Children in Nepal face many challenges, including disrupted access to education and the threats of child labour and early/forced marriage. Pragya Adhikari, MEAL specialist at Islamic Relief Nepal, explains how our projects are helping to keep children in school.
Every child deserves the best start in life: a happy home, a safe place to play, and access to quality education, medical care, and proper nutrition.
However, for the 1 in 5 children living in extreme poverty worldwide, many of these necessities and rights are out of reach.
Instead, their lives are incredibly challenging, with the ever-present risk of illiteracy, disease, child labour, lifelong poverty, and even death.
Within South Asia, Nepal is one of the countries that is the most challenging for children to grow up in, with widespread poverty and unequal access to education.
Nepal also has one of the highest rates of early and forced marriage, despite laws against it. Figures from UNICEF show that 38.4% of women in Nepal between the ages of 20-49 are reported to have been married before the age of 18. Many are forced to drop out of school after becoming married.
A change in circumstances
Rautahat is among the poorest districts in Nepal, with the lowest literacy rate and the highest percentage of girls not in school among the 4 districts of the country in the Koshi Basin, according to UNICEF.
Dipesh, 15, is one child that calls Rautahat home. Dipesh was raised by his mother and father, along with his older siblings, but life changed dramatically when his father died unexpectedly 3 years ago in a road accident.
Dipesh’s mother, Indu, suddenly became responsible not only for raising her 3 children, but also for earning a living. She started work as an agricultural labourer and did household chores at a neighbour’s home for extra money.
Despite working hard, Indu sometimes did not earn enough to feed her family, and was forced to take Dipesh and his brother out of the private school they’d been attending and enroll them in a government school.
A desperate situation
Challenges continued to mount as Indu began suffering from stomach aches while working in the field. She got by with painkillers until being diagnosed with a major kidney problem. Forced to take out a loan to pay for her treatment and unable to work, the situation was becoming desperate for Indu and her family.
Extended family and neighgbours helped Indu set up a grocery shop, but the income was still not enough to pay for her family’s food, medicine and education. To make ends meet, Indu began skipping meals and taking her medicine irregularly.
While government schools are free in Nepal, the costs of uniforms, books and other supplies are still considerable for many families. Dipesh’s older brother had no choice but to drop out of school and look for work.
A helping hand
Indu’s family caught the attention of Islamic Relief’s Child Protection project, which worked with the RDC to support Dipesh to continue his education. We provided a school bag, stationery and school uniform to Dipesh, along with stock for Indu to restart and expand her shop, which is now generating a profit.
“The financial orientation [training] provided by the project inspired me to start saving daily. I have opened a savings account in a nearby cooperative and have been putting away NPR 200 [£1.22] daily for the past 6 months. I can now use those savings to expand my business even further,” Indu says, a smile of hope shining on her face.
Dipesh is also smiling as he tells us: “I didn’t have to drop out of school. I am very happy to receive the bag, note copies [exercise books] and uniform. I wear them to school. In the future, I will be a bank officer.”
Standing strong against life’s obstacles
Aruna, 16, lives with her mother in Rautahat. Like Dipesh, she also lost her father at a young age.
Shiela, Aruna’s mother, has found it difficult to raise her family of 4 without her husband. Even now, 10 years after his death, she is still struggling with her in-laws for ownership of her home, forcing her to send 2 of her children to live with her parents.
Determined for her children to continue their education, Shiela began working as an agricultural labourer. Once Islamic Relief became aware of the family’s situation, they began receiving support from the Child Protection project. They received a gas stove, furniture and utensils that enabled Shiela to open a small snack shop. Her income has helped to keep her children in school.
“Now I have a regular income to support my daughter’s education,” Shiela says. “If my daughter gets a good education, then she will get a good job. With education, she will stand strong against any obstacles in life.”
Islamic Relief is changing the lives of vulnerable people in Nepal, helping to keep children in school and empowering their family members to pursue a sustainable income.
Please help us to continue this vital work. Donate now.
