Summary of CWS’ projects for 2014 – Bi-Annual Update ... HK Programmes bi annual...placements. 1 has decided to go abroad himself and 2 have decided they do not want to work abroad.

Summary of CWS’ projects for 2014 – Bi-Annual Update

March 2015

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Table of Contents

CWS & Nepal ......................................................................................................................... 3

SHAKTI SAMUHA

Preventing human trafficking at the grass roots level .............................................................. 4

RIGHT4CHILDREN

Hospitality Training for Disadvantaged youth .......................................................................... 5

RIGHT4CHILDREN

“These are our Rights” Child Rights Art and Media ................................................................. 6

KOPILA NEPAL

Safe Shelter for women who have been victims of violence .................................................... 7

SANO PAILA

Tackling Nepal’s orphan businesses one corrupt orphanage at a time ................................... 8

CWSN

Asha Healthcare – Providing healthcare and education to the most disadvantaged ............... 9

CWSN

Early Childhood Development Centres in Nepal’s rural areas ................................................10

CWSN

Providing opportunities for disadvantaged youth ...................................................................11

Contact us .................................................................................................................................12

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CWS & Nepal

While CWS’ aims have always been to provide education, healthcare and opportunities to disadvantaged

women and children, over the past couple of years, there has been a growing emphasis on the need to

protect vulnerable groups of children and women and creating and providing opportunities which are

sadly lacking in Nepal..

These overarching themes feed very much on one another. The lack of opportunities and economic

growth in Nepal means many are leaving rural areas in search of better work opportunities in cities or

abroad. Poverty pushes vulnerable people with limited skills to find agencies willing to send them abroad

for a hefty fee. They approach loan sharks who lend them funds at astronomical rates. Before they have

even left and started their new job, they are already heavily indebted but they are motivated and lured by

promises of lucrative opportunities which are often too good to be true. Myths are perpetrated by

returnees who come back to their communities and cannot face the shame of the lives they have lived

and sometimes encourage others to go. Some never return at all - in 2014 539 Nepali migrants died in

Gulf countries – young men dying of heart attacks and exhaustion! Families are often harassed by loan

sharks who take everything from them. The rare few cases of success embolden those desperate to find

a way out of poverty despite the risks.

CWS combats trafficking and exploitation by raising awareness about these issues within local

communities. By empowering communities through, survivor groups and adolescent groups we teach

communities how to identify risky situations and how to protect themselves.

By providing education and vocational training, CWS is also working to provide youth with skills to help

improve their condition and their families’. By providing vulnerable youth these opportunities we are

enabling them to help themselves as well as their entire families and communities.

Nepal’s government has made great leaps forward in the provision of primary health care and education

in Nepal; however, many gaps remain. CWS targets these gaps and works with partners to identify the

best ways of addressing important development issues.

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SHAKTI SAMUHA Preventing human trafficking at the grass roots level

Traffickers are taking advantage of the fact that thousands of Nepalese people are looking to leave their villages in search of better education, work and opportunities of education or work..

CWS in partnership with Shakti Samuha have been working to alleviate human trafficking from the grassroots level by organizing and empowering trafficking survivors and adolescents to combat it at the community level. The targeted groups of this project are women/girl survivors of human trafficking and adolescents who are at high risk of trafficking.

This project is a three year project from January 2013 to December 2015. Currently in its third and final year, below are the achievements from January to December 2014.

Achievements

979 teenagers are involved in the project’s adolescent groups, where they meet monthly to discuss issues they face in their communities.

200 adolescents (125 girls and 75 boys) of the 979 above were supported through education grants- to enable them to access education and decrease their vulnerability to trafficking

85 survivors of trafficking are involved in survivor groups, meeting once a month to support each other through the challenges they face. These survivors are also watchdogs in their communities

2,000 girls and women looking to issue passports to work abroad were counselled about the risks of human trafficking. 34 of them returned home without issuing their passports after counselling.

Our current phase out strategy

As the end of the project is drawing near, our partner has been developing a strategy for a sustainable phase out from the adolescents where they would be able to continue running their activities without our involvement and continue their grassroots trafficking prevention work. This will be through the creation and strengthening of district level adolescent network groups which the government will help to support and run.

In 2014, we focused on increasing our beneficiaries’ independence and encouraging them to organise their programmes themselves to ensure sustainability as we gradually hand over the reins to them.

“As this project has progressed, I have been astounded at the amazing work that has been done in creating these community prevention networks through our partner’s close work with the government, communities, the police as well as the adolescents and their parents. This has shown to be as much a youth empowerment project as it has been a trafficking prevention project. Some adolescent groups have really realised the extent to which they can be actors of change in their communities. Many have gone beyond drama shows to sensitise community members about the issues of child abuse and trafficking but have initiated their own education and environmental campaigns in their communities. They have really been given a voice.” Samyin Mequillet, CWS Programme Officer.

