Plan International Nepal Annual Report 2014
Plan International Nepal
Annual Report 2014
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This report covers events which transpired between July 2013 and June 2014. Plan International Nepal Annual Report 2014
Plan International Nepal
Annual Report 2014
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Plan International Nepal Annual Report 2014
Plan, 2014 ISBN : 978-9937-8754-4-8
In 2014, Plan trained 22,466 people in Agriculture
Health
10,078 3,567 2
Plan International Nepal
Annual Report 2014
Education
3,291
Child protection
Business skills
2,958
2,572
Message from the Country Director I am very pleased to share the annual report of Plan International Nepal for the fiscal year 2014. This report provides an overview of what Plan has been doing to improve the quality of the lives of children, their families and communities and to ensure that the government is more responsive to their needs. Plan, along with its partner organisations, implemented its programme in health, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), basic education, household economic security, child protection and Child-Centered Disaster Risk Management (CCDRM), all of which are rooted in child rights and their protection. On the health front, fifteen Village Development Committees (VDCs) declared themselves Open Defecation-Free (ODF), bringing the total to 39. Today, 560,000 people, 225,000 of them children, in over 100,000 households live in healthy and clean villages. Over-10,000 members of the 1,400 Pregnant Women’s Groups (PWGs) in operation last year became more prepared for birth and increased the demand for maternal and child health services. Plan continued to provide technical support to 1,554 Early Childhood Education and Development (ECED) centres in collaboration with the Department of Education. In support of the government campaign to make villages free of out-of-school children, Plan established 42 out-of-school-children-free VDCs, 42 percent of its 100-school target for 2016. Over 76,000 women, particularly young ones have been organised into Self-Reliant Groups (SRGs) which enable them to access micro-credit and skills
for employment. In line with Plan’s focus on the inclusion of marginalised groups, one-third of SRG members are Dalit (formerly an ‘untouchable’ caste group) and one-quarter are youths aged 19-25. Much progress was made in child participation and protection. Altogether 599 Better Life Option Programme (BLOP) centres offered an updated life skills course which includes discussion of gender and rights issues like trafficking, child marriage, the Kamlahari practice tradition, and caste-based discrimination. The Kamlahari Abolition Project (KAP) rescued 331 Kamlahari this year, bringing the total number of rescued girls to 3,640. Plan focused on a holistic programme of CCDRM, which encompasses a complete cycle of activities, from preparedness to risk reduction to response and rehabilitation of the affected people. This programme reached around 12,359 people directly with different activities and capacity buildings trainings. In 2015, Plan will scale up the pregnant women’s approach in 15 districts, 12 of which are not Plan working districts, and implement initiatives to curb child marriage in Morang, Rautahat and Banke districts. Plan will also start different projects in the remote hills and mountains of the Mid Western Development Region. Plan will continue its effort to reach among the most marginalised section of the society. I am thankful to sponsors, donor agencies, the Government of Nepal, our partner organisations, and the children, families and communities we work with for their continuous support for our initiatives. Mattias Bryneson Country Director, Plan International Nepal
About Plan Plan International is an independent, non-profit organisation which has been working in Nepal since 1978 to enable marginalised children, as well as their families’ and communities, to meet their basic needs. Child sponsorship is the foundation of the organisation.
Vision Plan’s vision is a world in which all children realise their full potential in societies that respect people’s rights and dignity.
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Mission Plan’s mission is to achieve lasting improvements in the quality of life of deprived Nepali children through a process which unites people across cultures and adds meaning to their lives. We do so by • Enabling children, as well as their families and communities, to meet their basic needs and to participate in and benefit from Nepali society • Building relationships that increase understanding and unity among people of different cultures and countries • Promoting the rights and interests of Nepal’s children
The Year 2014 Highlights
Health
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
• 10,553 individuals participated in behavior change communication sessions on the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.
• 172,122 people living in 15 village development committees achieved ODF status.
• 2,402 people, including husbands and mothers-in-law, participated in a PWG meetings. • 2,401 children received rehabilitative therapy, emergency care, or surgical support. • 2,386 people were orientated to childhood disability and the rights of persons with disabilities. • 1,947 children with disabilities were screened at health and rehabilitation camps. • 29 birthing centers were established and hundreds of pregnant women benefitted.
• 10,500 children learned about good hygiene behavior through the child-to-child approach. • 6,000 children benefitted from communitymanaged as well as school-based water supply schemes. • 3,750 members of WASH users’ committees, VDCs, WASH CCs and other stakeholders trained in hygiene promotion and sanitation triggering. • 800 teachers, members of school management committees and community leaders were trained in school WASH.
Basic Education • 34,500 three-to-five-year-old children benefitted from Plan-run early childhood education and development centers. • 31,591 children, including 740 disabled children, received educational support. • 2,505 formerly out-of-school children started going to school. • 1,961 schools, 248 of them in 2014, adopted and enforced nonviolent teaching methods. • 329 primary school teachers trained in child-friendly teaching approach.
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Household Economic Security • 76,716 women are members of community-managed micro-finance groups, who received financial services. • 1,871 families produced vegetables at a commercial scale. • 1,365 families received training in and are growing vegetables in their gardens. • 1,281 persons with disabilities and 994 single women participated in micro-finance programme. • 832 vulnerable women and man, including 83 freed Kamlahari, received vocational and skill training. • 105 families who received help to raise fish in communal pounds earn over $230 annually.
