Children and Hunger - A Nutrition Improvement Project

About the Project

To contribute toward the Government of Nepal Zero Hunger Challenge Initiative (ZHC) for marginalized children in the remote mountainous districts of Nepal

The project benefited 300 households with children with disabilities and other marginalized children in remote villages of Simikot and Chankheli RMs of Humla district.

Reducing hunger and improving nutrition amongst children with disabilities and other marginalized children in remote mountain villages of Nepal.

Humla District comprises the most isolated communities in Karnali and is at a distance of 2-3 days’ walk from the district headquarters of Simikot. Simikot itself can only be reached by mule/foot which is 4 days walk from the nearest vehicle road, or by small propeller plane or helicopter. This district is amongst the poorest in Nepal, which in turn is one of the poorest countries in Asia.

Political situation At the local level

There is no elected local government and hence the government officials, VDC secretary, and Local Development Officers are not elected but provide services based on the suggestions of local political parties. In most cases, one VDC secretary is looking after 2-3 VDCs and hence stays most of the time in the district headquarter. People are suffering from a lack of government services. In the absence of local elections, it has been very difficult to hold the local government and political parties accountable to the right-holders. (VDCs – Village Development Committee is the lowest level Nepali government administration. Typically on VDC covers approximately 9 wards – each of which is generally a separate settlement or village)

Socio-economic situation

With a population of some 27.5 million people and a GNI per capita income of USD 7,30, Nepal remains amongst the poorest countries in the world. It is the second poorest country in Asia. Nepal ranks 145 out of 188 countries in terms of the 2015 UNDP Human Development Index. Nepal’s Human Poverty Index is 30.9%. This means that more than 50% of its population lives on less than a dollar a day. 81% of the population live in rural areas, pursuing agriculture as their main source of livelihood, most on small plots that produce insufficient food for survival (this accounts for 40% of the GDP). The WFP categorizes almost 50% of the population as food insecure, in part as a result of droughts, flooding, and other seasonal disasters. The average life expectancy of males is 57.6 years and that of women 57.1 years. Nepal is the only country in the world in which life expectancy for women is lower than for men. The literacy rate for women is 28% and for men 62%

The Karnali region

The Mid-Western Development Region of Nepal consists of 5 districts among the poorest of Nepal. According to the Poverty ranking statistics of Nepal, Humla ranks 73rd out of 75 districts. According to the data of the Poverty Alleviation Fund, 73% of households have resources to meet their basic needs only for 3 months a year, placing them below the poverty line. Cultural Context: Within the whole target area, people have strong traditional beliefs (Dhami-jhakri) and practices regarding gods and witches. The menstruation period and delivery period of women is perceived as apabitra (impure) and hence women are not allowed to enter inside houses and to take milk products. There are certain types of domestic tasks like cooking, serving, and cleaning, which are culturally assigned for women and girls. Cultural beliefs also discriminate against disability; to be disabled is shameful as it is perceived to be a punishment for sins committed in a previous life. Hence, children with disabilities are hidden away to suffer in silence. This creates enormous difficulties in surveying, registering, and then helping children with disabilities. 

Gender and Disability Context

Although the Government of Nepal (GoN) has developed good laws, policies, and provisions for the protection and promotion of human rights and to provide an enabling environment, they are not yet all practiced. As for issues of children with disabilities, they remain largely hidden in the families and societies of Humla, and statistics and surveys on their living conditions are vague. The discrimination against people with disabilities is deep-rooted in the families in the project area. Mission East conducted an assessment on the condition of people with disabilities especially women to highlight the fact that, due to the social stigma and links with social prestige, girls and women living with disabilities are facing the most severe discrimination among all marginalized groups. Survey findings showed that many women with disabilities are not even registered as such: 55% of women and girls with disabilities do not have citizenship certificates, 91% do not have disability cards, 94% have no access to assets, 47% have no access to education, 84% no access to health and 78% do not have the confidence to start a family. (WWS and Mission East survey under CISU project – 2013)