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RIGHT4CHILDREN Hospitality Training for Disadvantaged youth

In partnership with Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts and a local NGO Right4Children (R4C), CWS has been delivering a training and apprenticeship programme for young people in Nepal. Each year many disadvantaged youth are referred by local partner organizations and the most disadvantaged are selected to receive the opportunity to undergo 6 months of training as waiters, cooks or housekeepers. Along with intensive English language classes, they receive on-the-job training in the best hotels in Pokhara before they are selected by Mövenpick for a one year placement in one of their hotels or resorts in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan where they receive good wages and are able to support themselves and their families. At the end of the placement, some choose to return to Nepal but many are offered permanent employment contracts. Each graduate is carefully supported and looked after by HR mentors in the Hotels. This project, renewed on a yearly basis runs from January to December. We present you with the achievements from August to December 2014.

Achievements

24 trainees from the fifth batch have successfully graduated from the programme after receiving training and on the Job training. The graduation ceremony was held on 19

th September.

6 graduates have already been placed in hotels in Qatar and Dubai. 10 have been offered places and are undergoing the administrative process for their placements. 5 are still looking for placements. 1 has decided to go abroad himself and 2 have decided they do not want to work abroad.

2 members of the R4C team visited various Movenpick hotels in June to find out how the trainees were doing and to ask for their feedback on the programme and on possible improvements. They visited 10 hotels in 3 countries and met around 40 trainees who are now working there. Feedback was extremely positive and R4C hopes to provide more youth with these opportunities as Movenpick Hotels have committed to find more placements for them.

"I am very happy to have this opportunity to work in Moevenpick-The Square, in Dubai. I started from scratch and was completely lost in the beginning having no idea what to do and where to start from as everything was new to me. It has been only three months since I am here and within the short-time, I have learnt a lot of new skills which has built my self-esteem and level of confidence. I can realize a lot of changes in me. Had I not had this opportunity, I would have been living a very miserable life in Nepal."

- Bikas BK (4th Batch), Housekeeper, Moevenpick-The

Square, Dubai

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RIGHT4CHILDREN “These are our Rights” Child Rights Art and Media

This new project in partnership with our local implementing partner Right4Children is the result of a research project that we conducted last year to determine effective ways of promoting Child Rights in Nepal. In Nepal, Child Rights abuses are widespread with issues of child labour, corporal punishment, child abuse and child marriage being prominent. Through our child-participatory Child Rights Art and Media project we are aiming to increase awareness about Child Rights and give children ways to express themselves through journalism, radio and Art. This project is a pilot project running from March 2014 to March 2015. Currently in its final phase, we present you the achievements from March 2014 to December 2014.

Achievements

48 children have been trained as child journalists. 65 children received child club management and child rights training. 423 children (42% girls and 58% boys) from 20 community schools participated in the project.

This project was based on a voluntary and interest basis. To celebrate International Child Rights Day 2 art competitions were organised and 270 children

joined 13 murals with messages about child rights have been created in slum communities and in school

areas. 10 radio shows were prepared by the group of child journalists, recorded and broadcasted on

local radio.

“This pilot project is proving to be a very powerful empowerment tool giving children a voice to talk about

issues which affect them. Children have also been trained on how to manage child clubs and been

learning about child rights.

The radio shows have been designed by our groups of child journalists and the topics have ranged from

child marriage, child abuse to how can children remain safe and have fun during the exciting festival

period. During each episode the children invite a guest speaker which they interview relating to the topic

covered that week. The show is about 45 minutes long and airs on 4 different radio stations in Pokhara on

Friday afternoons. The feedback from the public has been very positive.

Making the topic very accessible, the art activities have brought the discourse of child rights to a wider

group of children and adults and many have shown interest in partaking in future activities.”

Samyin Mequillet, CWS Programme Officer

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KOPILA NEPAL Safe Shelter for women who have been victims of violence

CWS and Kopila Nepal are working on a project to support women who are victims of various forms of

abuse through a safe shelter home in Pokhara. The Safe Home can house up to 14-15 women, young

girls and babies at a time. Women are referred from other organisations, the police or come directly to us.

We support their basic needs of health, shelter, food, and offer regular counselling and psychosocial

support. After a while they start to open and discuss their issues. Many of them have families who are

then approached to determine whether reintegration is possible.

This project is renewed on a yearly basis. We present you with the achievements from January to December 2014.

