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“Action with punishment does not solve the problem every time, we live together and deal with different issues with people in the community. So, we need to plan kindly, sympathetically and diplomatically to sensitize the local people on risk of child labour.” the statement was shared by the former chairperson of Manahari Rural Municipality, Makawanpur Ek Raj Upreti.   The Rural Municipality is now keeping concerns and serious on the emerging issues of child labor and has initiated to move ahead for the process to minimize and mitigate the issues. Child Labour Reduction Project (CLARP) in partnership between Shaplaneer and CWIN-Nepal is a three-year project (May 2021-April 2024) implementing with the objective to reduce Child Labour in and from Makawanpur District (one of the source/district areas of child labour in Nepal). The key purpose of the project is “Child Protection Mechanisms are strengthened in line with National Child Protection Policy and action plan to eliminate Child labour in Manahari Rural Municipality”. Total Beneficiaries children are nearly 550 most vulnerable children (350 for emergency supports and 200 direct supports to vulnerable children at high risk of child labour) from the project areas for three years project period. To fulfill the purpose; Government of Japan provided financial assistance of $428,234 equivalent to approximately 51.10m Nepali rupees, to the Shapla Neer Citizens’ Committee in Japan for Overseas Support, an international NGO based in Japan.  There are three types of child laborer in Manahari Rural Municipality:

1. Children of Manahari Rural Municipality working in the same Municipality
2. Children of Manahari Rural Municipality working outside the Municipality
3. Children from adjoining rural municipalities who are working in Manahari Rural Municipality.

1. Child Protection Mechanism strengthened and rolled out at Rural Municipality level.
2. Decreased Child labour in Manahari Rural Municipality by providing need-based support
3. Increased knowledge and practice on “No child labour” in Community.

For more than a quarter century, GoodWeave has supported the carpet industry in meeting the requirements of Nepali national labour law and the GoodWeave Standard related to child, forced and bonded labour, fair wages and a safe working environment. And, along the way GoodWeave has provided educational opportunities for more than 4,950 children in Nepal. This success is thanks to the many Nepali carpet manufacturers partnering with GoodWeave on this effort through a joint commitment to end child, forced and bonded labour in the sector.  GoodWeave’s work with companies to assure clean supply chains, helps them highlight their ethical production and be in a position to sell more products to international buyers who are increasingly looking to make purchases from responsible sources. A portion of the sales price of products with the GoodWeave® certification label support GoodWeave’s ongoing social programmes.  In 2020 and 2021 in response to the COVID-19 crisis, GoodWeave also supported workers and families in Nepal with COVID-19 relief. This relief included food aid to 15,000 individuals and distribution of health and hygiene aid, such as masks, to over 23,000 people.  How does the GoodWeave programme work? Based in Kathmandu, GoodWeave Certification Nepal and Nepal GoodWeave Foundation are local affiliates of GoodWeave International – a global nonprofit headquartered in Washington, DC founded in 1994 by Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi to stop child labour in global supply chains.  In Nepal, GoodWeave Certification Nepal and the Nepal GoodWeave Foundation, together carry out the GoodWeave System, a holistic, market-based approach that protects children and families, and addresses the root causes of child labour in the carpet industry. The model is also expanding to the home textile sector.  GoodWeave Certification Nepal partners with local businesses exporting products for sale in the United States, Europe and other markets. GoodWeave Certification Nepal then conducts audits and random, unannounced inspections of exporters’ full supply chains, while also providing tools to businesses so they are in compliance with the GoodWeave Standard (which states no child, forced or bonded labour is allowed) and Nepali labour laws. With international buyers seeking further assurance against exploitation due to consumer pressure and increasing human rights due diligence legislation that requires full supply chain oversight and remediation, being part of the GoodWeave programme provides exporters with documentation to verify they are in compliance.  Reinforcing the certification work, Nepal GoodWeave Foundation, implements social programmes that directly support families by enrolling children in school and engaging communities on topics such as workers’ rights, the importance of early childhood education and vocational training. When child labour is detected, remediation steps are individually tailored to the child. In some cases, children are reunited with their families and enrolled in public school. In other cases, alternative education programmes, such as Bridge Schools or skills-training programmes are options for older children. In cases where the child cannot return to their family, they may be enrolled at Hamro Ghar, GoodWeave’s home for children, which provides a safe place to live and learn. Children are provided counseling and are supported in the pursuit of secondary education or vocational training. Additionally, together with local education partners, GoodWeave supports two early childhood education centers in factory cluster areas in Kathmandu. These subsidized education centers provide a safe space where workers’ children can socialize, play, receive hot meals and prepare for primary school, putting them on track for learning and valuing education. Better Brick – Nepal GoodWeave also works in the brick sector through the Better Brick – Nepal (BBN) project. BBN is a multi-stakeholder initiative designed to transform the brick industry by addressing exploitative labour practices on brick kilns. Launched in 2014 by Humanity United in collaboration with GoodWeave International, Global Fairness Initiative and a coalition of Nepali NGOs, BBN has grown from five to 40 progressive brick kilns committed to eliminating child, forced and bonded labour and creating decent working conditions for brick kilns workers throughout Nepal. In 2021, 90% of programme kilns were verified as free of child labour. Get Involved GoodWeave supports Nepal’s commitment as a pathfinder country, through Alliance 8.7, the global partnership for eradicating forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and child labour. If you are a Nepali business producing carpets or home textile products (pillows, blankets, poufs, etc.) for export, or are involved in the brick-making industry, and are interested in partnering with GoodWeave, contact Samjhana Pradhan at [email protected]. To learn more visit, www.goodweavenepal.org.