Local Governance Context

Given the absence of local service providers from the government side (VDC, Agriculture, Health services), people (especially people with disabilities) are deprived of basic health services. The most basic unit of the government services is the VDC which is responsible for all basic services including social security. But due to the absence of elected local bodies, VDCs are not fully functional and the VDC secretary is the only person that can be held accountable. All the VDC decisions for planning, resource allocation, and spending are done with limited participation of target communities and right holders. This has been hindering the participation of vulnerable and marginalized groups (especially people with disabilities, Dalit, and women) in local-level planning, implementation, and monitoring process. The few elites and influential local political leaders close to the VDC secretary enjoy the benefits of local government services but the lack of proper management of such processes is leading to the exclusion of some beneficiaries from the development process.

Overall Objective:

To contribute toward the Government of Nepal Zero Hunger Challenge Initiative (ZHC) for marginalized children in the remote mountainous districts of Nepal

Immediate Objective

  1. Enhance sustainable production and use of diversified crops for improved nutrition amongst children with disabilities and other marginalized children in remote mountain villages
  2. HEAD Nepal improves its organizational, financial, and programmatic capacities to enable sustained growth

Major Activities conducted under the project

Social Welfare Council Government of Nepal Visiting HEAD Nepal

An independent team of Social Welfare Council (SWC) government of Nepal consisting of three members, Mr. Singha Bahadur Khadka, Nutrition Expert and the team leader, Santosh Regmi, Chatter Accountant, and Mr. Santosh Paudel, Agro-economy Expert visited HEAD Nepal from 27th June to 1st July 2019. The main objective of the visit is to carry out the final evaluation of the recently completed project Nutrition Improvement Program for Marginalized Children in Simkot and Chankheli RM of Humla district. The team visited Syanda and Thehe villages of Simkot Rural Municipality to observe the impact of the project and conducted a meeting with the HEAD team at the Simikot office. Additionally, the team monitored the residential educational centers for children with visual and physical disabilities, Head Vision Home, and Head Enable Home at Simikot. They provided their remarkable suggestion to expand our services to more needed children in remote mountain villages of Nepal and committed to sharing the wonderful works of HEAD Nepal in their network. We thank all the team members for visiting us and appreciate your wonderful words for our works.

Successful Completion of Children’s Nutrition Improvement Project

From June 2017 through May 2019, with technical support from Mission East and funded by Danish Radio and AEC Foundation, we implemented “Children and Hunger – reducing hunger and improving nutrition amongst children with disabilities and other marginalized children in remote mountain villages of Nepal”. The project was implemented in Simkot 1, 2, and 8 wards, in all six wards of Chankheli RM, and officially ended in May with the completion of all planned activities in April. With the main objective to enhance sustainable production and use of diversified crops for improved nutrition among children with disabilities and other marginalized children in remote mountain villages, HEAD Nepal achieved all the goals of the project which we believe contributed toward Nepal’s Zero Hunger Challenge Initiative (ZHC). The project benefited 300 households with children with disabilities and other marginalized children in remote villages of Simikot and Chankheli RMs of Humla district. With two years of project intervention, all beneficiary households are now able to produce and consume diverse vegetables. The final report revealed: 62% overall satisfaction, 11% improved feeding patterns, and 97% satisfied/better nutritious food consumption. Three hundred beneficiary households established seasonal house plots, and 299 set up off-seasonal greenhouses producing fresh organic vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, onion, radish, tomato, rayo, and green chili to improve nutritious food consumption. During the project period, all eligible children with disabilities received disability cards and established access to government services. Finally, as one of the objectives of this project was to build institutional capacity for HEAD Nepal, seven key policies were revised and developed in the departments of human resources, operations, finance, anti-fraud, anti-bullying, communication/social media, and intern/volunteer manuals. Complaint handling mechanisms were established and put into practice. Accounting processes and standard operating procedures for reporting were developed; required forms, formats, and templates were designed and used. Accounting system processes were improved, as all transactions are being processed through Tally Software. The five-year HEAD Nepal strategic plan was developed and is under implementation.