Achievements

45 women and girls were housed in the safe home (including 3 babies born from women in the home)

o 17 are currently staying there o 21 were reintegrated with their family members o 6 left on their own o 5 were referred to other organisations

Pratima’s Story

Pratima, 32, was referred to our partner by the District Police Office of Kaski on 20th of June 2014. She

was provided food, shelter, and healthcare. During her stay at the Safe Home she received counselling about the importance of family, future and received information about Domestic Violence. After a while, she agreed to talk about her problems. Pratima had been facing domestic violence for 17 years. She expressed to us that she had been facing daily physical and mental torture. "My husband hit me daily and used abusive words at me every time. He also accused me of engaging in sexual behaviour with others." Kopila's staff invited her husband and family members to discuss these issues and conducted a family counselling session. After a long process, her family was happy to welcome Pratima back home and she was also happy to rejoin them. Her sons now live with her and go to school regularly. Pratima and her husband are busy with their work and their relationship is going well. We are following up through regular phone calls and we have learned that her husband is now helping her with household activities and in the small retail shop she is running.

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SANO PAILA Tackling Nepal’s orphan businesses one corrupt orphanage at a time

In February 2014, the government conducted a raid on a corrupt orphanage. Children were suffering abuse and being used as a tool for orphanage owners to make money while exploiting their vulnerability and poor status. The government handed over these children to our partner NGO, Sano Paila who we have worked with to care for these children since the rescue. 44 children were rescued from this home. Together with Sano Paila CWS has also supported another 20 children rescued from other corrupt orphanages and exploitive situations throughout the year We have worked on rehabilitating the children and providing them with counselling as well as fulfilling their basic needs. The children are going to school on a regular basis. In the meantime, our reintegration team is working to track down their families to enable them to fulfil their basic child rights. So far, 30 children have been reintegrated with their families. This project started in April 2014, we present to you the achievements from April to December 2014.

Achieved Throughout the project period, we have had 64 beneficiaries under our care. Rescues:

44 beneficiaries ( 42 children as well as a mother who is mute and her baby) were rescued by the

government from an orphanage called Ama Ko Ghar and put in our partner’s care

9 children were rescued from trafficking and forced labour in India and were transferred to our

receiving home

8 children were rescued from another children’s home by the government and put under our care

1 child was rescued from the street

3 beneficiaries comprising of a mentally ill mother and her 2 children were rescued from the street

Reintegration:

30 children have been reunified with their families - continued monitoring is taking place.

The mother who is mute and her baby were transferred to our sister project Kopila Nepal which is

a Safe Shelter Home for women who have suffered abuse and have nowhere to go. The other

mother and her 2 children who were rescued from the street were also transferred to this project.

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CWSN Asha Healthcare – Providing healthcare and education to the most disadvantaged

Asha Health Care is a comprehensive primary health care programme which was established in 2000 by CWS. Asha programmes are directed towards addressing local and national needs in the context of international health priorities specially those relating to the Millennium Development Goals of reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Asha targets children, women, young people and families from the most disadvantaged social and economic backgrounds including poor and marginalized children, young people, pregnant women and communities in Pokhara and Lekhnath Municipality, Kaski and Lamjung district.

Achieved this period

Over the past six months there were a total of 19,562 patient visits – 7,074 for service delivery and 12,488 for health education. The estimated breakdown according to Asha’s different sub programmes:

Asha Clinic – 4,782 for service delivery, 4,040 for health education

Asha Youth Health – 235 for service delivery, 1,081 for health education

Asha Village Health – 2,800 for health education

Asha Safe Motherhood – 2,057 for service delivery, 2,572 for health education

Urban Outreach Clinic – 1,995 for health education

“Token of Love” sparks motivation among FCHVs

In Asha’s community actions, Female Child Health Volunteers (FHCV) are key players. FCHVs in Nepal are female community volunteers who are trained by the government or organizations to help provide some health advice to other members in their own communities. CWSN has built their capacity in our working area and has tried different techniques to keep them motivated. The Asha team decided to award the best FCHV every 2 months by giving a “token of Love”. The result of these awards has been very positive. After their introduction, the Asha team realised that communities increased their visits for antenatal care, postnatal care and Family planning services. FCHVs visited homes door to door to find out about pregnancy or post-pregnancy cases and provide health education and other counseling based on the requirement of the beneficiaries. This was not necessarily a result of the “token of Love” but because of the awareness, understanding of their role and responsibility towards the community. In fact, they felt that their work was being recognized which motivated them very well. Now, all FCHVs are performing well in their work. In recent FCHV meetings, they proudly shared their achievements and asked suggestions and ideas about difficult cases.

