Strength TogetHER 26 - Session 5

22nd April, 2022

Strength TogetHER provided a safe space for girls to share personal stories and experience which brings change in attitudes and lives. They get to explore and express themselves which helps to unburden themselves and create meaning. 

Girls discuss their issues and come up with solutions that group members can support each other with. They learn to speak up and share their stories to the group which is relatable to almost all girls. They are empowered by the story they share and learn new lessons after every session they attend. 

With the support of the WOW team, British council we expanded our Strength TogetHER sessions in Karmahawa School, Lumbini with a group of 35 girls which was divided into groups of 13 and 22 girls from grade 11 and 12 respectively. Karmahawa is a public school in Bhainsaiya at Lumbini.

On 22nd April, 2022 we started our final session on the topic, “I AM ENOUGH”. It was moderated by Ms. Poonam Shukla and Ms. Priyanka Shukla, owner of SATTVA Nepal. Sattva Nepal is a company specialized in producing and selling spices made in Nepal. They are from Awadhi Community and lead a business and aim to reach their products all over Nepal. 

We started our session with a quick introduction of all the participants stating their names and what they aim to be in their future. A majority of the participants wanted to be teachers with one aiming to be a doctor, 1 a police office and 1 accountant. Our moderators asked what might be some problems that could come across while attending their goals. Some of the problems we discussed were marriage at an early age, the financial part and permission from their families.

Our moderators then added that it’s good that everyone has a goal and knows what they want to do in the near future. They shared that it is important to be consistent and confident in what one does. Women should always be independent and be able to make an identity for themselves. And, it is not necessary they do the same thing their mothers did. For the economic and marriage related problems, our moderators shared that they have to explore scholarship options that the government offers and apply for it, and when selected they can tell their family that since it’s free it wouldn’t be a financial burden for the family as well and continue their education. 

And, in terms of marriage, they can continue their education with support from their husband and be clear that the husband’s family would allow them to study even after marriage. Permission for continuing education and work should be agreed before marriage as well. In the context of family allowing to study or not, our moderators suggested that they should try to convince their parents and start developing skills to back up their goals like watching and learning about teaching among others from Youtube and other resources. Gaining respect and finding special skills they can do to have financial independence before and after marriage helps one to lead a better life.

Ms. Priyanka then proceeded to share her journey of starting a business breaking all the barriers of the Awadhi Community. She shared that she had no idea of what to do after completing her grade 10 exams, she just knew that she didn’t want to study science as her major subject. She chose Management and proceeded to study BBA (Bachelors in Business Administration) with recommendation from others. While studying BBA she had to stay in a hostel in Kathmandu, where the food was not good. So, her mother sent her jars of homemade pickles, and spices. She shared this with her friends who liked it alot and were willing to buy it as well. After returning home, she shared this with her sister Ms. Poonam and they decided to start a business for spices and are operating SATTVA right now. 

Lastly, our moderators ended the session with two things to think about for the participants: Do you really want to be a teacher and what they plan to be or are they aiming for it as their friends are aiming for it as well? And, think of a way you can earn money like sewing, or knitting or anything they are good at.