New Policy Workshop: Disability card distribution framework in Chankheli and Sarkegad RMs

HEAD Nepal facilitated a one-day orientation workshop on the new disability identity card distribution framework. The workshop was organized by Chankheli and Sarkegad RMs, and technically and financially supported by HEAD Nepal. On April 18th, the workshop was conducted in Piplang of Chankheli RM and on 25th May in Saya of Sarkegad RM. At both workshops, all members from the card distribution coordination committee, ward chairpersons, relevant officers, and authorities participated. The workshop was primarily focused on how to distribute identity cards to persons with disabilities. Participants were informed about ten types of disabilities defined by the government of Nepal: the nature of the disability and four types of disabilities based on severity. Attendees also learned about the basic methods for screening and identifying persons with a disability. Participants were provided detailed information about the proper implementation of the disability card distribution framework and provisions of the coordination committee. With this workshop in both RMs, the new system of disability identity card distribution per government guidelines is now functional.

District Project Advisory Committee Meeting and Social Audit of Children Nutrition Improvement Project

HEAD Nepal, in partnership with Mission East, organized the annual District Project Advisory Committee Meeting (DPAC) and the Social Audit Program of the project “Reducing hunger and improving nutrition amongst children with disabilities and other marginalized children in the remote mountain villages of Nepal”. The meeting was held on April 30th at the Mansarovar Hotel with the Chief of District Coordination Committee Humla, Mr. Dan Bahadur Rawat in attendance. The meeting was facilitated by Chhitup Lama, Executive Director of HEAD Nepal. In attendance was the Chief District Officer, Mr. Dholak Raj Dhakal as the chief guest and chairperson, as well as the vice-chairperson of Simikot RM, chiefs of the respective wards, stakeholders, media personnel, and beneficiary household representatives. During the meeting, participants provided valuable suggestions and comments which will be helpful to the future success of the project.

Government Linkage Meeting in Simkot and Chankeli RM

HEAD Nepal successfully conducted a project linkage meeting with representatives of Chankheli and Simkot RMs at both ward and RM levels. On April 17th, the first linkage meeting was conducted with the representative of Chankheli RM. The meeting continued on May 2nd with local representatives and authorities of Simkot RM. Before the two RM level meetings, project closing and linkage meetings were conducted in all nine wards: three wards in Simkot and six wards in Chankheli. The main purpose of these meetings was to discuss with local governments how to sustain the outcomes of the Children’s Nutrition Project; how to connect the outcomes in the RMs with relevant mainstream activities in order to sustain best practices.

Kitchen Garden Management Program Update

Throughout the months of January, February, and March, the Nutrition Improvement Project Junior Technician Assistants (JTA’s) facilitated the home-based program for kitchen garden skills. They were able to establish an additional 59 greenhouses out of 300 households. Two hundred and forty greenhouses were built last quarter. Four types of off-season seed and eight types of seasonal seed had previously been distributed. This winter, four types of seed were planted in the greenhouses. Now all households are growing green leaves and vegetables! Winter is typically hard on Humla households making food and vegetables scarce. But this winter, with the help of JTA’s, 300 households in 1, 2, and 8 of Simkot RM and Chankheli RM had enough green leaves and vegetables to feed their families. Not only did the JTA’s help with the growing process, they frequently visited households to observe food preparation and eating practices; to teach good nutrition and preparation techniques.

Meeting and Orientation Workshop

Disability Card Distribution Model Framework 2075 in Simikot RM HEAD Nepal, in collaboration with Simkot Rural Municipality (RM), facilitated an orientation workshop for the Disability Card Distribution Model Framework 2075. HEAD Nepal, in technical partnership with Mission East Nepal and with program management from Sahara Samuha, designed the workshop to be program review with the local representatives, ward chairperson, and card distribution committee of Simikot RM about the program. 

