Since our family’s financial situation improved, I have been able to wear better clothes and have better resources to help my studies.” – Vidya, 14.
Meet Vidya*. She is 14 years old and lives in Udayapur, Nepal, where her parents are part of our programme that works to improve the lives of the most vulnerable Nepali children in the district through increased household income and food security.
Meet Vidya*
With your support, alongside funding from the New Zealand Government’s Aid Programme through our Negotiated Partnerships, we have been able to help Vidya’s family improve their farming systems with new technologies, technical training and advice around how to grow new crops. As Vidya puts it, before they started on the programme, her parents farmed radishes and spinach in a small area and had a tough time paying for stationery items and school fees for all five children.
Now, the family grows a variety of vegetables, which means they’ve started earning more and can afford more nutritious food for the family, and pay for all the books, school fees, clothes and other essentials needed.
A new start for Vidya’s family
Vidya’s family have learnt vital skills that have helped them use their land to produce other seasonal vegetables that bring in a higher income. In the past, because the income from lower value crops was minimal, Vidya’s father had to go abroad for long periods of time to work to help support the family of six.
But now he is back at home and working together with Vidya’s mother, who became a member of one of our farmers groups three years. Alongside various trainings on farming techniques, they have also received water storage drums, water pipes, mulching plastic, and a sprinkler for the farm. An Agriculture Technician is always available in the community to support farmers like her with any queries regarding agriculture.
More about our programme
Vidya’s family is just one of many we’re working alongside in Udayapur, Nepal, through our Livelihoods and Social Protection programming.
The project is jointly implemented by Save the Children and Child Development Society (CDS), and focuses on improving the lives of the most vulnerable Nepali children in the district through increased household income and food security.
The project’s long-term outcome is to enable families in Udayapur to meet health, nutrition and education needs of children. This includes improving the livelihood situation of small farmers and youth from poor families through market led agriculture; increasing access of families and children to the Government of Nepal provisioned Social Protection Schemes and Child Endowment Fund (CEF); and enhancing the capacity of local governments in the design and implementation of child sensitive social protection and livelihood interventions.
So far, 71 farmer groups (made up of 1103 farmers, including 700 female farmers) in the project area have been trained in improved farming systems with the latest technologies. In addition to training farmers, the project has also supported the strengthening and operationalization of a collection centre in Udayapurgadhi rural municipality with improved grading and packaging technologies. In line with training farmers, 875 farmers have been trained on commercial vegetable farming skills to increase their income for children's wellbeing.