Child Protection • 26,045 childrens’ birth was registered at birth registration camps. • 10,050 adolescent girls and boys including parents of freed Kamlahari learned various life skills during BCC sessions and gender-based violence trainings. • 3,702 girls and boys discussed against early marriage and sexual abuse under the facilitation of adolescent girls' groups. • 2,513 individuals trained against gender-based violence. • 1,658 girls and 1,238 boys trained in child rights and trafficking issues. • The Kamlahari Abolition Project rescued 331 Kamlahari, bringing a total of 3,640.
Child-Centered Disaster Risk Management • 12,359 people received training in capacity-buildings initiatives. • 2,695 students participated in safe-school activities. • 2,634 community members took part in safe-school child-centered disaster risk reduction initiatives. • Emergency stockpiles established in Morang, Makwanpur and Banke districts, each with a minimum capacity to serve 1,200 disaster-affected families. • 58 VDCs were equipped with first-aid kits and light search-and-rescue equipments.
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Our Partnerships
Plan’s partners in 2014
Plan works in collaboration with a number of stakeholders, including local communities, partner organisations, district offices, the judicial system, civil societies, and the Government of Nepal to deliver its services effectively. It also coordinates and works with non-government organisations (NGOs), contracting them to provide technical assistance to duty bearers and rights holders. This year, Plan worked with hundreds of organic groups too, including child and youth clubs, women’s groups, and cooperatives. Plan also coordinates with agencies and stakeholders to create a strong, common voice about the issues of children.
Our Approach Children in Nepal are disproportionately affected by poverty, abuse, and exploitation. In order to address their problems effectively, Plan employs a rights-based, child-centred community development approach. In line with international human rights conventions and principles, Plan helps children to claim their rights and duty bearers
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105 23 Government Agencies
57
NGOs
CBOs
to deliver their obligations to fulfill those rights. Plan promotes both gender equality and social inclusion and discourages discrimination, especially against differently-able children and children from extremely poor families and marginalised communities. Plan aims to maximise the free and meaningful participation of children in decisions which affect their lives, bearing in mind their age and potential to contribute.
Plan programme districts in Nepal
Our Working Areas Plan operated sponsorship-funded projects in Banke, Makwanpur, Rautahat, Sindhuli, Morang, and Sunsari districts and grant-funded projects in Baglung, Parbat, Myagdi, Dang, Bardiya, Kailali and Kanchanpur in 2014. Plan International Nepal
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Health Maternal, peri-natal, and neonatal mortality rates have decreased, but the use of skilled birth attendants and access to maternal and newborn services among the poorest and most disadvantaged women is still disproportionately low. The goal of the health programme is to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality rates by forming and empowering PWGs; establishing, equipping, and staffing birthing centres; and by providing trainings to health workers. Plan also works to prevent disabilities and to treat and rehabilitate children with disabilities.
Pregnant women’s group approach A total of 637 health workers in Banke, Sunsari, Morang Districts were oriented to the PWG approach. The PWG is a socially cohesive peer-support group of pregnant women in a community. It plays a critical role in increasing birth preparedness and promoting safe motherhood, and behavioral change among rural disadvantaged groups. Members meet monthly under the supervisory eye of a Female Community Health Volunteer (FCHV).
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This year 1,451 PWGs with 16,232 members operated in Plan programme districts. Two community-level mass campaigns were organised in VDCs of Makwanpur District where 2,402 persons, including the husbands and mothers-in-law of pregnant women as well as FCHVs and other health workers vowed to assume responsibility for bettering the health of mothers, newborns, and children.
Strengthening institutional delivery The construction and renovation of birthing centres was completed in 10 health facilities in Banke, Makwanpur, Rautahat and Sindhuli Districts, and equipment, medicine, incinerators were provided to 19 birthing centres. With Plan’s support, Makwanpur District Health Office (DHO) initiated a model VDC for the optimal utilisation of health services by mothers and their newborns and Morang District Public Health Office launched a full-immunisation-coverage programme in four VDCs.
Childhood disability services A total of 1,974 children were screened at health and rehabilitation mobile camps organised in Plan programme districts. About 400 children with disabilities received assistive devices to promote mobility and another 1,668 children received follow-up and primary rehabilitation therapy. Awareness, sensitisation, and orientation
Updating the knowledge and skills A seven-day training programme in the government’s Community-Based Neonatal Care Programme (CB-NCP) was provided to 235 health workers in Makwanpur, Rautahat and Sindhuli Districts. In Rautahat, 294 traditional healers from 96 VDCs were also oriented to the CB-NCP.
