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NEPAL:

Brief September Activity Report

ICA Nepal raising awareness on Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM)
Menstrual stigma and period poverty is prevalent all over Nepal that forces girls and women to practice poor menstrual hygiene. Around 9.5 million females of Nepal are of menstruating age. In Nepal, more than 89% of the women and girls face more than forty kinds of restrictions during periods, such as prohibition to enter into the kitchen and temples. A report by Population Services International Nepal in 2017 stated that 83% of the menstruating girls in Nepal use cloth and other unsafe materials whereas, only 15% of the girls have access to proper blood absorbent such as sanitary napkins. Menstrual Hygiene Management awareness programs are tremendously important to women and girls, especially adolescents, for bettering their physical and mental health.

An interaction program was organized on 25th September 2020 at Women and Children Learning Center of Changunarayan by ICA Nepal to provide the awareness on MHM, with the funding from Seikyo Coop and in co-ordination with ICA Japan. Twenty-four girls actively participated in the program, and they were all provided with menstrual hygiene kits. Participants belonged to the age group of eleven to twenty-three years. The participants were glad to have attended the program in their leisure time, as schools are shut, fearing the spread of COVID-19. Participants showed gratitude to ICA Nepal and requested to conduct such informative sessions often. They were impressed with the insights gained during the seminar and committed that they would connect with the MHM program once their schools reopen.

Empowering communities of rural areas through sewing training
ICA Nepal is striving to improve the livelihood of local people in rural communities of Sindhupalchok district, which was the epicenter of the destructive 2015 Nepal earthquake and suffered severe financial and physical damages. On this quest, a community training center has already been constructed with the financial support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and coordination from ICA Japan. A sewing training is taking place at the same building currently.

The two months long advanced course on sewing training started from 3rd September 2020. There are ten participants enrolled in the sewing training. Participants hope that they will be able to earn handsomely after completing the course. The expected results of this activity is that trainees will learn how to use industrial sewing machines and provide uniforms to local students with this training. We expect that the training will increase the income of participants by at least 50% of their current income. Trainees are also encouraged to share their skills with other community members. Participants delightedly thanked the project team for providing the opportunity and ensured that they will use the training skills to improve their livelihood.

Nepal COVID-19 Update
Daily life in Nepal has resumed similar to the pre-lockdown period. Many people adopt new-normal such as wearing masks and maintaining social distance. However, not everybody cares, and thus the disease is spreading rapidly. By October 5, there are already 535 casualties and 22,219 active cases. The virus has also caught the high-ranking officials because of which added fear is looming among the public.

Report prepared by:

Yunusha Kafle,            yunushakafle@gmail.com

Program Officer, ICA Nepal

UNITED STATES:

In Quarter 2 of 2020 (May) the Global Archives made an historic transition to becoming “The Social Research Center” with a Virtual Global Research Assembly (GRA) involving more than 100 participants from around the globe. The virtual global nature of that event caused us to rethink our “Fall and Spring Sojourn rhythm” with a central US Time Zone focus. We shifted gears and now think of “Quarter 2 and Quarter 4” instead of “Fall and Spring” We also shifted from “Sojourn” to “Research.”