OUR ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITIES
1. School
Visits: RHEST conducts four visits in an academic year. Two visits include
paying school fees and the other two are follow-up visits. During the visits,
the girls are given educational materials such as school bags, dress, sweaters,
books, stationaries, and Information, Education and Communication (IEC)
materials.
2. Interaction:
RHEST
conducts interaction sessions with students and their families on women’s
health, education, domestic violence, and childmarriage, and so on.Members of
the local community also participate.
3. IEC
Materials Distribution: RHEST publishes and distributes a wide variety
of IEC materials on trafficking, women’s rights, and health and nutrition to
students of Grades 6-12, RHEST alums, Friday/school facilitators, local
government bodies, and schools. In the IEC materials, a set of the
questionnaires is also included. The questions inquire girls about their
learning, awareness of risk factors and topics of interest for future
discussions. The IEC also includes letters, stories, and poems submitted by the
girls and their teachers, and information about RHEST’s programs.
4. Advocacy: RHEST has set up
an anti-trafficking advocacy groups (made up of RHEST alumnae) in six districts
that liaise with local government to raise awareness on girls trafficking and domestic
violence. Advocacy groupseducate the public on social malpractices by
distributing pamphlets and organizing social campaigns, workshops, and
interactive programs. They also help victims and their families register crimes
(such as child marriage) in the police station. The advocacy groups have
created network within their communities and have been able to help girls who
are in a vulnerable condition.
5. Extra-Curricular
Activities (ECA): RHEST has started conducting Extra-Curricular
Activities in several schools to boost students’ confidence and inspire them to
be curious. Students participate in competition to write essays, recite poetry,
draw, debate and act in dramas. This initiative has helped in making people
aware about trafficking, child marriages, child labor, sexual harassment,
domestic violence, and menstrual taboos.
6. Publication:
RHEST continually publishes various books and
articles on anti-trafficking, health and nutrition, women’s rights, and children’s
rights.
7. Graduates of
RHEST/Friday facilitators working as change agents: After
graduating, many girls join local RHEST alumnae groups and remain involved in
the program to help younger SGT students. RHEST provides
alumnae groups with training in management, finance, leadership, and personal
development. The training has helped alumnae members gain confidence.
Alumnae
activities also include mentoring younger RHEST students and participating in
programs to reduce dropout rates, raise awareness in communities, and
identifying and supporting at-risk girls. Around 1,800 girls are currently
members of their local alumnae organization. In between the quarterly RHEST
visits, the SGT girls are supported academically and taught life skills during
Friday Afternoon Classes (government schools in Nepal are closed on Friday
afternoons). These classes are taught by girls that are themselves alumnae of
SGT. The alumnae are engaged in various sectors of government and private
institutes and have also been engaged as entrepreneurs and local leaders.