Healthy pregnancy healthy baby Renu Yadav didn’t know what marriage was and who her husband was until she got married at the age of 13. She is now 26 and would have three children if all of them were alive. Renu who lives with her husband Hemraj Yadav at Bankatti, Banke gave birth to her first child without visiting health post nor taking any medications. She had her first child at the age of 22. The child suffered from malnutrition and pneumonia during his infancy. Renu’s second pregnancy was critical and complex. She experienced several danger signs, including vaginal bleeding, severe headache and vomiting. Her husband said that they were natural symptoms during pregnancy and refused to let her visit the local health facilities or attend the meetings of the PWG. Unfortunately, she lost her second child six days after the birth. During her third pregnancy, Renu heard that Plan’s partner GERUWA was forming PWGs to
provide pregnant women with information on birth preparedness, safe motherhood, the importance of antenatal and postnatal care. However, at this time she joined PWG and also took her husband and mother in-law with her. Once she started taking the classes she receive essential health information about birth preparedness, safe motherhood and many other pregnancy related check-ups. She also learned about the facilities that the government provides free of cost to pregnant women. For her third delivery, Renu was taken to the local birthing center, where she gave birth to a healthy baby weighing 3.2 kg. Hemraj thanked PWG for preparing his wife for a safe birth and a safe motherhood. Hemraj said, ‘PWG meetings are effective in saving the life of both mothers and babies. I wouldn’t have lost my second child if I had allowed Renu to join the PWG.’ Currently, Renu’s sister-in-law who is pregnant is attending PWG meetings.
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programmes on childhood disability and the rights of the persons with disabilities were organised for 2,386 people. Figure 1 Children who received childhood disability services
4047
2213
2554
Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV Plan build the capacity of health workers and FCHVs and updated their knowledge and skills about the community based prevention of mother to child transmission of AIDS. This year, the 780 FCHVs which Plan trained in Banke District themselves conducted Behavior Change Communication (BCC) sessions for 10,553 individuals.
Changes perceived 299 2011
2012
2013
2014
Medical and surgical treatment support Plan treated a total of 733 sponsored children and their family members who were suffering from fractures, bleeding and other complications during birth, prolapsed uterus, acute abdominal pain, pneumonia, bronchitis, meningitis, and severe ear infection. In Rautahat District, 144 newborns from marginalised families, 55 of them female, received emergency treatment, which helped them for their survival.
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PWGs are catalysed for birth preparedness and safe motherhood.
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Health workers are trained and their new found skill for health care of mother and newborns has helped to reduce maternal, perinatal, and neonatal mortality.
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Children with disabilities received assistive devices, treatment and corrective surgery, as a result, enhancing their functional mobility.
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People are more concerned about health and disease than they used to be.
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Over one-quarter (29.72%) of the population, most of whom live in rural and peri-urban areas, still defecate in open spaces1.Large numbers of people are not aware about the negative consequences of poor sanitation and many can’t afford to build a toilet. Every year thousands of children lose their lives because of diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases. To address these problems, Plan facilitated families to construct toilets and established clean drinking water system in schools and communities. Plan also conducted a variety of hygiene-promotion activities, including BCC.
Community-managed water supply In 2014, Plan helped 1,390 families and 6,000 children through community-managed and schoolbased water supply schemes.
Figure 2 Number of households who build toilet in their house without subsidies 30316 24000
Community-led total sanitation In 2014 alone, 172,122 people of 30,933 households living in 15 VDCs achieved ODF status. Post-ODF activities were carried out in ODF VDCs to prevent people from slipping back to defecating in the open and to promote hygienic behavior.
Hygiene promotion More than 11,225 men, women, and children participated in different hygiene-promotion
30933
9653 2011
2012
2013
2014
activities. They received knowledge and skills on how to maintain toilets properly, wash hands with soap and water, manage household waste hygienically and to raise awareness on hygienic
1. Department of Water Supply and Sewerage, National Management Information Project, 2014 Plan International Nepal
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School water, sanitation and hygiene School WASH programme, which provides child, gender, and disabled-friendly WASH infrastructures and promotes hygiene, was implemented in 35 schools. About 800 teachers, students, parents, and members of School Management Committees (SMCs) participated, and a total of 10,500 children learned about good hygiene through the child-tochild approach. behavior. Children actively promoted hygiene through ‘healthy-home’ monitoring and thus served as agents of change.
Changes perceived
WASH governance
• Awareness about health, hygiene and sanitation has increased among families.
Water and Sanitation Users’ Committees (WSUCs) were provided with the skills and knowledge they need to manage, operate and maintain water supply services. About 3,750 members of WSUCs, VDCs and WASH Coordinations committees (CCs) were trained in participatory planning, management and leadership, including hygiene promotion and sanitation triggering.
• Communities declared ODF are clean and safe to live in.
• There has been a rapid decline in the incidence of various WASH related diseases. • People feel a sense of ownership of their sanitation facilities •
Women and children can now defecate in a safe and comfortable manner with privacy and diginity.
Having water nearby makes huge difference While it is still dark, Ram Maya Yonjan picks up an empty water vessel and heads off for the two-hour walk to the nearest water source to fetch water. If she sleeps a bit late in the morning, there will be no water to drink and her children will either be late for school or go hungry. Every day, Yonjan and the other inhabitants of Thulobarghare 6 and 7 of Makwanpur District labored to meet the basic need for water. In fact, fetching water was so taxing, especially during the dry season that many girls used to miss school. Today, the situation is radically different; every villager now has water taps nearby their house. This was possible because they happily contributed to Plan’s cost-sharing proposal for constructing a water-supply
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scheme, with the contribution varying by capacity. ‘Everyone in the village are happy to have an adequate and clean supply of drinking water at their doorstep,’ said, WSUC member Ram Bahadur Rumba. Ms. Subarna Maya Gole, a user of the scheme, said, ‘Since I save time collecting water, I can spend more time caring for my children. My children have enough time to eat breakfast and reach school on time every day. They look clean and tidy.’ The people of Thulobarghare, especially women, do not want to remember how difficult life was before they had piped drinking water. They see the project as a boon after their long struggle and perseverance. They expressed gratitude to Plan for its support.
