As Nepal’s capacity has developed, we have regularly revisited our approaches to ensure we are still maximizing the potential impact of scholarships!

A young girl in a wheelchair works on a worksheet, seated across the table from a teacher. The girl's father stands behind, holding her backpack and placing an encouraging hand on her shoulder.

Jyoti*, 10 (left), is finishing up an after-school tutoring session while her father watches encouragingly. Jyoti's scholarship covers her wheelchair, school expenses, and the tutoring sessions that are helping her catch up after an accident put her out of the classroom for nearly a year.

Your Donations

Scholarships for Students with Disabilities are funded through unrestricted donations, by thoughtful gifts earmarked for students with disabilities, and through our Sponsorship program.

Kinship Care

Kinship Care is one of NYF’s two main “Shelter” programs. (The other is Olgapuri Children’s Village.)

Studies have shown that children displaced from their parents fare better psychologically when cared for by extended family members than they do when placed with strangers or in institutional care.

NYF’s Kinship Care program keeps families together by providing small stipends to loving, stable family members—grandparents, aunts and uncles, adult siblings, and more—to ensure these children are safe, well-fed, receiving necessary medical care, and most of all, attending school. Our social workers keep in touch with these families, ensuring that the needs of the children are being met, and making any adjustments as needed.

Keeping a child within this social support network minimizes loss (so children who have lost parents have not lost their entire families, their friends, and their familiar environments as well) as well as maintaining emotional connections and stability. This solution is the least disruptive to a child’s development.

Children who graduate from high school and wish to pursue further studies become eligible for our Scholarship Program.

 

Naresh’s Story

Grandmother Chirasmi* and her husband began raising their grandson, Naresh*, when he was a toddler after his parents passed away. The arrangement worked perfectly—until Naresh’s grandfather passed away several years ago.

Unable to work due to her age, Chirasmi tried to care for both herself and Naresh on her small government pension. But as Naresh grows, raising him was becoming a challenge. He’s 11 now, and his shoes and clothes are somehow always too small—and there never seems to be enough food to keep up with his appetite! School fees for his education are a challenge as well.

 

Naresh & Chirasmi stand together in the small outdoor space behind their home. Naresh can't remember living anywhere else - and he keeps the place upbeat and full of laughter for his loving grandmother!

Chirasmi loves her grandson deeply, but with no way to bring in additional money, she was beginning to worry that soon, she would need to place Naresh in a children’s home to ensure he was cared for properly. She was heartbroken.

Fortunately, a neighbor heard about NYF’s Kinship Care program and helped Chirasmi apply. With a small stipend from NYF, Chirasmi can rest easy and focus on raising her grandson, safe and loved in the home he has known since before he can remember. There is always enough food in their home to ensure Naresh can grow up healthy and strong, and NYF’s social workers are just a phone call away.

Now in the 5th grade, Naresh’s studies are going well—and he even has the opportunity to participate in swimming outside of school (he is quite good!). Both Chirasmi and Naresh are happy to have each other—and NYF is grateful for the loving supporters who make the Kinship Care program possible.

*Names have been changed to protect privacy

Your Donations

The average annual stipend for a family in Kinship Care is only $850. In 2021, 230 children lived safely with extended family members through Kinship care stipends. Funding for this program comes through Sponsorship donations, general support, and donations earmarked for Kinship Care.

Prena* can't believe how big her grandsons Govinda* and Himal* are growing - but she is so grateful that as they grow, she has NYF's help in keeping them well-fed, clothed, and going to school.

Kinship Care peaked in the years following the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, which tore families apart and destroyed homes, villages, and livelihoods. Following the disaster, NYF cared for many children who had lost their parents, tracking down relatives who had feared the entire family was killed and were extremely happy to receive their nieces, nephews, and grandchildren. NYF is proud to have kept these families together and supported their recovery from this devastating event. We are even prouder to see children who survived this tragedy move forward into college and beyond.

Nutritional Outreach Camps

Nutritional Outreach Camps take nutritional intervention into remote regions of Nepal, providing free medical check-ups, nutritional assessment, and care to children, as well as focused, practical education for caregivers, with emphasis on nutrition and hygiene.

