A Safe Space For Girls

Schools are more than a place to learn. For girls in Shree Kalidevi Secondary School, it’s a place where they can feel safe. But it hasn’t always been this way until Ojashwi helped set up the Power Problem Support (PPS) as part of her 2-year fellowship program under Teach For Nepal - a partner we're working with to improve rural education.

The initiative was inspired after learning that girls in her school were often humiliated because they attended school. Once, a female student would not stop crying because people in her community were spreading rumors about a secret relationship she was having in school. Experiences like these hold girls back from reaching their full potential in class.

Today, girls are more confident thanks to Ojashwi leadership. PPS gives vulnerable girls a safe space to lean on one another because they know together, they are stronger. Every week, they learn to be brave. They learn that it’s okay to say NO when things are not right. Their voices get a little louder each time.

While schools are now shut due to Covid-19, Ojashwi continues to support PPS through regular phone calls. “I know that over time, the girls will rise to become leaders and run PPS in their own communities — without me. This way, it will be sustainable.”