Chandra Kala Adhikari
Generally, we know that Jhapa is accessible district of Nepal from different perspectives like socio-economic, living style, education, physical infrastructure development and so on. But we may not say that all locations and VDCs can be viewed equally with other VDCs they are on site of the east-west highway. Khudunbari is one of the VDCs geographically in the hazardous location, in comparison with other VDCs of Jhapa district. Many rivers flow through this VDCs and it is 11 KM in the north west from the main city Birtamod. The distance is not so long but during the rainy season, it is really hard to travel for different tasks and purposes which are related with the city. Normally people have to go Birtamod and Bhadrapur for medicine, grocery, building materials, school and college and other government official works respectively. The situation of Khudunabari has changed rapidly within 5 years from one perspective, that is empowerment of community people. Especially women who were used to be the victim of domestic violence and deprived from economic resources have changed their life dramatically. They had to sell firewood, banana and work in the low paid daily wage for surviving. They were not aware about the good health, sanitation and nutritional food and used to consume many contaminated foods directly purchased from the market. Discriminations between son and daughter were widely practiced in the community and they were not known the area of their own village because of less mobility and bounded by all household jobs. Comparing the life women of Khudunabari of the previous 5 years, we can see that they have got the new life.
Now they are united in the groups. More than 80 groups have been formed in this VDC through different projects of Abhiyan Nepal. They participated in different trainings, seminars, workshops, meetings and excursion to learn and practice new things in their life. They have understand the meaning being in existence in the world and importance of team for living an inter-dependent life. They did not avoid the existing practiced they were following from many years but what they do was changed in their style of doing something. They started sharing sorrow and happiness and contributed others who are in need.
Women Group on Study Excursion
Now every woman in the group has different thought than that she had before. They have felt that their world is not only their house and their yard but they have the responsibility of serving this community, this country and save the earth. Now most of the youths have migrated to abroad for employment but they have earned only for themselves and it can be measured only on monetary value. But earning by women have been started to be measured from different perspective. They not only buy things with the money they have earned through different income generating activities but also use for community where they have found sick people, damaged roads, cannel, taps and public places. They have built the roads, cultivated plants, controlled floods, managed waste and respected the visitors. Now they are economically independent and socially inter-dependent. Women who used to wait her husband to buy kitchen’s spices, cooking oil and for her clothes, have started saving for future. They are able to plan for the community development through organic agriculture, communal grocery, group farming and educating children. They have developed different saving schemes like, monthly saving, happy saving, children saving, clinch saving etc. that many commercial banks have still to be done. Women have organized different programs in the VDC to make the stakeholders like VDC, Community Forest User Committee to be more accountable, responsible, and transparent in the services giving. They had fears and hesitation in speaking their own name. We have observed different VDC level programs conducted by women who used to be shame in the mass. They can express their own opinion and argue what is wrong and rights. They are happy, energetic and goal oriented personality. This all is happening when Abhiyan Nepal and Heifer International Nepal was entered in the village with the projects and started the university of development where all women, children are learning for the positive change for themselves and for their future generation.
Chandra Kala Adhikari
Community Facilitator
Abhiyan Nepal