Each 3-day camp serves approximately 1,000-2,000 children, most under the age of 6. Many families walk over two hours to attend.

 

Pediatric Malnutrition in Nepal

According to UNICEF, over half of the pediatric deaths in Nepal are linked to undernutrition, with over a third of Nepali children impacted by stunting. This is an improvement from the situation 20 years ago, but it is still a serious concern—especially when considering the ways childhood malnutrition can limit development in those who survive.

Better nutrition is related to stronger immune systems and physical health, improved learning, and higher productivity. NYF is dedicated to giving Nepali children their best opportunities to live their dreams and realize their incredible potential, and for many children in Nepal, this means empowering their bodies early by fighting malnutrition in individuals, in households, and in communities.

While families wait their turn for pediatric check-ups, NYF nutrition experts give group discussions on practical ways to maximize the nutritional value of everyday meals. All of the ingredients are ones attendees will recognize - though many have always considered some items to be unsuitable for humans! Caregivers are relieved to learn affordable, practical ways to help their kids thrive. Many adjustments can be made from the moment these families return home.

Between 1998 and 2021, our Nutrition Rehabilitation Homes (NRHs) have treated more than 26,000 children with life-saving nutritional care while their caregivers (mostly mothers) learned to keep their families well-nourished with readily available local foods. But many families in remote Nepal can’t reach one of these facilities.

Since 2011, Nutrition Outreach Camps have brought NYF’s nutrition resources to extremely remote villages in Nepal’s hard-to-reach areas. We’re eager for more!

Remote Nepal

Little Shova* (6) hasn't met many strangers before - and today will be her first time seeing a doctor for a routine check-up. NYF staff members answer a few of her questions as they take down her name and assign her a number so she and her friends can play while waiting their turn.

Nepal’s incredible geography poses significant challenges for transportation throughout the nation. The small, landlocked nation is home to a staggering elevation range of 28,835 feet (8,789 meters) between Mt. Everest and the tropical lowland plains. For comparison, the elevation range within the entire North American continent is only 20,602 feet (6,280 meters, between Mt. McKinley in Alaska and Death Valley in southern California).

As a result, though Nepal is a relatively small country, its terrain can be rocky, unforgiving, and difficult to navigate. Road building and maintenance are nearly impossible in many areas. Traveling to and from some villages can take several days, even when they seem much closer on a map. Resources and information that are becoming widely available in Nepal’s cities are still difficult to share in remote parts of the country—and that includes valuable knowledge about diet, hygiene, and home first aid.

Our Nutritional Outreach Camps are often held in partnership with the district- and municipality-level NGOs, with participation from local governments. These partners identify venues, provide volunteers, find safe overnight spaces for our staff members, and help transport items from the nearest roads—sometimes for miles through thick vegetation, over rugged terrain, or across creeks and ravines. Partners also provide outreach to ensure large turnouts.

 

Educating Caregivers

Caregivers - mostly mothers - listen attentively to the lessons on home nutrition. This is a special opportunity for many communities, when valuable, actionable information is presented for free. It's easy to feel disheartened when "helpful" information doesn't apply to a particular family's situation - but NYF has developed a strong reputation for providing the kind of down-to-earth advice that helps mothers across the country see results right away.

While malnutrition in Nepal, as in other parts of the world, is partly rooted in cycles of poverty, there are significant cultural elements at play as well. For example, some communities in rural Nepal believe raw leafy greens are unhealthy for human consumption and are only suitable for feeding pigs. One mother reported being told by older women in her village that citrus fruits would give children the common cold. Other parents mistakenly believe that foods imported from the West—like potato chips—must be healthier than traditional Nepalese dishes, and with the best of intentions, they spend extra money on items with little nutritional value.

These loving parents and caregivers are eager to change their families’ diets for the better. Throughout the varied rural regions of Nepal, these outcomes are often possible using items grown in a family’s garden.

Workshops are provided for groups of caregivers, sharing recipes and cooking techniques to help families maximize the nutritional value of each meal.

