Focus on Girls
A Key Focus for our 2021-2024 Strategic Plan
Key Goals:
Significantly increase capacity in our Girls Homes (100+ girls).
Create a Girls Specific scholarship program (50+ scholarships).
Create training opportunities for women in leadership (40+ women).
Street-2-School Girls Home Expansion
In July 2020, owing to the growing need among girls in the slum area, and recognizing their increasing vulnerability, we started a Street-2-School (S2S) home specifically for girls. Presently, there are 13 girls who are finding protection and care in the hands of three wonderful ladies on staff with Himalayan Life. Jyoti Tamang, a young woman who has been serving with HL for the past 5 years, took on the role of primary House Parent. In January 2022, long-time HL staff member, Shristi and her husband Deepson, along with their two girls, will take on the House Parent role from Jyoti.
GROWTH
By 2024, we hope to have 11 more girls join our current S2S Girls Home and be able to open a second S2S Girl Home serving another 24 girls from the surrounding slum community and border towns in Nepal. This would bring our total girls served in-home care across our projects to 100+.
We all know that Nepal is a male-dominated society. That is why we must break the chain and bring change.
– Aksha, Street Children Shelter Program Manager
Girls Specific Scholarship Program
Himalayan Life sees education as vital in uplifting and providing opportunities for young women and girls. In many of our programs, we have supported disadvantaged children to receive an education through scholarships at the Yangri Academic Centre, covering school fees for children in our S2S Homes, and providing post-secondary education assistant for graduates in Ladakh. However, we know that young girls are particularly vulnerable to disruption in their education due to various issues like child marriage, trafficking or lack of culturally perceived value of educating women.
GROWTH
By 2024, we want to set up a scholarship program that specifically supports young women. In three years, we hope to be able to offer 50 of these scholarships to girls in need in the Himalayas to ensure they can finish their education.
Training Opportunities for Women and Girls
Across our many projects, our female staff are a driving force in ensuring that children are protected, nurtured and educated. These women stand as role models to the young girls they serve, to inspire them to become leaders in their communities. To ensure that more young women are given the opportunity to work in leadership roles like this, education is vital in both leadership and equipping young girls against human trafficking, child marriage and forced domestic labour. Engaging in training on topics such as sexual health and human trafficking awareness gives women and girls the tools they need to stay safe and protected.
GROWTH
By 2024, aim to conduct workshops on sexual health and human trafficking awareness in all our project locations. As well, we will create leadership training opportunities for 40 women in leadership at Himalayan Life.