Basic Education Girls, the disabled, Dalits, and children from underprivileged communities are often denied to basic education. Even for the school-going, the quality of education is poor and schools are not child-friendly. Dropout rates, especially at transitions from the primary to lower secondary and the lower secondary to higher secondary levels are high. To address these problems, Plan supports children and adults in the acquisition of a basic education and life skills so that they can realise their potential and foster development in their communities. Plan also helps to declare ‘VDCs free of out-of-school children’ and improve educational quality.
Improving access to basic education In collaboration with Plan and the Department of Education (DoE), the government developed a strategy to improve access to school to out-of-school children aged 5-13 years. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and community level stakeholders also participated in the strategy building process.
The government’s target for 2016 is to provide free basic education to all children in 1,053 VDCs. Plan’s target of the same year is to declare 100 VDCs out-of-school-children-free. Thus far, 42 VDCs have made such a declaration and 2,505 formerly outof-school children (1,294 girls and 22 children with disabilities) have started school. Plan International Nepal
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Figure 3 VDCs decleared ‘free of out of school children’
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7 2012
13
2013
2014
Providing acess to education On educational font, Plan supported to establish Village Education Committees (VECs) and provide training to VECs and SMC members to develop village level education plans. Plans also provided educational support to the deserving needy children and help their parents join household income generating programmes so that they can raise enough to pay educational expenses of their children. Similarly, Plan conducted out-of-school children survey in school catchment areas enabling
them to access to basic education. Establishing ECED centers, building schools and conducting research on out of school children to send them to school also were other major activities carried out this year. In Morang, Sunsari, Makwanpur and Banke Districts, Plan implemented 26 flexible education classes for 392 illiterate children. Plan provided technical support, learning and playing materials to 1,554 ECED centres, which together served 14,000 newly enrolled children. Plan also helped 14,298 graduates from those institutions, 7,487 of whom were girls, to enroll in the first grade.
Improving educational quality A total of 1,798 mothers and pregnant women attended 117 parenting courses to learn about responsive care and early stimulation. A total of 31,591 children, 23,403 of them girls and 740 of them children with disabilities, received educational support in the form of fees for tuition, stationery and school uniforms.
A model school Shree Higher Secondary School at Jangajholi Ratamata in Sindhuli was established in 1963 to cater to around 400 students. However, the physical facilities had grown so dilapidated due to the lack of resources that it was difficult to run classes smoothly. When Plan started working in the VDC, it conducted a survey which revealed that reconstruction of the school was a major priority of the villagers. In 2013, it supported the construction of a new building with eight classrooms. By 2014, the school had a new infrastructure and classes were running smoothly. Plan helped furnish the classrooms, establish library, science laboratory and provided playing and learning materials. Seating was child-friendly and the ECED centre was set up with well-managed learning corners.
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Nowadays every visitor who comes to the school is impelled to say, ‘this is how a school should look like.’ More than 500 students who attended this School are satisfied. Seventh grader Pranisha attitude is typical, ‘We are lucky to have a well-equipped and managed science lab and school library for our use. We spend our spare time in the library. It is exciting to spent time in the science lab to enhance our practical learning. It is just like studying in school of cities’ Children from surroundings VDCs have also shown their interest in attending this School due to its enhanced learning facilities. The school has become a model for the surrounding VDCs. ‘Our appreciation for Plan in making us a model school is considerable,’ said Principal Hari Prasad Rimal.
Altogether 329 primary school teachers were trained in child-friendly teaching and positive- disciplining techniques. Plan provided technical support to construct 190 schools and 171 girls’ toilets as well as to repair 273 schools, thereby ensuring good quality construction work and fostering the mobilisation of local resources. Plan funded the additional 50 new classrooms in 13 schools, repair 12 dilapidated schools and constructed 30 ECED centres and pre-primary classrooms.
Twenty-nine new VDCs joined the existing 13 out-of-school-children-free villages, and 248 new schools adopted and enforced non-violent-teaching codes of conduct to make a total of 1,961 child-friendly schools.
Improving educational governance Plan capacitated SMC members, teachers, and parents by organising training on issues such as its Learn-without-Fear campaign and child-friendly schools. As a result of this training, 1,961 schools (248 schools in 2014) developed and enforced non-violent-teaching codes of conduct. Plan and the DoE together organised a workshop on compulsory basic education and cultivating a Learn-without-Fear environment in schools.
Changes perceived •
More children go to school and villages are declared free of out-of-school-children.
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Schools are more child-friendly and participatory.
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A non-violent teaching approach is adopted in schools.
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Dilapidated schools are transformed into modern schools with well-equipped libraries and other facilities.
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Teachers are more friendly to students and encourage them to study.