 

Rojina*, 23, brought her daughter Asmita*, 8, to a Nutrition Outreach Camp in a rural area in the Himalayan foothills. Asmita is often tired, listless, and less engaged than other kids. Rojina wondered why. Asmita is not alarmingly thin, but she is small for her age, and Rojina was right in observing her child's persistent fatigue. Here, NYF's lead nutritionist, Sunita Rimal, explains how malnutrition can cause these issues. During this nutritional counseling session, Rojina will learn achievable ways to improve the nutritional value of the meals she prepares at home.

The caregivers of children experiencing malnourishment are given personal counseling. NYF nutrition experts work to understand each family’s situation and to identify practical solutions most likely to succeed within their circumstances.

Many caregivers are surprised to learn that traditional Nepali recipes are frequently more densely nutritious than they realized. This important outreach extends to hygiene practices like handwashing, which in some regions of Nepal is not commonly practiced due to the scarcity of water. In a family where heavy water buckets must be carried from a well an hour or more away on foot, handwashing can seem wasteful in comparison to watering crops, cooking, and drinking until the tremendous health benefits of doing so are fully understood.

 

Medical and Nutritional Care for Children

Children at Nutritional Outreach Camps are screened for their nutrition status based on WHO guidelines. Each child is also given a full check-up by a pediatrician—often their first visit with a medical professional—and parents are encouraged to voice any concerns or questions they may have about their child’s health. Team doctors come prepared to distribute vitamins, as well as medicines to address common complaints, including skin problems, fevers, and gastroenteritis. Children with more severe medical needs are referred for additional treatment.

 

Purnima*, 8, sneaks a shy smile at the camera while an NYF nurse explains medicine dosage to the girl's mother. Purnima's brother has an ear infection, but with the right care, he'll be feeling better in no time. Purnima has a clean bill of health.

NYF works to assist these families where needed. Generally, almost one quarter of the children screened at our Outreach Camps are experiencing some degree of malnourishment. Around 5% of the children are moderately to severely malnourished. The caregivers of these children are offered care at the nearest Nutritional Rehabilitation Home if necessary, especially in more urgent cases.

Each family with children under the age of 5 are given a 1 kilogram packet of Lito—a homemade “super flour” blend of roasted wheat, soybeans, and corn that serves as a densely-packed source of necessary nutrients. Children in Nepal have eaten Lito as a hot cereal for centuries, and NYF has found that it is an excellent way to restore nutritional health quickly and effectively.

Mothers who are identified as malnourished themselves (a common occurrence) received additional nutrition counselling and information.

 

Lasting Change

At the conclusion of each camp, NYF staff train members of the municipality to continue identifying malnourished children. These experts refer malnourished children to the Kathmandu NRH for free rehabilitation services.

Municipality officials report that community health improves following Nutritional Outreach Camps. As we become able to offer these services more broadly, we look forward to returning to areas served to monitor and strengthen their progress.

 

Your Donations

Nutritional Outreach Camps are supported by generous donations made by individuals and organizations who are passionate about sustainably improving childhood nutrition through the empowerment and education of mothers.

Please reach out to us if you are interested in sponsoring a full Nutritional Outreach Camp!

Hari*, 3, feels right at home at the warm & colorful NRH. After all, the people here helped him feel so much healthier - and he's made friends with plenty of other children staying here!

Nutritional Rehabilitation Homes

Nutritional Rehabilitation Homes (NRHs) are special clinics designed to address pediatric malnutrition throughout Nepal.

Children who arrive at a hospital presenting with malnutrition are encouraged, after hospital discharge, to spend several weeks receiving free, holistic, individualized, intensive nutritional care at the nearest NRH. The outcomes for these children are near-miraculous.

Over the course of several weeks, children who arrive painfully thin, listless, and in distress begin to blossom, making developmental gains quickly as they put on weight and add muscle. As mothers regain their own nutritional health, they are delighted to engage with their growing children, who have gained the energy needed to be playful, curious, and mischievous.

At discharge, parents are enthusiastic about maintaining their children’s progress. Best of all – the vast majority succeed.

