Women Lead Nepal

When the deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal on April 25, 2015, Women LEAD’s home/office/training hall in Kathmandu suffered critical and severe structural damage. Women LEAD is the first and only professional and leadership development organization for young women, led by young women, in Nepal. Since 2011, they have empowered over 1,000 female high school students to become leaders in their schools and communities by providing them with intensive year-long leadership training, skills building, mentoring, and a peer-support network. Immediately after the April 25 earthquake hit, Women LEAD Nepal’s community of over 150 young women came together to support each other and help communities through youth-led recovery work. However, out of necessity, they have been using this unsafe facility to deliver their programs. (Hint: this is where we come in.)

Women LEAD urgently needs a safe, earthquake-resistant venue in order to continue developing the next generation of female leaders and change-makers in Nepal. They want to construct a permanent, earthquake resistant structure to serve as a training hall and hub for community events and initiatives, providing Women LEAD’s growing community and young women throughout Kathmandu with a safe (and wheelchair accessible) facility. The one-story, 990 square foot building will enable Women LEAD Nepal to continue delivering cost-effective programs, expand their impact, and function as a shelter in the event of a future disaster. This safe space will create an effective learning environment for over 5,000 young women in the next three years and more than double the size of their current facility.

We are so excited that our AWB grant will fully cover the cost of an earthquake-resistant foundation for the building. Interested in supporting, too? Click here. To learn more about this amazing organization, connect with them on Facebook and Twitter.