The specific objectives were to:

  • Introduce the newly developed card distribution framework and guidelines, approved by Simikot RM, to all authorities and local representatives
  • Increase understanding of the Disability Identification Card Distribution Framework 2075
  • Help staff improve identification of people with a disability based on nature and severity
  • Simplify the card distribution process forward representatives responsible for program referrals
  • Collaborate with Simikot RM to improve the processes of future card distribution and benefits access for people with disabilities

Review Meeting and End Line Survey Training for the Nutrition Improvement Project Staff

On February 24th and 25th of February, HEAD Nepal conducted project review meetings for the staff of “Reducing Hunger, Improving Nutrition: Among children with disabilities and other marginalized children of remote mountain villages of Nepal”. The purpose was to review the completed project activities; and provide training on the questionnaire, tools, and methods used in the project end line survey. The training reviewed completed activities from November through February and planned activities for the rest period of the project. Field staff documentation was reviewed including the field report and daily diary; end line tool report of the baseline survey, and all required tools for the end line survey. Guidelines for collecting case studies and quality photos were also provided. The training was facilitated by Chhitup Lama and Nirmal Bista, supported by Chhomu Lama, and was attended by six of the seven field staff. The endline survey was completed by field staff the last week of February and the first week of March. Data entry has been completed, and data analysis is currently being calculated for the final report. The end line report, field monitoring report, detail monitoring checklist, and beneficiaries tracking sheet will reveal the total project outcomes. We are looking forward to reviewing the results in the second quarter, as the two-year project ends in May 2019.

Mission East Visits HEAD Nepal

Mission East Program Manager for Nepal/Myanmar Alex Ramos Pena and Deputy Country Director of Mission East Nepal Santosh Sharma visited HEAD Nepal from December 1st through 4th. During the visit, we participated in several meetings with our local stakeholders and line agencies discussing current projects and possible future collaborations. Focusing on HEAD Nepal, the meeting included discussions on the finalization of a five-year organizational strategic development, DR-002/AEC-007, nutrition improvement project status and action plan update, and other strategic partnership possibilities between HEAD Nepal and Mission East. We would like to thank the entire Mission East team, especially Alex and Santosh, for their outstanding technical support and contributions to HEAD Nepal in capacity building, project development, and implementation; for supporting the most vulnerable and marginalized communities of the remote mountain villages of Humla. We look forward to your continuous technical support and to growing our strategic partnership

Vegetable Seed Distribution and 240 Greenhouses Created for Off-Season Kitchen Gardens

Under the HEAD Nepal Nutrition Improvement Program and in partnership with Mission East, four types of the off-season and six types of seasonal vegetable seeds were distributed to 300 beneficiary households in the program. In the six wards of Chankheli rural municipality, the seed was distributed to 171 households during the last week of November. For 129 households of Simikot rural municipality, the seed was distributed during the first week of December. In November, 240 households out of 300 established greenhouses utilizing plastic sheets for off-season vegetable cultivation for home consumption. The program supports children with disabilities homes, other marginalized children and their family members to help ensure food security and to improve nutrition through agricultural intervention and capacity building training.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities Celebration

On December 3rd, HEAD Nepal celebrated the 27th International Day of Persons with Disabilities with Mission East Nepal, Sahara Samuha Simkot RM, and Chankheli RM. The day was celebrated with two main activities. The first activity was an interactive program on disability issues in the Humla district. The second one was an inter-ward Deuda competition in Simikot with Chankheli rural municipalities on the theme of disability rights, benefits, and services. The interactive program was led by Sahara Samuha in partnership with Simikot RM and HEAD Nepal. The program started with a rally in Simikot Bajar and ended with an interactive program where local stakeholders participated.

The Deuda competition was jointly organized by HEAD Nepal, Simikot, and Chankheli RMs under the Nutrition Improvement Program. The event was held in three places; in Piplang, Thehe and Syanda. In Thehe, the competition was organized in Ramdev Secondary School. Four groups of Simikot 1 and 2 participated in the competition where Raling B, Rampal A, and Baijibada respectively won first, second and third place. The Syanda event was organized at the Saipal Himal Secondary School where four groups participated including Ghurghure 1 Kholsi, Saipal Group 2, and Ghurghure Group 2 Yangu who respectively won first, second and third place. The Chankheli RM event was organized in Piplang where six groups from all the wards participated. Chankheli 3 Mimi, Chenkheli 2 Darma and Chankheli 4 Shrimastha respectively won first, second and third place. All the groups presented the rights and services provided for people with disabilities through Deuda songs which we believe to be the strongest method of communication to the public (rights holders) and the local representatives (duty bearers).