When Rupa*, 27, arrived at the NRH with 15-month-old Chandra*, she was incredibly worried about her son. Motherhood is a challenge, especially when a child is in pain and no solution seems to help. Both mother and son were experiencing malnutrition, and NRH staff members were quick to reassure Rupa. Within a week of carefully-prepared diets, both were already feeling much better - and Chandra was starting to grow, develop muscle, and interact with the world around him. Soon he'll be quickly reaching developmental milestones and catching up to his agemates! Rupa is eagerly learning food preparation tricks from the NRH cooks. It fills her with joy to know when she returns home with Chandra, she can help him grow and develop healthily for the rest of his childhood.

How We Work

Under the supervision of a nutritionist, children at the NRH are fed a nutrient-rich diet to allow their bodies to grow strong.

Meanwhile, caregivers are given lessons in hygiene, food preparation, nutritional health, and family first aid, each of which are tailored to their individual circumstances, empowering them to maintain the health of their families moving forward.

Much of the work at the NRH is hands-on, with the NRH cooks standing beside mothers and coaching them in food preparation. Here, a group of mothers listen as NYF's lead nutritionist explains some of the science behind good nutrition for children and families. During their weeks-long stay, these moms have plenty of time to ask follow-up questions and receive thoughtful, encouraging answers. They also have time to exchange tips and recipes with each other!

Since 1998, NYF’s Nutrition programming has been succeeding on a national scale in partnership with the Nepali government. NYF built 17 Nutritional Rehabilitation Homes throughout the country, each supporting a government-run hospital in pediatric cases involving malnutrition. By late 2021, these facilities had treated more than 26,000 children while their caregivers (mostly mothers) learned to keep their families well-nourished with readily available local foods.

With the exception of our flagship Kathmandu Valley facility, NYF built each NRH with the promise from the Nepali government that after five years, these clinics would be funded and run entirely by Nepal’s own health system. Effective July 2022, all 16 of the NRHs built for this purpose are now part of Nepal’s health infrastructure. Our flagship NRH in Kathmandu Valley will always remain under NYF control.

Our NRH model has been so successful that it has become the standard of care for pediatric malnutrition throughout Nepal. Besides the NRHs built by NYF, the Nepali government has now begun building their own, with 7 additional clinics in operation by the end of 2021.

Our flagship NRH in Kathmandu Valley serves as the training hub for prospective staff members for Nutritional Rehabilitation Homes throughout the country. Health workers and medical students are also regularly offered training workshops here, and certifications earned at our Kathmandu NRH are well-respected throughout Nepal.

While teaching an intensive training session for professionals working in government-run NRHs throughout Nepal, NYF's Nutrition Coordinator, Sunita Rimal (center, facing camera) demonstrates the proper way to measure the height of a child. Like the teddy bear, small children sometimes struggle to stand still and stand upright long enough to get an accurate measurement - and some may be too weakened by malnutrition to do so. Workshops run at the Kathmandu Valley NRH are a core part of strengthening Nepal's capacity to treat pediatric malnutrition, as these professionals work to combat this widespread issue.

Sunny’s Story

Sunny* was 22 months old when he arrived at a Kathmandu hospital in August 2019—but the little boy weighed only 16 pounds, less than a healthy 5-month-old in the United States. One of his legs was injured, he could not stand, and he was sick with pneumonia.

Sunny’s mother, Anandi*, was frantic with worry. A day laborer, she had only so much rice to provide her son each day. The boy never seemed to grow. Traveling to Kathmandu from her rural village in Dhading District was an enormous financial risk—but Anandi did not know what else she could do to support her son’s health.

Due to severe malnutrition, Sunny’s little body was too weak to fight off infection. He spent over a week in the hospital, where Anandi learned about the services available at the nearby Nutritional Rehabilitation Home. She wasn’t sure she could afford such a lengthy stay in Kathmandu, let alone special residential services. But the hospital nurses assured her that care at the NRH was free—and shared many stories about children just like Sunny whose lives were transformed after just a few weeks of holistic care.

Anandi looked at her son, who still seemed so frail lying in his hospital bed, even though the worst of his symptoms had been resolved. Could the special clinic really help as much as the nurses said? Anandi decided to risk the longer stay in Kathmandu, and when Sunny was discharged, she brought him directly to the Kathmandu NRH.

