February 17, 2017
Nepal
With the calm and kind expression that is characteristic for her, 18-year old Rita Bhujel passes around the attendance list for the parenting education event in Mahakaleshwori Lower Secondary School. In May 2016, she joined Caritas Switzerland’s and Caritas Czech republic´s partner organization MANK as an intern for the Promotion of School Attendance Component within the School Rehabilitation Programme.
Since then, she has supported the field team of MANK in organizing and conducting activities such as household visits, the formation of child clubs and extracurricular activities. During these events, Rita has helped the team by writing minutes, taking photos and sharing her own study-experiences with the students. In addition to her support in organization and facilitation, her gentle and friendly nature has helped create a conducive and trusting environment within the team and community members alike.
In the first few weeks of her internship, Rita was accompanied and guided by the field team of MANK during all tasks. Once she had become familiar enough with the project activities, she was given the chance to conduct some tasks such as household visits or a simple impact survey by herself. In this way, she has gradually learned to work more independently and take an appropriate amount of responsibility. These skills will help Rita achieve her plans for the future: “After my studies I would like to become a bank director”, she says. “This internship can help me develop skills that I will need to bring my career forward.”
Academically speaking, Rita’s chances for a successful future are out of question: with an overall score of 70% in her SLC (School Leaving Certificate), Rita reached the top score of her year in the exam that is considered the iron gate to future possibilities in Nepal.
However, the economic preconditions for Rita’s future plans are more challenging: as the third daughter of a nine-headed family, she has seen her father’s struggles as he sought to diversify his modest income as a carpenter by leasing a plot of land from wealthier villagers. The additional land helps, but it is not enough – especially as half of the produce goes to the land owners for rent. Due to the family’s weak economic status, the education of Rita and her six siblings largely depends on the support of different organizations, including RHEST (Rural Health Education Service Trust) and HELP (Helambu Education and Livelihood Partnership).
In addition to financial strains, Rita has to come to terms with the death of her elder sister and niece, who lost their lives in the devastating earthquake of April 2016.
At present, Rita is studying in class 12 of Saraswati Higher Secondary School. By complementing her studies with the practical experiences of an internship, she has taken a promising first step on the hopefully long career of a disadvantaged but ambitious young woman.
Caritas Czech Republic and its partners – Caritas Switzerland and organizations MANK and TUKI – provides activities to promote school attendance of children in the Sindhupalchok province (and also thanks to the public humanitarian collections). It is a component of project of reconstruction schools ruined by earthquake in April 2015.