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Protection and development of children have been a primary agenda at all levels.
Household Economic Security Despite some progress in poverty reduction in recent years, Nepal remains one of the poorest countries of the world. Around 25.16% of the total population lives below poverty line. Lack of jobs and incomegenerating opportunities and food insecurity make it difficult for rural people to achieve a sound livelihood. To empower disadvantaged families, Plan encourages them to engage in agro-forestry, fishery, vegetable farming, and goat rearing. Plan also aims to expand microfinance services to the women of poorest and most marginalised households, in order to increase their economic security, a development which ultimately supports the education of children.
Expansion of micro finance service Plan continued to promote women’s savings and credit cooperatives (WCs) in its programme areas. Plan encouraged Dalits and young women to serve as WC leaders. Over 5,000 Kamlahari have
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been organised in 233 SRGs and 10 WCs in the districts covered by the KAP. Altogether, 10 VDCs in Plan programme areas reported that 100 per cent of households are covered by microfinance programmes.
Figure 4 Members of SRGs and cooperatives received financial services 96716
Agro-forestry and community fishery
83290 63000 40000 2011
2012
2013
Baglung and US$ 284 in Sindhuli. In Rautahat, 30 families displaced by floods plant vegetables on the banks of the Bagmati and earn an average of US$ 296 annually.
2014
Vegetable production Altogether 1,365 families received training in how to grow vegetables in their kitchens or home gardens. Another 1,871 families produced vegetables at a commercial scale, earning, on average, an annual household income of US$ 187 in Sunsari, US$ 442 in Morang, US$ 368 in
Plan continued to support families to grow spices, fodder plants, and some medicinal herbs in leased forest areas. In Rautahat, 100 families received support under the agro-forestry scheme and 194 families involved in agro-forestry in Morang earn an annual family income of US$ 314 from agroforestry alone.
Enterprise development support Vocational and skill training in different trades were provided to 382 vulnerable women and men, including 83 freed Kamlahari and their parents. In Plan International Nepal
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From labourer to business woman Lal Sari Chaudhary from Tanmuna, Sunsari used to work as a wage labor to make her daily living. Working as a labor was not enough to make her family’s end meets. She never dream of getting a better job because she was an illiterate. Because of her troublesome life she decided to join the vegetable farming training provided by Plan. After attending the training she received agricultural inputs like seeds, fertilisers, and pesticides to set up a business. She then started farming vegetables at commercial scale to make her daily living. She is now one of the successful vegetable farmers of the village. Expressing suprise at her success she said, ‘I never thought I would be a business-woman.’ At present, she is totally devoted to commercial vegetable farming. She cultivates both seasonal and off-seasonal vegetables and also owns a local retail shop. She is making a very good profit from her business, enough to purchase 11,000 sq/ft of land. She also educated her sons with the money she earned. Her elder son has completed his Bachelor’s and her younger son is pursuing his Intermediate. Her husband also supports to run her business. Currently, she is also a member of Nawa Durga Vegetable Farming Group, which promotes and encourages commercial vegetable production in the community.
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Morang District, 80 per cent of trainees are now self-employed. Start-up support was provided to 333 persons. Of the total trained Kamlahari, 70 per cent run enterprises.
Livestock support Plan is implementing a revolving goats-andpigs-for-livelihoods project for marginalised and disadvantaged families in Parbat District. Twentyseven families with 653 members have been trained and supplied with animals. They will hand over an equivalent number of kids and piglets to a second group.
Changes perceived •
Women are involved in income-generating activities.
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Women have formed SRGs and cooperatives and saved a proportion of their income.
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Women are no longer dependent on their husbands to buy the things they need.
• Women are empowered and gender equality has become a new norm. •
Women participate in family-level decisionmaking.
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Stereotypes about women are gradually changing.
Child Protection Children in Nepal are prone to exploitation and are often the victims of child labour, child marriage, trafficking and various other forms of violence. Since girls are traditionally encouraged to be submissive, they disproportionately face social exclusion, discrimination, and violence on a dialy basis. Plan worked to implement programmes that protect children’s rights, particularly focusing on eliminating child labour, gender-based violence, child marriage, human trafficking, sexual abuse, and exploitation.
Children raising voices
Adolescents boosting self confidence
Members of child clubs produced radio programmes about children’s issues, including 48 episodes of Young Voice was broadcast in Banke. Children refined their talents and knowledge through talent hunts, street dramas, quiz competitions, and sports, all activities supported by Plan. One of Plan supported child radio programmes in Makawanpur won an international award in Germany.
Plan’s BLOP raised awareness among children, especially adolescent girls, boosting their selfconfidence. Altogether 599 BLOP centres, 571 for girls were run in 2014. About 47 per cent of BLOP participants were indigenous nationalities, 26 per cent Dalits, and 5 per cent were Muslims. More than 465 children (439 girls and 26 boys) who had been out of school enrolled after participating in BLOP classes and 81 adolescents who were unable Plan International Nepal
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to join formal schools were linked to livelihood opportunities. Figure 5 Total participants of life skill classes 10650
11400
12314
8075
2011
2012
2013
2014
Gender equality A total of 517 BCC sessions as well as 22 gender orientations were conducted for 11,827 people, most of whom were SRG members and the parents of freed Kamlahari. Plan also organised gender training for its 114 staff members in order to enhance capacity to deliver an inclusive programme.