Nutrition Improvement Program Staff Training

On the 13th and 14th of November, HEAD Nepal conducted a project review and staff training for the Nutrition Improvement Program for marginalized children in Humla. The first part of the training included a review of completed and ongoing activities from July to October 2018. Participants discussed experiences, problems, issues, risks, and new findings. Staff was introduced to a new action plan to identify project gaps and potential solutions. Field staff was taught new tips and techniques to improve documentation. Attendees also learned how to monitor a beneficiary’s household, especially focusing on identifying gaps in nutrition practice; distribute seeds and prepare kitchen garden plots for off-season vegetable cultivation; set up a standard greenhouse for vegetable production especially for the winter season, and provide information about the rights of children with disabilities.

Observation of World Food Day

Advocating for the Rights to Food for Himalayan Children with Disabilities The Nutrition Improvement Program, in partnership with Mission East and in coordination with the local governments of Simikot and Chankheli rural municipalities, celebrated World Food Day on October 12th by organizing a speech contest among secondary school students on the theme of “Interrelation Between Food, Nutrition, and Disability”. The contests were conducted at Simikot, Chankheli. In Simikot Rm Kusal Budha: Mansarowar Higher Secondary School; Bigyan Bhandari: Raling Secondary School Bargaun; Nirajan Rokaya: Balmandir Secondary School and Danta Budha: Saipal Secondary School respectively won first, second, third, and fourth place. Chankheli Raju Chaulagain: Mahadev Secondary School; Mandev Upadhyaya: Nawajyoti Primary School; Ramlaxmi Tamang: Danfe Primary School and Jagat Budha: Himalaya Secondary School respectively won first, second, third, and fourth place in the competition. In all, twelve students from eight different schools participated in the contest.

Monitoring and Project Activities Review of Children and Hunger Project DR002 AEC007

On 24, 25, and 26 of August field monitoring and project review meeting of Children and hunger Project #DR002AEC007 was conducted led by Mr. Rshisi Adhikari Program Officer of Mission East Nepal followed by Mr. Chhitup Lama ED/PM, Yagnya Bdr Shahi, Lokraj Shahi CF, and KHagendra Dhami JTA. Field monitoring was carried out in Thehe Village and the monitoring was focused on kitchen garden management, food behavior Etc. After completing the field monitoring project review meeting of Children and hunger DR002/AEC007 was conducted in HEAD Nepal Office.

District Project Advisory Committee Meeting for the project DR002

Himalayan Education And Development (HEAD Nepal in partnership with Mission East organized the District Project Advisory Committee Meeting (DPAC) of the project, Reducing hunger and improving nutrition amongst children with disabilities and other marginalized children in the remote mountain villages of Nepal. The Meeting was held on Sunday 15th July 2018 in Mansarovar Hotel Simikot Humla in chairpersonship of the Chief of District Coordination Committee Humla, Mr. Dan Bahadur Rawat. The entire meeting was facilitated by Chhitup Lama, Executive Director of HEAD Nepal. The Chief District Officer, Mr. Madhab Prasad Dhungana was the chief guest and chairperson of Simikot and Chankheli RM, Chief of the respective ward, stakeholders were present in the meeting. Tulasi Budhathoki, Community Facilitator of the project welcomed all the guests and participants with a welcome speech highlighting the major objective of the meeting and the expectation and value/importance of the suggestion from the forum.

There were major two presentations, the first, organizational introductory and current project and status by Chhitup Lama and presentation on the status of “Nutrition Improvement Program for Marginalized Children in Humla” DR002AEC007 project by Nirmal Bista. Upon presenting the current situation and status of the project and organization, the participants provided their creative/appreciative comments and feedback. The chief of Simikot and Chankheli RM, respectively Mr. Padam lama and Dhanlal Chaulagai expressed their positive remarks to the project as it directly targets the neediest and vulnerable children in the Humli community. They both presented their commitment to cooperate and support the project. Mr. Chaulagai stressed that the project is contributing to breaking the vicious cycle of poverty, malnutrition, and disability. Dr. Chandra Kumar Risal, the senior Agriculture Officer at District Agriculture Development Office appreciating the work and the project mentioned that HEAD Nepal has turned the impossible into possible that this project is implemented in Chankheli RM being in the distance from the Headquarter and benefiting children with disabilities the most marginalized segment of society. He, however, made some suggestions to the project that even comparing to the DADA Humla, the project has a higher budget calculating the number of beneficiaries and total budget.

