Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. The political situation has been very unstable for years. The number of illiterate people is still very high, especially among women. Many women have little or no schooling, they are often married off early and therefore have few opportunities to improve their lives. Literacy strengthens people's self-confidence, expands their professional opportunities and is the basis for humane participation in social and political life.
Our local cooperation partners, the couple Mrs Beena and Mr Anupendra Acharya and Mr Robin Chamlin, have developed a concept with us to teach women with little education the basics of reading, writing (Nepali and English), arithmetic and basic knowledge of healthcare and hygiene.
The Mahadevi e.V. association
We founded our association in the summer of 2007. It currently has 70 members and supports the Mahadevi Women's Education Centre in the Kathmandu Valley and three women's projects in mountain villages north of Kathmandu. Our concept is that the premises are made available by the communities and our association covers the basic equipment and running costs.
The women's schools or ‘The best way out of poverty is to go to school.’
We run four schools, all of which are named after Hindu goddesses.
A total of around 900 women have already attended the literacy courses and over 350 women have attended the sewing courses.
Funding
We finance the women's education centres through membership fees, donations and events. Mahadevi e.V. covers the costs of salaries, rent and teaching materials. The sewing and tailoring courses in Nakhipot and in the Saraswati School have thankfully been financed by the Georg Kraus Foundation, Hagen i.W., since 2011.
Miscellaneous
After the devastating earthquake in 2015, our association also provided reconstruction aid thanks to generous donations and was able to support families in need during the corona pandemic in cooperation with our Nepalese partners.
The Mahadevi e.V. organisation currently employs 10 female teachers who teach a total of just over 100 women aged between 20 and 79. The focus is on literacy (Nepali - arithmetic - English) - sewing - health education - joint activities and lectures to strengthen the community and the self-esteem of the women.