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Women Welfare Association (WWA) |
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Introduction
WWA is a membership based women's organization working in Palpa
district. We were registered as a NGO in 1993 and have since
worked to improve the living conditions of the rural women in
Palpa district. We do this through economic empowerment, raising
the level of literacy and awareness among our members. Top
Our Organization WWA was founded by 15 women, who previously had worked as
agricultural extension workers in connection with a Helvetas and
GTZ funded project. The women had a wish to continue the
development process that had been initiated in their areas, and
they decided to form their own NGO and continue the development
work with a special focus on women. WWA has grown since then, and today our organization consists of
almost 500 members. Our members come from 19 different women's
groups in different VDCs in Palpa district.
WWA is a membership based organization. The political leadership
consists of 15 elected members, who are elected for a 5 years
period. The board meets once a month to discuss important issues
and decide on the future directions of WWA. Top
The Leadership of WWA Chairperson: Urmilla Sharma
Vice Chairperson: Dana Paudel
Treasurer Ganga Regmi
The board has appointed 5 general members to sit in the MS
Management Committee. The mandate from the board allows the MS
Management Committee to look after and make decisions in regards
to the MS partnership Program. The MS Management Committee meets
once a month.
WWA has 4 staff connected to the MS partnership program. Staff is
responsible for implementing the different development programs.
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WWA Staff Program Coordinator: Sushila Dangol,
Education Assistant: Chop Lal Giri,
Office Assistant: Mina G.C.
Caretaker: Bimala Saru
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Our Working Area
Our main office is situated in Tansen bazar. Our 19 women's groups
are scattered around 10 different VDCs in Palpa district:
Name of VDC Number of Groups
Chidipani 4 Groups
Humin 2 Groups
Kasani 2 Groups
Madanpokhara 1 Group
Pokharathok 1 Group
Telga 1 Group
Mashyam 3 Groups
Khashauli 2 Groups
Bhairabsthan 2 Groups
Tansen Municipality 1 Group Top
Why do we need a women's
organization in Palpa ? As the situation elsewhere in Nepal, the rural women in Palpa
suffer from suppression. They are often illiterate, as their
parents never thought it was necessary to send them to school.
After all, the girls are to be married away, when they grow up -
so why waste money on girl's education? Another reason to the high
level of illiteracy is that the girls have many chores around the
house, and maybe the nearest school is 1 or 2 hours walk away.
Therefore, lack of time has often been a hindrance for the women's
possibility of an education. Illiteracy means that you can't read
newspapers, that you can't read the prescriptions for different
kinds of medicine and you can't read about your own rights as a
woman. Women are usually living without any financial resources of their
own. The general rule is that women can not inherit their parent's
property. Since women have to stay at home and do all the house
hold work AND work on the fields, they rarely have time to provide
themselves with an income. Women are responsible for the
household, so the little money they get, they will usually spend
on the children and on food - rarely are there any financial
resources left for themselves. As already stated, the heavy workload of women prevents them from
doing a lot of things. Health wise the heavy workload is
undesirable, but the fact that the workload is not sufficiently
shared by the men calls for concern. Work in Nepal is sharply
divided between the two sexes. The rules are very strict. Part of
the division of labor includes decision making. In general, women
in Nepal do not take part in important decisions that involve
their own lives, such as "what to spend the household money on". We could list many other examples of how women are being
suppressed in Nepal. Palpa needs a woman's organization that can
speak the cause of women and that can implement programs that will
improve the living conditions of the rural poor women. Many of our
programs may not have profound effect on our current female
members, but hopefully our members will be sufficiently encouraged
and empowered to change the livelihood of their own daughters. Top
The DW Posting
One Danish Development Worker is working within WWA as Community
Development Advisor.
The Job Our present DW is situated at the main office in Tansen. The job
responsibilities are varied, but the over all aim is to assist in
the capacity building of WWA. That includes assistance in regards
to planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating the various
development programs. It means guidance in regards to
administrative procedures and policy making. The responsibility
further more includes networking - that is to seek potential new
donors for WWA. The job involves a great deal of office work, but 10 - 20 % of the
time is spent in field to assist the staff in the actual field
work. The development worker's role is that of a facilitator. Since WWA
is a relatively young organization, staff as well as the board
needs guidance in how to run an organization in general. There is
a high need of administrative procedures and rules that has to be
decided on and implemented. The DW is supposed to assist in this
process. The current development Worker is a female with a Master of Arts
in social science as educational back ground.
Living in Tansen Tansen appears different than most Nepali Towns and cities. First
of all it is situated on the slope of a hill in 1300 m and in the
town itself there are lots of old Newar style houses, which in
many cases have been well restored. This gives Tansen a certain
atmosphere of coziness and the view from the Srinagar Hill - just
above Tansen bazar - is magnificent.
The temperatures are very pleasant in Tansen. It does not get as
hot as the Terai or Kathmandu in the summertime, and it does not
get extremely cold in the wintertime either. It is not a big problem finding accommodation, which meets the
basic demands that most Danish people have - that is a house with
electricity, phone line, running water and a toilet/bathroom.
Due to the famous Mission Hospital in Tansen, which is supported
by United Mission, the citizens of Tansen are used to foreigners -
and welcome them whole-heartedly.
Most daily necessities can be purchased in Tansen Bazar. However
the more specified items must be purchased in either Kathmandu or
Pokhara. There are several local banks in Tansen, but in order to
use Visa card, Butwal is the nearest place (1 hours drive each
way).
Due to the historical background tourists are a common sight in
Tansen, but fortunately the town has not yet turned into a big
tourist attraction, which allows it to remain a quiet and charming
spot with its own special atmosphere. Top
Contact
WWA
Tansen, Palpa
Tel:977-075-20824
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