- Nepal - Intervita

Intervita works in Nepal

Why we workIn the rural areas of Nepal, the population lives off subsistence farming. Food safety and malnutrition are still priority problems. Most families have no access to drinking water, basic hygiene services, medical treatment and primary education for their children. Despite the government's commitment, only 46% of Nepal's 27 million inhabitants have access to drinking water and basic hygiene services. The lack of access to a suitable water supply and sufficient hygiene services, together with poor hygiene practices, leads to widespread diseases such as diarrhoea, cholera, parasitosis, typhoid and trachoma amongst the adults and children of the most disadvantaged classes, especially in rural areas. With regard to education, if during recent years school attendance has improved, rates of school abandonment remain high, particularly amongst girls and the most disadvantaged groups of the population. Education quality is poor due to the lack of teacher preparation, unsuitable school structures and scarcity of teaching materials.

Our aimsThe aim is to improve the health and educational opportunities for the population.

How we work

The project takes place in the district of Kavrepalanchok to the eastern end of the Kathmandu valley, one of the least developed areas of the country. It is divided up into two parts: the first concerns the ‘Water and hygiene services’ sector, whilst the second involves the ‘education' sector. The aim is to improve the health and educational opportunities for the population. For the Water and hygiene services component, the beneficiaries are 3,400 people belonging to the rural communities of 12 villages from the eastern part of the Deubhumi Baluwa VDC district. In terms of educational support, 1,000 children enrolled in 15 primary schools throughout the cities of Deubhumi Baluwa VDC, Panchkhal VDC, and Dhulikhel will benefit directly.

Description of the project

WATER AND HYGIENE SERVICES OBJECTIVE

The Project in the Water and Hygiene Services area aims to improve access to drinking water, hygiene services and awareness of correct hygiene regulations. To attain these results, Intervita will work to build a new water supply system and new hygiene services for families.
The set-up of a community management of managerial processes will be particularly important. This will be done by the local population to maintain the water system and hygiene services/sanitary fittings and the relevant preliminary preparation of appropriately instructed staff. This also has the aim of creating a situation whereby the local population are aware of matters involving health, hygiene and access to water.

EDUCATION objective

In the Education area, the project proposes encouraging the increase of school attendance, by meeting the basic needs of the schools and students of the Kavrepalanchok district. This will take place by identifying, rehabilitating and equipping 15 primary schools. This supports both the teaching activities through school kits and training programmes for at least 1,000 students and 75 teachers, and the enabling and monitoring of a long-distance support programme for 1,000 children. The support activities to school attendance by students will be a further integral part of the project. This will take the form of training courses for teachers, organized in collaboration with the Educational Department and other local NGOs expert in the specific sector, and campaigns focusing on the sensitization of students’ parents, aimed at reducing school abandonment.