Thus the output of the project has to be also better. Likewise, he further suggested rephrasing the term “houseplot” with Kitchen Garden” which is most used and technically easier. Similarly, Dr. Risal expressed his commitment to be supportive of the project especially in identifying appropriate vegetable seeds for the project location. Putting forward the advice and views towards the project, Mr. Khagendra Karki, the Deputy-Chief of District Coordinating Committee (DCC), this project is not only helpful/contributing to improving the nutrition of children with disabilities but it also helps to prevent disability to some extend. The Chief Guest of the meeting, the Chief District Officer, Mr. Madab Prasad Dhungana, speaking in the late part of the meeting provided his valuable comments, suggestion, advice, and feedback both for the organization and the related project. He focused on the sustainability of HEAD Nepal in the institutional development part. Stressing the importance of coordination/collaboration, he suggested conducting every program and activity together with the local government district level as District Administration Office is the main agency to monitor and evaluate the work of local NGOs. He in the end wishes a big success for the project. In the meantime, the farewell/exit of Mr. Nandalal B. K. JTA of the project was officially acknowledged as handed over an official Letter of Appreciation by the chief guest.

At the end of the meeting, the Chairperson of the meeting, the Chief of DCC Humla, Mr. Dan Bahadur Rawat valuing the great achievement of HEAD Nepal in this short period of 7 years in Humla district thanked the organization and its representatives for its work and positive changes and wished all the best for the future. Thank you all local representatives, government authorities/officers, and participants for your wonderful and remarkable words for HEAD Nepal and we hope the same in the future to bring a change in the society!!!

Review of 17 days field Classes to Rampal and Raling Group of the Project “DR002/AEC007”

Nutrition and kitchen gardening management and utilization classes review by the innovative way by singing deuda, where the beneficiaries of Thehe Village from two groups Rampal And raling include their knowledge from the classes in deuda song. Agricultural Inputs Distribution of the Project “Children & Hunger DR002/AEC007 On the 26th and 27th of Feb as input distribution, some agricultural tools and verities of seeds were distributed to the beneficiaries of the project “Reducing Hunger and Improving nutrition amongst children with disability and other marginalized children of remote mountain villages of Nepal” DR002 AEC007. In the first lot of input distribution program input was distributed to beneficiaries of Simkot Rural Municipality only which is Simkot 1, 2, and 8. Along with the input distribution program, one-day kitchen gardening management and plan class were also conducted with all the groups of Simkot RM.

On 26th Feb input was distributed to the beneficiaries of Simkot 1 and Simkot 8. Before distributing the inputs orientation class was provided about how to manage kitchen gardening, how to use the crops which are going to provide as inputs. In the same class, a few weeks earlier finished nutrition and house plot classes were also reviewed by Chhitup Lama along with the beneficiaries. After completing the class input was distributed. On the 27th of Feb, inputs were distributed to the beneficiaries of Simkot 2 only as it has a total of 62 beneficiaries in one ward. With this group as well same process was repeated. First nutrition and house plot classes were reviewed by asking several questions to beneficiaries by Mr. Lama. And as the second part of the program input was distributed. This project is jointly conducting by HEAD Nepal and Mission East with the support of Danish Radio (DR) and the AEC Foundation.

Following items were distributed as inputs

  • Plastic Drum 1
  • Water Cane 1
  • Plastic Sheet for greenhouse 1
  • 8 types of Seed 1

Monitoring from Mission East Nepal and HEAD Quarter

Date: November 6th to November 8th, 2017 (3 Days)

Project Name: Children and Hunger: Reducing hunger and improving nutrition amongst children with disabilities and other marginalized children in rural mountain villages of Humla.

