In Nepal, the majority of adolescents and young people live in rural areas (82%), half of them in underdeveloped and underserved areas. A quarter of Nepali citizens live on less than 1$ a day. Dalits, Muslims and indigenous communities are subjected to systematic discrimination and depend on low-income labour works that hardly meet their basic needs. Girls from these communities face an additional layer of discrimination due to the gender inequality embedded in social norms and perpetuated through policy and service delivery, which limits their access to education and is manifested in:

• Higher illiteracy rates (40%, compared to 21% for men) and higher school drop-out rate among girls (15.2% in Kapilvastu district).
• Unequal work opportunities and wage inequality (e.g. boys in the age group 15-19 in the target area earn almost four times what girls earn).
• Persistence of harmful traditional practices such as physical exclusion during menstruation, controls over mobility, early marriage (23.2% girls in the age group 15-19 are married), early pregnancy and practice of dowry.
• Increased and new forms of violence.
• Overload of housework and domestic responsibilities.

Expected Results

ER1: Poor and marginalized girls are capacitated to continue education in formal schools via the Udaan centers.

ER 2: Families and local communities have an increased understanding on the need for equitable access to education for girls.

ER 3: Local education policies are upgraded, including elements from the Udaan concept to facilitate access to education and the retention of poor and marginalized out-of-school girls.

Main Activities

• Establishment of 6 Udaan centers
• Capacity building of teachers on Udaan pedagogy and approach
• Training of adolescent girls using the Udaan curriculum and follow up of their enrolment and continuity in formal schools
• Development of girls‘ leadership using extracurricular activities and peer support like the Udaan friends initiative
• Establishment of parents‘ groups
• Capacity building to parents on Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA), financial literacy, parenting and gender transformative sessions
• Engagement with community groups and participation in reflection & awareness raising sessions on girls‘ education
• Design and implementation of social campaigns led by the Udaan girls
• Identification of gaps and issues related to education and affecting the enrolment and retention of vulnerable girls in schools using the CSC system through the participation of schools and other community stakeholders
• Assistance to the municipal authorities on the formulation or update of equitable municipal education policies and action plans
• Guidance and capacitation for education’s stakeholders on formulated/updated education policies
• Support to the operation of the schools child clubs
• Assistance to School Management Committees for effective implementation of the grievance handling mechanism