At the NRH, Sunny received a personalized diet, as well as 24-hour nursing service. The orthopedic hospital in Kathmandu consulted with NYF to help heal his injured leg. Meanwhile, the NRH staff members worked with Anandi, identifying the best ways to help her support her family’s health with her limited income in mind.

In the beginning, Sunny was shy, withdrawing from the other children staying at the NRH. But after a couple of weeks of intensive treatment, he became more alert, more active, more engaged. After only 26 days at the NRH, Sunny had gained 5 pounds – bringing him to a healthy weight for his height – and had blossomed into a smiling, happy child.

During this time, Anandi learned a great deal about nutrition, and the importance of fruits and leafy vegetables for growing children. As they left to return home to Dhading District, she told NRH staff she intended to plant green vegetables in her household garden.

Six months later, in February 2020, NYF field staff met with Anandi and Sunny in their village. The little boy was nearly unrecognizable. A grinning Anandi spoke of how quickly her son was growing out of his clothing, and of the mischief he was up to now that he’d started walking.

Sunny’s neighbors could hardly believe this was the same child. That little boy had cried constantly, and he was always sick. This child was happy, healthy, and a bit taller every day. Anandi is happy to share her newfound nutritious recipes with anyone who asks.

*Names have been changed

Pediatric Malnutrition in Nepal

According to UNICEF, over half of the pediatric deaths in Nepal are linked to undernutrition, with over a third of Nepali children impacted by stunting. This is an improvement from the situation 20 years ago, but it is still a serious concern—especially when considering the ways childhood malnutrition can limit development in those who survive.

Siblings Ashok*, 2, and Nisha*, 3, enjoy their last NRH meal before heading back to their home village with their mother. Both children arrived at the NRH listless, underweight, and disinterested in the world around them. Their mother thought their behavior was strange, but she hadn't known malnutrition was to blame until a health care worker at a rural clinic told her how underweight they each were. A week after the children arrived at the NRH, they began brightening, laughing, playing with each other, and engaging other children - and their mother leapt wholeheartedly into learning what the NRH nurses were teaching in their nutrition workshops.

Physical and mental disabilities are common results of malnutrition in children, especially those under the age of 5. Better nutrition is related to stronger immune systems and physical health, improved learning, and higher productivity.

When children arrive at Nepali hospitals suffering from common symptoms like severe cough, nausea, and infection, they are often also suffering from malnutrition. Unfortunately, hospitals are not equipped to provide care beyond the medical interventions needed to resolve the illness itself. Children in this situation are often discharged when their symptoms subside, only to return soon because their bodies were unable to fight the next pathogen that came along.

NYF is dedicated to giving Nepali kids their best opportunities to live their dreams and realize their incredible potential, and for many children in Nepal, this means empowering their bodies early by fighting malnutrition in individuals, in households, and in communities. We are proud to be working alongside the Nepali government to address this critical issue.

 

Healing Children & Empowering Families

Immediately responding to each child’s health is the primary concern at NRHs. Severely malnourished children require special monitoring and personalized care as their bodies begin to grow, replenish fat stores, develop muscle tone, and allocate critical nutrients. Health care workers and staff at the NRHs have seen hundreds of remarkable transformations over the years as toddlers put on weight, begin engaging their environments, and start to quickly hit developmental strides their bodies were too weak for only days before.

Janaki*, 9, became frightfully thin after her parents lost their jobs at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, the Kathmandu family learned about the free services available at the NRH. Janaki's parents were delighted to learn that even with their limited space, they could grow nutritious greens to supplement their family's diet. Even better, Janaki noticed how much better her body felt after only a few days of the NRH's vegetable-rich diet. She told the nurses she would always make sure she ate enough vegetables from now on. Good nutrition is her favorite medicine!

Children old enough to understand the nutritional information recognize the tremendous difference diet makes in their overall wellness and speak with incredible maturity about their commitment to always prioritize nutrient-rich vegetables. And caregivers, often malnourished themselves, see the differences clearly in themselves and in their children—and realize how accessible these differences are to their families, with the right information.

