Project Cycle: 2022-2026
Our Girls Empowerment and Mainstreaming Sustainability (GEMS) project supports building an inclusive society and equitable development in Nepal by strengthening girls’ education, health and empowerment of women and girls.
The Livelihood Research (British Council, 2017) highlights Nepal's limited lifelong learning opportunities, particularly for adolescent girls in rural and disadvantaged areas. They lack awareness and access to essential skills like communicative English, digital literacy, and social skills, further marginalizing them. The British Council, in partnership with VSO Nepal, aims to bridge this gap by minimizing the gender digital divide through the GEMS project in Rautahat, Bara, and Surkhet.
This project promotes inclusive society and equitable development in Nepal by strengthening girls’ education, health and empowerment of women and girls in collaboration with the local government. In total, 72,450 people will be reached by the project, where 36,959 are female, 35,501 are adolescent men and boys including 725 people with disabilities. The project will support 30 mothers’ groups and 30 YLCs in 24 wards across three districts, 20 schools, and 24 health facilities.
The project is being implemented with the support from AASAMAN Nepal. The project focuses on developing a conducive inclusive education and health policy environment. Community Score Card is used as a key social accountability tool to analyse health facilities. The project works on the mobilisation of municipality members providing guidance and support on developing plans and embedding the use of Community Learning Centres to deliver the English and Digital for Girls’ Education model into their education plans. A series of interactions, consultations, focus group discussions and are organised to develop a resilience plan in one health facility per municipality in project areas.
The direct reach of the project in the year 2023 was 25178 females 14981 males and 55 people with disabilities. The hospital resilience and preparedness plans have been developed and handed over to the province hospitals in Madhesh. Community Learning Centers have been mobilised and 460 adolescent girls have been engaged in clubs.
Chetana Sunar from Bheriganga Surkhet shares, that joining the GEMS club has helped her in her studies. She used to manage to pass her school exam but these days she has obtained better grades. Her parents are happy to see improvement in her personality development and academics. And shares that the club has a vital role in her personality development and academic excellence.