Social inclusion Plan promoted networks of persons with disabilities (PWDs) as well as networks of Dalits. More than 2,476 PWDs (1,227 of whom are females) are organised in 194 networks in five project districts. These networks work closely with VDCs, which, in response to local advocacy, allocated funds to Dalit and PWD issues.
Birth registration The births of more than 26,045 children were registered at birth registration camps and 22 VDCs declared that they had achieved 100% birth registration in 2014. Plan also supported the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (MoFALD) in conducting a national-level consultation with government
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ministries, UN agencies, and INGOs to review and revise the current legal provisions for vital registration, including birth. Vital Events Registration System (VERS) software, training was organised for 134 VDC personnel and software was replicated in some non-Plan working districts. Bhaktapur became the first district fully digitised for vital events registration.
Child labour Plan continued two existing projects, the KAP, which seeks to abolish bonded girl labour in three western districts, and the Creating Hope for Working Children Project (HOPE), which serves child labourers in five municipalities in Plan working districts. Under this project, Plan supported 161 child clubs, 41 of which were reformed this year. They have a total of 4,253 members. Seventy-one per cent are girls. The 1,025 freed Kamlahari and vulnerable girls who participated in BLOP classes gained self-confidence and knowledge about their basic rights. They also campaigned against the Kamlahari practice and child marriage.
Fighting against child trafficking The Fighting Against Child Trafficking (FACT) project which aims to fight against child trafficking trained around 1,658 girls and 1,238 boys in child rights and trafficking issues. Jointly with the Ministry of Women Children and Social Welfare (MoWCSW) and the Alliance against Trafficking in Women and Children in Nepal (AATWIN), Plan participated in Third National Conference on Trafficking where 350 participants, including survivors of trafficking, policymakers, law enforcement agents, UN staff, and others. Its objectives were to identify, prepare an agenda of, and advocate for the consideration of the major issues of the members of the Network of Trafficking Survivors.
Missing children alert Missing child alert is another programme that aims to be a technologically equipped, regional system of alert that prevent, rescue and repatriate children, who are vulnerable to and survivor of cross border trafficking from Nepal, India and Bangladesh. As a part of the project, district-level strategies and plan of actions were developed in Morang and Makwanpur to combat trafficking. Similarly, fifteen children from India and two from Nepal were rescued and integrated with their families. Plan also provided gender-based violence training to 784 men and 1,729 women. More than fifty seven anti-child marriage campaigns were carried out at the community level. Child clubs, BLOP groups, Community Protection Groups (CPGs), and women’s groups raised awareness against child marriage and stopped several of them.
and built the capacities of both children and duty bearers to foster meaningful participation. Plan collaborated with the Central Child Welfare Board (CCWB) and District Child Welfare Boards (DCWBs) to promote child rights and child-friendly VDCs and to strengthen the nation’s juvenile justice system. A child-friendly booklet about child protection and violence against children was published in Nepali and disseminated to child clubs.
Changes perceived •
Voices of children are now heard and respected.
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The protection and development of children is a prioritised agenda at all levels.
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Child clubs serve as a platform for children to explore their skills and talents.
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Parents are aware about the importance of birth registration and the birth of many children were registered.
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Children are protected from trafficking, child marriage, gender-based violence, and other forms of exploitation.
Advocacy and capacity-building Plan lobbied with concerned authorities to ensure that children would be able to participate in decision-making directly related to their issues
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Child-Centred Disaster Risk Management Nepal is one of the 20 most disaster-prone countries in the world. It is vulnerable to several geophysical and hydro-meteorological disasters like earthquakes, floods, landslides, cold-waves, windstorms, hailstorms, flood, and avalanches. Plan supports the government’s Disaster Risk Management structure and approach and ensures that it is child-centered. Plan also works to ensure that children and adolescent live in an environment that is resilient to disaster and that they are able to secure their basic rights even during disaster and conflict-induced emergencies.
Disaster risk management initiative Plan ran various programmes to protect children and their families and communities as well as its own staff and the staff of its partners so that they will able to join together in times of disaster to respond promptly and effectively. Figure 6 VDCs prepared disaster risk reduction plans 52 41
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Fifty-two communities and 44 school-based disaster risk management plans were drafted this year. Other child-centred DRM (CCDRM) initiatives included the equipping of 58 VDCs with first-aid kits and Light Search-And-Rescue (LSAR) equipment and the implementation of small-scale mitigation measures such as gabion walls, plantation, and embankments in at-risk areas. The CCDRM programme reached around 12,359 people directly with different training and capacity-building initiatives, including a basic disaster risk reduction orientation.
The project facilitated monthly meetings among the members of Local Disaster Management Committees (LDMCs), child and youth clubs to discuss climate change adaptation issues. About 100 children and young people from across the country participated in the National Youth Conference on Climate Change in April 2014. They were addressed by high-level experts and delegates from different countries, including the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The conference prepared a 10-point ‘Kathmandu Declaration’ to urge the GoN to make policy and work for youth and children against climate change and its impacts.
