When we talk about the Girls’ Empowerment Programme in Nepal, there’s one number that tends to stop people in their tracks: 27,000+.
The programme began with 40 girls in 2018 and has now reached more than 27,000 girls and young women. It’s an incredible number, but as always, numbers can only tell you so much.
So ahead of Sonic Adventure: Nepal, we wanted to hear directly from some of the young women behind it.
Not simply how many girls a programme had reached.
But what actually happened next.
“ONE OPPORTUNITY CHANGED THE DIRECTION OF MY LIFE.”
That’s how Ashika described her experience to us.
And as we spoke with more of the girls, something became increasingly clear, an opportunity given to one girl rarely ends with her.
Girls who have taken part in the programme have gone on to share their knowledge with their family, friends and classmates, become mentors and peer educators, advocate for others and take their voices into spaces where decisions are being made.
Sabnam joined the programme at 14, at the time, she questioned whether her voice mattered.
Today, at 19, she’s using that voice on national and international platforms and helping create opportunities for other girls.
Her description of that journey stopped us in our tracks:
“I’m not the end of that investment. I’m its ripple effect.”
And then she explained exactly what she meant:
“When we invest in a girl, we are not just investing in one girl’s future. We’re investing in every life her voice will touch, every decision she will influence, and every girl who will dare to believe: if she can, maybe I can too.”
THE RIPPLE EFFECT
This is the idea sitting at the heart of our Nepal campaign:
EVERY GIRL SHOULD.
EVERY GIRL CAN.
EVERY GIRL WILL.
Every girl should have access to knowledge, opportunity and support.
Every girl can develop the confidence and skills to make choices about her own future.
Every girl will have the chance to see what becomes possible when circumstances no longer determine the size of her dreams.
And this autumn, our LNADJ community is travelling to Nepal to stand behind that ambition.
Through Sonic Adventure: Nepal, our trekkers are fundraising to help equip the Girls Learning Centre in Devchuli, a space the girls themselves asked for, while LNADJ begins a wider programme of mentorship and collaborative project delivery alongside our partners on the ground.
Our own Ellie Talebian, alongside Sonic Adventure trekker Jo, will be providing mentorship to young women involved with the programme, while LNADJ volunteers and local partners will begin exploring how our established projects can be adapted and delivered collaboratively in Nepal.
But before we get there, we want you to meet the girls.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing some of those conversations here.
Their ambitions.
Their experiences.
Their ideas for the Centre.
And, most importantly, their own words.
Because this story shouldn’t only be told by us.
It belongs to them.
Thanks for following the journey! Big Love, Team LNADJ and The Tribe x