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CWSN Early Childhood Development Centres in Nepal’s rural areas

The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme started in 1995 and was CWS and CWSN’s first project in Nepal. The project was in response to the community’s need and demand for a safe place for their children to stay during the day while they were working in the fields. Soon, providing early childhood care and education became key to developing early skills for young children as well as sensitising their parents about the importance of education in shaping their children’s future.

One of the projects focuses on the 13 centres built by CWS over the past 17 years and striving to make them completely financially independent. The communities are now the true driving force behind the project. Attendance is at 98%! All of the children are going on to attend the government primary schools when they complete their curriculum at the nurseries.

Our other project focuses on a new working area, Thumankodanda, where we started working last year. Having witnessed CWS & CWSN establish and run 13 centres nearby, the Thumankodanda communities and government bodies invited CWSN to support their local ECCE programmes. We have worked on renovating dilapidated government built centres. We are now working on training the facilitators and raising awareness in the communities about the importance of early childhood education and its benefits to the development of children.

Achieved this period

Across both of our ECCE projects:

A total of 413 children aged 2-5 benefitted from Early Years Education and Care.

35 facilitators benefitted from trainings, workshops and exposure visits.

219 parents benefitted from parental orientation programmes to raise awareness about the importance of early childhood education.

Durga’s Story

Local villagers and Durga Sapkota has been working as an ECD facilitator in the Navadurga School of

Thumakodanda for almost 2 years. During our ECD promoter's first observation visit to her classroom,

she was not very confident at conducting class activities. She was afraid during the class delivery and

when she was asked questions. She had very little knowledge about ECD.

After participating in the training in Pokhara organized by CWSN for the new facilitators, our ECD

promoter monitored her classroom and this time she found significant changes in her facilitation capacity

and the performance. She had improved her delivery of indoor and outdoor activities and built her

confidence a lot. She was conducting all the activities according to the classroom time table. She was no

longer afraid when she was asked questions.

Durga realized these changes, has become an exemplary facilitator and she prepares snacks for the

children. Pleased with her performance, the parents of the children have planned to provide her with

some additional support.

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CWSN Providing opportunities for disadvantaged youth

The JVTC was created in 2002 as a response to the growing number of children living in the streets as a result of the decade of civil war that tore Nepal apart from 1996 to 2006. Now in its 12

th year, JVTC strives

to provide opportunities and training to some of the most disadvantaged youth of Nepal. Vocational Training has the potential to offer a second chance to those who have not completed their education and are in vulnerable situations by providing vocational training, education and other support. It is a sanctuary for hundreds of lively adolescents who have been deprived of their basic rights. The beneficiaries are from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. They come from poverty, a life on the streets, have been rescued from bonded labour and trafficking and come with harsh real life experiences that are difficult to imagine.

Achieved this period

138 trainees were supported during this period:

60 residential trainees (12th batch) were newly enrolled

51 beneficiaries from the (11th batch) who have just graduated continued to receive support

through job facilitation or mid Way Home services

27 graduate trainees (from 10th batch)were supported through midway home services and job

placement services

Takami’s Story

Hi, I am Takami Sharki (name changed) a 11th batch graduate who went through the housekeeping

course. I am 18 years old now. Actually I do not know much about my parents, what I know is that I was taken to Myagdi, an eastern hilly place by a man when I was small. I called him “Dad” as he brought me up until I was 16. May be I was a financial burden for him, but the same man whom I call Dad, brought me to a hotel to work and to earn my own living. I was not happy then; the work was hard, it was difficult as I did not have any of the skills required and I was scolded a lot. Later, an organization called Shakti Samuha rescued me and I stayed with them. I was later given an opportunity to join JYOTI Vocational Training Center. I became very happy when I came to JYOTI because I made many friends. They were from various places with different cultural backgrounds. I have always been was very quiet and shy but the friendly environment of VTC made me laugh and shout. I participated in many social activities and was really busy and happy that I gained a lot of social and life skills; these are the things that improved my self-esteem. I was able to talk to friends, teachers and OJT providers in a proper manner. I started my job at the Pokhara Legacy Hotel as a House-Keeper when I graduated from JVTC. I earn 6,000 Nepalese Rupees per month (HK$600). I have been working in this hotel because they provide breakfast, lunch and snacks there. In the mean time, I am really enjoying the Mid Way Home facility of the JVTC which makes my life very easy. It is good to see and talk to our social worker when she comes to visit my Mid Way Home. I must thank all who supported me for what I am now.

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Contact us

Thank you so much for taking the time to read our report. If you have any feedback, questions or queries please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to hearing

from you.

CWS HK Room 804, Causeway Bay Centre, 15-23 Sugar Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Email: [email protected] Tel: (852) 2526 8810 Fax: (852) 3526 0355