Each caregiver receives personalized counseling based on the realities of their family situation. How much access to meat and dairy does the family have? How much land can the family use for gardening? What region is the family from? How accessible is clean, fresh water? What does the family use for cooking fuel? How picky is the child? Practical solutions are discussed in each case. Many caregivers are surprised to learn that traditional Nepali recipes are frequently more densely nutritious than they realized.

 

Lasting Change

When NYF follows up with children discharged from Nutritional Rehabilitation Homes, about 90% have been able to maintain (and usually improve upon) the nutritional gains made during their stay. Caregivers are committed to continuing the work of providing nutrient-rich meals to their entire family.

Neighbors and extended family members, shocked at the improvements they see in the child, learn new recipes and techniques from the caregivers themselves. Any doubts they may have about the unfamiliar techniques are quelled by the undeniable evidence of the child’s incredibly good health.

Work done through the Nutritional Rehabilitation Homes is gradually improving the state of pediatric nutritional health in Nepal – not only by healing individual children but by empowering families and communities to continue the work themselves.

Staff members at NYF's NRHs have been witnessing miraculous transformations in children for years now - but it never becomes less joyful. Not only are they saving individuals lives - they're also empowering families to establish healthy habits that will last a lifetime. The caregivers trained at the NRH benefit tremendously as a sense of hopelessness changes to accomplishment and pride in their ability to give their children the good health every child deserves.

The Nutritional Rehabilitation Home Model

Soon after NYF developed the first NRH in Kathmandu in 1998, the WHO praised the work done here, recommending the model to the Nepali government as a program to emulate. Government officials requested a new facility near a hospital in Nepalgunj, in western Nepal. NYF, realizing that financially supporting many different NRHs would be unsustainable in the long-term, proposed a cost-sharing plan. Existing hospitals would provide NYF with the land required for the facility. Construction costs for each NRH would come through generous support from NYF funders; we would then recruit staff members, equip the facility, and provide all the operational costs and training for the initial three years of operation.

In year four, the Nepali government would provide 25% of the funding required to run the NRH. In year five, the government would contribute 50%. Finally, on the first day of year six, full responsibility for the NRH would belong to the Nepalese Health Ministry. They would commit to run each NRH exactly the way NYF had done, and would commit to retain all the staff members hired and trained by NYF. New staff members would be trained by NYF as well. But the NRH would officially become a part of the Nepali health infrastructure.

The government agreed to these conditions, and when the time came for the initial 25% of funding to arrive, the Nepalese Health Ministry made good on its promise. The process of integrating NRHs into Nepal’s existing network has proceeded so well that Nepal has begun building its own NRHs from scratch—always working with NYF to ensure their staff members are specially trained to maximize impact.

NYF built 17 Nutritional Rehabilitation Homes in total, with 16 of them meant to eventually transition into the Nepali health system infrastructure. (The original NRH, the flagship facility in Kathmandu Valley, will always remain under NYF control, though it, too, functions in coordination with nearby pediatric wards.) The final NRH to transition, NRH-Dadeldura, passed to the Nepal Health Ministry in mid-2022.

The presence of a Nutritional Rehabilitation Home on hospital grounds has become a source of great pride for hospital directors throughout the country. These directors always include the NRH when conducting visitor tours of their hospitals, touting the incredible impact of these facilities on the region’s overall pediatric health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of these facilities served temporarily as quarantined COVID patient spaces, allowing overwhelmed hospitals to slow the spread of the deadly virus, saving countless lives.

Empowering Freed Kamlaris / the Indentured Daughters Program

This program concluded in 2020. It is now being run entirely by local Freed Kamlari leadership!

The Empowering Freed Kamlaris program (called the Indentured Daughters Program from 2000 – 2014) was NYF’s most comprehensive, successful intervention to date. Though the program is now run wholly by graduates of the program, NYF continues to work closely with the community.

This program worked to combat an entrenched practice known as kamlari, in which members of the Tharu ethnic minority in Western Nepal sold their daughters (some as young as five years old) into indentured servitude in the homes of Nepal’s elite. The practice, built on a foundation of predatory lending, ethnic oppression, and generational debt, robbed tens of thousands of young women of educational opportunities, cultural connection, and their childhood.