Stockpiling of relief materials Plan established emergency stockpiles in three strategic locations, one each in Morang, Makwanpur and Banke, each with a minimum capacity for serving 1200 disaster-affected families.
Building capacity for emergency response Plan built the capacity of local government bodies, including District Disaster Relief Committees (DDRCs) and District Development Committees (DDCs) to develop and mainstream VDC and municipality-level DRM plans and to revise districtlevel Disaster Preparedness and Response Plans (DPRPs).
The safe-school initiative Altogether 2,659 students, 52 per cent of them girls, participated in safe-school activities, including refresher training in LSAR and first aid. They can now respond quickly to disaster. Another 572 youths and 2,107 community members also took part in safe-school initiatives.
Child-centered climate change adaptation Plan’s Child-Centered Climate Change Adaptation (4CA) project began this year in 17 VDCs and two municipalities of Sunsari and Morang Districts to promote adaptive capacity and introduce children’s perspectives to climate change adaptation.
In 2014, Plan organised CCDRM initiatives in four disaster prone VDC of Banke District. The initiatives focused on the formation of LDMCs and preparation of Local Disaster Risk Management Plans (LDRMPs).
Changes perceived • Children, their families and communities are prepared for risks and disasters. • Schools have adopted disaster-friendly constructions, with emergency exits. • Children have sound knowledge about disaster management and preparedness. Plan International Nepal
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Yes, we will survive ! Puja, who was born hearing-impaired, has undergone a few catastrophes in 16 years of her life. While she was young she was affected by a flood at her hometown, Udayapur. She also had an accident while riding her bicycle. Fortunately, she only got minor cuts and bruises. Later, she was displaced by a fire that caught at her home. Afterward, she moved to Makawanpur and studied at the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Residential Primary School. Recognising that people who are disabled are particularly vulnerable during disasters, she joined School’s Disaster Committee and participated in several training sessions, including those on safe schools, CCDRM, light-andsearch, and first aid. From the training she learned what disasters are and how can they be overcome. ‘I had no knowledge about disasters or how they can be overcome but the training enlightened me about how to stay safe at school and at home,’ said Puja.
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After the training she and her classmates arranged their desks and benches in a child-friendly manner and practiced how to stay safe during an earthquake and follow an evacuation plan during emergencies. ‘The training and drills increased our confidence among us and now I proudly say, ‘Yes, we will survive.’ Before the training she used to sleep in the kitchen filled with kitchen utensils like stove, and gas cylinder. However at present, she have separate kitchen and bedroom. She has also fitted rearview mirrors on her bicycle for her safety.
Child Sponsorship
towards sponsors and sponsored children and their families and communities in the long term.
Child sponsorship is the foundation of Plan. Plan strives continually to promote relationships between sponsors and the children and communities through sponsorship communication. In 2014, Plan introduced ‘Child Sponsorship Commitments’ to ensure that sponsors and sponsored children, their families and their communities’ expectations in relation to communication, inclusion and participation are met and effectively demonstrated. These core commitments define and ensure consistency and quality in our approach and delivery of child sponsorship throughout the communities where Plan operates.
About 39,000 children and their families exchanged approximately 60,000 communications with their sponsors in 2014. A total of 41 sponsors from Sweden, Germany, Korea, Japan and Canada visited the children, whom they sponsored, travelling to their communities. The largest group of visitors, a total of 30, 15 of them with sponsored children in Nepal, came from Sweden. This visit, and all such visits, enriched the relationship between the sponsors and sponsored children, thereby inviting more sponsors.
The sponsor and the sponsored child build a strong and lasting relationship by exchanging messages, letters, pictures, and drawings. As a result, most sponsors continued to make contributions for many years, thereby supporting Plan’s commitments
Ms. De la Barre from Germany, who sponsors children in Nepal said, ‘I was keen to see what Plan does in Nepal and where my money goes. After visiting Makwanpur, I had a clear idea about what Plan does and that is more than I expected. I was amazed to see how the children performed. The idea of child clubs is fantastic. I will never forget my visit.’
Figure 7
Plan National Organisation wise sponsorship caseload as of June 2014 12000 12000
Boy
10000 10000
Girl 8000 8000
Total
6000 6000 4000 4000 2000 2000
Italy Italy
Hongkong Hongkong
Switzerland Switzerland
Ireland Ireland
Spain
Finland
Sweden Sweden
Denmark Denmark
Norwey Norway
Korea Korea
France France
Germany Germany
Japan Japan
Belgium Belgium
Netherlands Netherlands
Australia Australia
United UnitedKingdom Kingdon
Canada Canada
IH
USA USA
IH
00
Because I am a Girl campaign The Because I am a Girl (BIAAG) campaign is Plan’s global campaign to fight against gender inequality, promote girls’ rights, and lift millions of girls out of poverty. The campaign aims to bring changes in the lives of about four million girls globally through education and life skills. In Nepal, Plan is working to recognise and address the challenges that girls face in their daily lives. Plan in Nepal has been continuously supporting girls by empowering them with knowledge, skills, confidence and self-belief. The International Day of the Girl Child, which also aims to end all forms of violence against girls and women was celebrated all over the country with various programmes and events, including girls’ cycle rally. In addition, Urmila Chaudhary, BIAAG ambassador received a trophy signifying the Youth Courage Award she won on Malala Day from the UN representative to Nepal. Similarly, Djoa Starssburg, Miss Earth Switzerland 2013 and campaign ambassador of Plan
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Switzerland’s BIAAG campaign, visited the KAP project in Dang District. During her trip she met freed kamlahari and appreciated their courage in breaking the deeply rooted tradition of sending girls into servitude. Street dramas and other awareness campaigns were also organised as a part of BIAAG campaign to empower and promote girls issues and also as a call for taking actions to support girls.