Established in 1998, CeLRRd has been contributing to the rule of law, good governance, and access to justice, peace, and human rights as a non-profit organization. Since its inception, CeLRRd has implemented programs that primarily focus on community mediation, legal aid support, justice sector reform, legal education, and research. Over the years, CeLRRd has worked on several issues, including trafficking in person, violence against women, and commercial sexual exploitation against children. The organization has experience of working with several partners such as UNDP, USAID, European Union, Action Aid, TDH, DanidaHUGOU, TAF, ECPAT Luxembourg, Winrock, and Plan International, among others.  For nine years, CeLRRd implemented a project entitled “Working Actively Together for Children (WATCH)” in the Kathmandu valley, Kaski, and Kavrepalanchowk. Under this project, CeLRRd focused on increasing the prosecution of perpetrators, especially traveling sex offenders, to ensure easy access to justice for child victims/survivors of sexual exploitation. In addition, the organization rendered free legal services to victims/survivors ensuring their easy access to justice. During the implementation of this project, the organization realized that, in most cases, child sexual offenders were not strangers to the victims/survivors. In the case of traveling sex offenders or foreign pedophiles, they developed relationships with victims or survivors, as well as their parents.  They gained the trust in the name of providing family support, teaching English, and providing good food and money. The nationalities of the foreign pedophiles as prosecuted by the organizations are French, Canadian, American, Danish, Dutch, Australian, Austrian, English, German, Indian, and Arabian.  It was also observed that most of these offenders had impressive educational and professional backgrounds. Some of them are development professionals, doctors, businessmen, app designers, teachers, and lawyers.  Based on the experience of the organization, it was understood that most of the pedophiles were well-reputed in society and had been contributing to the social cause. For instance, a former UN official who was convicted in a child sexual abuse case put forward his immense social contribution to children as a UN official in his defense. He even stated that he had taught English to four adolescent prisoners in Kavre District Prison during the trial period. Similarly, one pedophile who is a psychiatric doctor by profession was working as a volunteer for an NGO based in Kathmandu. He was convicted of abusing two children receiving educational support from the same organization.  Furthermore, based upon free legal services provided to the victims/survivors of pedophilia over the period, CeLRRd realized that pedophiles abuse the children by taking advantages of their vulnerable situations. In other words, children not having proper guardianship or having incapable guardianship are at risk of being victims of child sexual abuse. It was observed that about 56 percent of victims/survivors belonged to a low income family, 22 percent were from the family that migrated to the city and the rest were children on streets unattended by their parents. In addition, no pedophile appeared to be randomly abusing children. They are usually initiated to groom children and earn their trust in order to normalize the abuse. This would keep them safe as there would be less chances of cases being filed/reported. For this they used multiple alternatives such as supporting their families, providing education and giving good food and money. Some even bought advanced electronic devices such as laptops, mobile phones, watches, etc. to lure the children. From the cases prosecuted, 46 percent of those pedophiles had offered livelihood support to the victim/survivor’s family, 36 percent of cases victims/survivors were offered good food and money, and the remaining received educational support. During the legal proceedings, the organization observed two unique characteristics in case of pedophilia. First, the victims/survivors were abused multiple times. In most of the cases, victims/survivors had been abused periodically for 2 to 5 years. Some were abused for the first time when they were 10 years old until they became 15 years.  Some pedophiles even abused multiple numbers of children. A number of them continued to contact the victims/survivors through social media, where they informed them about their arrival and periods of stay. Among the cases CeLRRd facilitated, there is no case in which a pedophile abused only one child.  Second, pedophiles had abused multiple victims/survivors. Among the cases CeLRRd has facilitated, there is no single case where a pedophile has abused only one child. From the cases CeLRRd had prosecuted, three pedophiles had each abused 10 children. In addition, most of them had abused at least three children during their time of visit in Nepal. Over these nine years, CeLRRd prosecuted more than 100 cases of sexual exploitation of children and provided free legal services to the victims/survivors. Moreover, through legal facilitation, 22 victims/survivors have already received compensation. 