NYF successfully eradicated the practice in Nepal, empowered young Tharu women to advocate for themselves and improve the lives of their families, and is continuing to support a better future for their communities.

Highlights

 

  • The Indentured Daughters Program began in early 2000 and ran until it was handed over to the Freed Kamlari Development Forum (FKDF) in 2020.
  • In 2000 and 2001, NYF implemented a policy of “a piglet for a girl.” Families who allowed their daughters to return home would receive a piglet or goat, which could be raised on kitchen scraps. Meanwhile, the girl would be enrolled in school, supported by NYF. After one year, the animal could be sold for the same amount of money their daughters would have earned with a year of forced labor. Many families chose to breed the animals instead of selling them, beginning lucrative husbandry businesses.
  • In the spring of 2002, NYF’s founder Olga Murray appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss the program, as well as to pitch the “piglet for a girl” option as an excellent Mother’s Day gift. Donations poured in from across the United States, and the program took off with new strength.
  • In 2003, NYF staff member (now-president) Som Paneru brought an action to the Supreme Court of Nepal, declaring that the kamlari practice was in violation of not only Nepal’s own labor laws, but of 22 of the 42 articles within the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child, to which Nepal was a signatory. In 2006, Nepal’s Supreme Court declared the practice a violation of both Nepali and international law. It ordered the government to provide rehabilitation services to girls who had returned from servitude. Unfortunately, due to complications within Nepal’s government and lax law enforcement, it would take time to ensure these changes became reality.
  • As NYF worked to identify and free individual girls from the five districts impacted by this practice, we provided special classes to help young women catch up in their studies, ensured students had sufficient school supplies, trained peer counselors to help individuals cope with trauma, and enrolled interested young women in opportunities to help them share their stories, changing their society’s opinion of the practice and pressuring the government to act.
  • During these years, transformative marches were held in impacted towns and in Kathmandu, with young women demanding an end to the practice as they marched to parliament. On a local level, freed girls became passionate about preventing other young women from being sold into kamlari bondage, stopping buses to identify girls in the company of “brokers” and returning these children to their families.

NYF founder Olga Murray (at center) marching with freed girls. Communities were overwhelmed by the power of these young women, joining together to demand freedom and education for their sisters and daughters. Self-advocacy was a tremendous part of this program, with the understanding that sustained change could only come from within the communities themselves. Photo by Sanjoj Maharjan.

  • In 2013, Nepal’s legislature officially abolished the kamlari practice by name, imposing steep penalties on those caught “employing,” selling, or transporting these girls. The declaration also allocated funds especially for young women impacted by this practice, including scholarships and other benefits.
  • Leaders from within the Freed Kamlari community became well-known by government officials, as these fierce leaders continued ensuring the government made good on its promises to their community.
  • All told, NYF directed rescued 12,932 young women and girls from kamlari bondage. Our efforts enabled thousands more girls to obtain their freedom and access to educational opportunities, and also ended the practice for future generations.
  • NYF and leaders within the Freed Kamlari communities worked together to establish the Freed Kamlari Development Forum (FKDF) with chapters in villages throughout the Tharu community. This locally led nonprofit grew at first under the care of NYF, overseeing co-ops, community credit and lending groups, and other local organizations focused on empowering and strengthening the economy within Tharu communities, educating young women, preventing child marriage, and more.
  • In 2020, control of the Empowering Freed Kamlari program passed fully into the control of the FKDF.
  • In the present, NYF and the FKDF frequently partner to offer special training courses through the Vocational Education & Career Counseling program and through Olgapuri Vocational School. Undergraduate-level college support is available from the Nepali government. Individual young women pursuing law degrees, medical degrees, and other advanced education are eligible for NYF’s Scholarship program.

Read the Evaluation Study!

Click here to download the full study or read highlights here.

This study was conducted by an independent group of field researchers in 2019. They interviewed a sample of the women freed from the kamlari practice through NYF’s efforts, focusing their questions on topics linked to NYF’s mission: Education, HealthShelter, and Freedom.

We’re proud to report that the findings were incredibly positive! In almost all cases, the Freed Kamlaris and their families were not only doing better than they had before NYF intervened—they were doing better than national averages!