Evaluations and Studies During the year 2014, Plan International Nepal conducted a number of final and mid-term evaluations of its projects and programmes, to measure its progress and learn how to improve its efforts. The studies conducted are listed below: 1. Mapping of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working with children, specifically those at risk in order to build their resilience, in urban centres in Kathmandu Valley 2. Study of the impact of total sanitation through the community-led approach and, the functionality and sustainability of community-managed water supply services 3. Tracer study of Plan’s Vocational/Skill Development Training Programme 4. Final evaluation of Plan’s Young Women Empowerment Project (YWEP) 5. Study of barriers to participation in Plan International Nepal’s development interventions 6. Baseline and knowledge-aptitude-perception surveys for Plan’s child centered climate change adaptation project 7. Mid-term evaluation of Plan’s Girls Power Project. 8. Mid-term evaluation of Plan’s Missing Child Alert Project designed to protect children from violence 9. Mid-term evaluation of Plan International Nepal’s Country Strategic Plan on its country programmes related to a healthy start in life, quality education, water and improved sanitation, adequate standard of living, protection from violence, and emergency situations. 10. A structural and non-structural vulnerability assessment of eleven schools in Makwanpur District 11. Final evaluation of the second phase of the Economic Empowerment of Women and Adolescent Victims and Vulnerable of Different Kind of Risks Project (SACCHYAM) 12. Final evaluation of the Livelihoods Enhancement of Deprived Families through Apiculture Project in Makwanpur District 13. Baseline survey of the Fighting Against Child Trafficking Project in Rautahat
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Financial Highlights 2014 Figure 8
Total country expenditure (US$ 10.3 million)
7%
9%
15%
18%
Health
Wash
Basic education
Household economic security
16%
3%
Child protection
Disaster risk management
14%
Programme support
Operation
Figure 9
Figure 10
Ratio of programme vs. operating cost
Grants expenditure by country
Operation expenses
14%
Programme expenses
86%
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18%
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Annual Report 2014
(Grants US$ 4.5 million)
Netherlands
1,471,681
Norway
869,056
Germany
658,108
Japan
633,258
Switzerland
448,622
USA
315,028
United Kingdom
100,230
Canada
30,427
Sweden
15,618
Australia
4,019
Acronyms BCC
Behaviour Change Communication
BIAAG
Because I am a Girl
BLOP
Better Life Options Programme
CCCD
Child Centred Community Development
CCDRM
Child-Centred Disaster Risk Management
CCWB
Central Child Welfare Board
CBO
Community Based Organiations
CLTS
Community-led total sanitation
CRC
Child Rights Convention
CRO
Child Rights Officer
CP
Child Protection
DDC
District Development Committee
DRM
Disaster Risk Management
DU
Development Unit
ECED
Early Childhood and Educational Development
FCHV
Female Community Health Volunteers
GoN
Government of Nepal
HW
Health Worker
HFOMC
Health Facility Operation Management Committee
LDMC
Local Disaster Management Committee
MoHA
Ministry of Home Affairs
NDHS
Nepal Demographic Health Survey
NGO
Non Government Organisation
NRRC
Nepal Risk Reduction Consortium
ODF
Open Defecation Free
PWGs
Pregnant Women Groups
SMC
School Management Committee
SRG
Self Reliant Group
VDC
Village Development Committee
WASH
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
Contact us: Sunsari Programme Unit Sayapatri Tole, Chakrapath Marga Itahari - 4, Sunsari, Nepal Ph: 025-584944/584954
Banke Programme Unit Nepalgunj-16, Belashpur Nepalgunj, Banke, Nepal Ph: 081-522003/522089
Morang Programme Unit Kanchanbari-4, Biratnagar Morang, Nepal Ph: 021-461016/460402
Sindhuli Programme Unit Kamala Mai Municipality Ward No. 4, Sindhuli, Nepal Ph: 047-521092
Makwanpur Programme Unit Purano Makwanpur Path, Hetauda, Makwanpur, Nepal Ph: 057-523409/521782
Baglung Area Office Baglung Municipality-1, Ramrekha, Nepal Ph: 068-522525
Rautahat Programme Unit Chandranigahapur-1 Rautahat, Nepal Ph: 055-5540677/5540678
Project Office Kamalhari Practice Abolition Project Dhangadhi, Kailali, Nepal Hariyali Tole, Hansapur-5 Ph: 091-521072/526348
Plan International Nepal Country Office Shree Durbar, Pulchowk, Ward no. 3 Lalitpur P.O Box: 8980, Kathmandu, Nepal Phone: 977-1-5535580/5535560 E-mail: nepal.co@plan-international.org Website: www.plan-international.org/nepal Find us on: www.facebook.com/PlaninNepal Plan International Nepal
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