Participants: There were all together nine members on that field visit.

Meanwhile, all members are from different organizations.

1. Mr. Alex Ramos MISSION EAST HQ Representative 

2 Mr. James Samuel MISSION EAST Nepal country Director

3. Mr. Prakash Katwal MISSION EAST Nepal Program Manager

4. Mr. Jabendra Bhattarai MISSION EAST Nepal Partner finance officer

5. Mr. Chhitup Lama HEAD Nepal Founder/Executive Director

6. Mr. Samir Sharma HEAD Nepal Agriculture Officer

7. Mr. Gobinda Shahi KIRDARC Nepal Program Director

8. Mr. Lokraj Shahi HEAD Nepal Community Facilitator

9. Mr. Yagyan Bdr Shahi HEAD Nepal Community Facilitator

10. Mr. Khagendra Dhami HEAD Nepal JTA

Objectives of the Visit

To know about the Present scenario of the project. Where we are on the project. How many activities we have completed and how many are pending. What are major and minor Obstacles that come while the smooth running of the Project activities? To identify the Beneficiaries’ household and conduct meetings with members. Share project activities and obtain feedback from local stakeholders, short meeting was conducted on Thehe.

Major Activities

6th November (Day 1)

Five visitors have come to head Nepal from Mission East and conducted a meeting. Five members from two different organizations (Mission East & KIDARC) have come to Humla on 6th November. On November 6th about 1:30 in the day the team visited HEAD Nepal and have a small meeting with all the staff related to New Project “Reducing hunger and Improving Nutrition amongst children with Disability and other marginalized children of Remote Mountain Villages of Nepal”.

DR002/AEC007. The meeting was mainly focused on the current situation of the project, objective and output-wise discussion, and problems and possibilities of the project. But in the beginning, the meeting was started with the introduction of the Staff and the meeting was move on to the discussion. The meeting was conducted for about 1 hour and the meeting was over and the monitoring team was move on to their next schedule but they also have a schedule to visit HEAD Nepal again on that day in the evening. On the same day, the monitoring team again visited HEAD Nepal at 6:00 PM This time the visit was informal. They spend some time with the children of HEAD Vision Home and talk to children, ask some questions to the children about their regular life but the talk was not focused on any specific subject.

As the monitoring team arrived in Simikot that morning they feel tired so they return to Hotel without visiting HEAD Enable Home but they have promised to visit HEAD Nepal again on the day after tomorrow, after visiting Thehe. The monitoring already has the schedule to visit Thehe village which is now Simkot RM ward No. 2. The purpose of the visit is to identify the fact and problems of the Beneficiaries’ household and also conducted a short meeting with the family members of beneficiaries. Last but not the least, also conducted the meeting with the Local Stakeholders of Thehe Village (Simkot 2) on 8th November.

7th November (Day 2)

As planned the monitoring team departure from Simkot to Thehe Village around 7 am in the morning by Jeep. The jeep only can go on the Syamne River which is the midpoint of the destination. The jeep took only 30 minutes to reach there. From there the team moved forward by foot. It’s about a 2-hour walk from that point for a regular traveler but for an unusual walker, it takes bout 3 hours. The monitoring team reached Thehe village at around 11 pm. There they have received a warm welcome from the villagers as well as from Beneficiaries households. The same day the monitoring team has planned two different tasks one is to visit several households of the project beneficiaries and another task is meeting with the parents/family members of the beneficiaries. First, at around 2 pm, there was a meeting with the parents of family members of beneficiaries. The meeting was started with a short introduction of the participants and the team members.

There is a short discussion and hearing about the beneficiaries’ households selected for the DR project from the point of view of the villagers. At that meeting, some representatives of selected households were spoken about their points of view. They have also talked about their experience in the past few months of project activities. Mr. Prakash informed the participants about the project objective and goal and also the activities which have been held earlier and which are going to be held in the future.