Helambu Education and Livelihood Partnership (HELP), a local NGO, set up to improve the schools in rural villages of Sindhupalchowk district is celebrating its 12 years of establishment this year! HELP’s journey that started with a humble initiative to help improve a school in a village of Helambu a decade ago has now gone on to reach out to more than 200 public schools in about 20 districts and make some educational differences directly to the lives of more than 20,000 children. For a small grassroots NGO, this is no small feat.     HELP’s executive director, Jimmy Lama, says that the organization’s story is nothing more than the efforts he, the other co-founders, the supporters and staff members have collectively devoted with utmost belief and confidence to go deep inside the rural communities and stay engaged for as long as it is needed in order to bring about some desired positive changes in the lives of local people and the communities with whom they have worked.   HELP did not establish a big plan and assurance of abundance of resources. However, it was established with an intention and a hope of becoming a reliable supporter for its elective partner schools and communities to address their problems with a focus on education.   HELP hopes that any written and unwritten documentation of the work it has done over the 12 years journey can also become a subject of learning experience and sharing for individuals and other local organizations willing to take similar step with commitment rooted in their community and sector of work  The main occupation of HELP’s current work lies in strengthening and growing the Saathi Teachers Programme. Saathi Teachers Programme is a teaching placement programme for qualified and passionate young people to teach at basic level schools (grade 1-5) struggling with a shortage of teachers in rural communities. This programme started from the fundamental belief that there is a rampant learning crisis at the primary level of the community schools, mainly in rural areas, and to change it, there must be a concentrated and coordinated effort to alter the way teaching learning can be experienced and delivered. This is supported by the national statistics that show that whilst Nepal has achieved 98 percent students’ enrolment, the retention of students has been a big challenge and even more challenging is the delivery of the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom. To make a difference in the learning achievement of the students primarily of grade 1 to 5 is where the focus on the Saathi Teacher Programme lies. Currently, 27 of our Saathi teachers are working in 15 schools in three municipalities under this programme. Prior to starting Saathi Programme, HELP worked on to design and reconstruct earthquake resilient classrooms and physical facilities across 13 schools in Sindhupalchowk funded by UK based charity, Mondo Foundation. HELP has also been running a Scholarship Programme for the last 10 years where each year 40 to 50 SEE graduates are awarded a scholarship on the basis of merit and financial needs to pursue their higher education. As of 2022, we have supported over 560 students on the basis of their family circumstances, academic achievement and commitment to return to their community. Many of them have graduated and are working as local elected representatives, engineers, doctors, nurses, health in charge, teachers, running business, involved in politics and social workers.  In addition to this scheme, HELP is also hosting the Bharosa Scholarship Programme funded by the network of Dish-Home, to provide scholarships for students who lost their parents owing to Covid. Currently 40 students have been selected from 20 districts across 6 provinces under this scheme. This programme is governed by a very distinguished group of people in the likes of Hon. Gagan Thapa, Sudeep Acharya (The chairman of Dish Home), Manish Jha (the Managing Director of Facts Nepal) and Charu Chada (Director at 360 media group) and Jimmy Lama (HELP’s Executive Director).  In partnership with a UK based charity, School in a Bag, HELP has facilitated the distribution of over 20,000 School Bags to Nepali children across 20 districts in Nepal. The programme aims to support children in disaster affected areas in accessing education and to support schools in far-flung communities to reduce the dropout rate. This year HELP marks the 10th year of partnership with School in a Bag.    HELP has also built and handed over the two communities building in the last two years; one at Melchaur in Chautara-Sanghachowkgadi Municipality and another recently at Parangtol village in Melamchi Municipality.   HELP is also well placed to act immediately and effectively during the emergencies on the strength of its strong local network. For example, in response to the massive flood that affected Helambu and Melamchi valley last year, HELP initiated and coordinated a “solar light campaign” to support the flood victims. Scores of supporters from Nepal and abroad joined in to donate and deliver solar lights for more than 1,250 families in Helambu, Paanchpokhari and Melamchi area within a month.