In that same meeting, they also Discussed the water problem while doing kitchen gardening. They have also a purpose the get away from the problem some of the solutions are would be to use the wastage water which came out from the kitchen or from other daily activities, do the water collection, and use it for watering. The participation of community people was great in thehe Village. James focuses on participation in the project activities and decision-making. He focused on the point that Community people know the best what can be done in the location. The same day in the evening they have visited some households and talk to them about the project as well. Visiting the household is mainly focused on finding out the current situation or condition of the beneficiaries.

8th November (Day 3)

On the morning of November 8, the monitoring team has another meeting. This time the meeting was with the local stakeholders. The meeting was conducted In presence of members of ward 1 and 2, health post representatives, teachers and other. In the meeting, all the members form the monitoring team participated. Mr. Prakash explained the objective, goal, and activities of the project improving the nutrition program. Regarding the reference of food insecurity in the Humla district, He informed the participants that a nutrition program is very needed for the community and even for those households with children who have a disability. This project is even more essential. He discusses also the balance died and changing the food habit of the households in the community. He also describes the assistant we prove to the direct beneficiaries for the children with disabilities. He focusses also the capacity building of the organization.

Mr. Chhitup explained about the activities which are already been completed and informed the rest of the activities which are soon going to be implemented soon. Mr. Praksh also emphasized the kind cooperation with the local stakeholders. Alex thanks the representatives of that meeting for being here and wanted to learn from them that if the project is really going to be an effective one and how the community has any concerns about it. Gorasingh Bohora a member of ward no. 2 thinks that so far the project is going clearly and transparently. The past activities were done in a participatory manner. He hopes to be done something for the children who are disabled in the community. There is also no complaint about the children and households who are selected. They are more hopeful to support the future career of the kids. The representative also concerns about the past activities of the other organizations which worked in that area. James also focuses on community participation in any project to be successful. You are the one who makes the project meaningful because you have access to government works and also to NGOs projects and works as a bridge among community government and we together. We work in a component of health issues but we cannot change the entire system of the issue. Alex thanks everybody for their time and participation and accountability of the project.

Findings

From this short two days field visit, we know that how beneficiaries pay attention to the project. What are the needs of the beneficiaries and how do local stockholders help the project on different project activities and also collected local stockholder feedback for the smooth running of Project activities? After finishing the meeting with parents The monitoring team return to Simkot with the same root. They have to leave thehe about 11 am in the morning and reached Simkot around 3 pm. On that same day On November 8th at about 4:20 in the afternoon, the monitoring team again visited HEAD Nepal as promised. First, the team visits the HEAD Computer lab where four children from HEAD Vision Home and HEAD Enable Home using a computer, and the other two children are reading with the help of a CEC Camera (Digital Magnifier). After the visit to Computer Lab, the team moved to the PM office, and a small chat with Chhitup Lama and the monitoring team together with all children of HEAD Vision and Enable Home went to the front yard of HEAD Nepal and snaps some group photos. After the group photo, they also took some individual photos of children for the case study. While another member of the monitoring team was busy taking photos of children ME headquarter representative Mrs. Alex Ramos distributed chocolate to children especially bring for them. Among happy children who had just got chocolate Pyarilal Aidi studying in class 9 residing in Vision home sang a sweet Local Duuda for all guests and the monitoring team. After the great song of Pyarilal all of the children tries to sing a mango song but as the song was not sang for long time children were not able to sing that song but they have tried their best. There was another performance by Pausara Aidi Class six and Gita Bumi Class nine. Together they have sung another sweet local deuda completely dedicated to the guest and monitoring team. For a moment their matching voice makes the environment very much silent and everyone made focused on their song by the sweet voice. As the guest was super excited by the performance there was another performance by Sapana Shahi studying in class seven by residing in Vision Home. The performance was the dance this time. Sapana was qualified in the top 20 in the dance competition which was held in September in the simikot. The monitoring team was surprised by the magnificent dance performed by Sapana. The monitoring team was also planning to collect case studies amongst our children so the monitoring team moved to a different room with chosen children to collect information about the children. The collecting information for the case study takes about 1 hour and at 6:30 pm in the evening the monitoring team return to their hotel.

On the 9th of November, all monitoring teams return to Nepalgunj

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