Meet Our Partner: Rights4Childen, Nepal
Rights4Children is an NGO in Nepal that is dedicated to protecting vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people from abuse and child trafficking by providing accessibility to services that keep children safe, provide rehabilitation, give access to educational resources and provide vocational training to support a sustainable life.
Located in the region of Pokhara at the base of the Annapurna mountains, the non-profit provides both acute resources as well as hands-on community support such as technical vocational training and a girls’ empowerment program. We admire how Right4Children navigates critical challenges in Nepal by harnessing the power of community and giving voice and opportunity to youth in the region.
We interviewed the founder Douglas MacLagen to dive in deeper:
History
What is the origin and driving force towards your program Right4Children in Nepal?
Douglas and his wife Insuba, started Rights4Children 2013 after nearly 20 years of previous experience working in remote mountain areas of Nepal. In the city of Pokhara, they worked directly in child protection services and international development. Rights4Children was a fruit of that experience and was established as a local Nepal NGO to protect vulnerable and disadvantaged children, particularly those who have been subject to domestic violence & sexual assault, child marriage, child labour, and commercial sexual exploitation.
Impact
Tell us about how Right4Children has impacted the community, and what has been your favorite initiative thus far?
We’ve reached out to over 33,000 children and young people providing protection through education services in schools from early childhood to vocational training and the transition of finding a job or career. Through these efforts we have been able to provide emergency food to families in need, distribute self-learning books to 53 schools during COVID related closures, develop creative solutions to challenges in education with unconventional teaching techniques and more inclusive opportunities.
Challenges
What are the biggest challenges you currently face when running a program like Right4Children?
Right4Children is dedicated to combating gender inequality by challenging the current attitudes of men and society towards the value of girls and women. In regards to education, we are breaking the stigma of traditional parrot-fashion ideals and outdated ways of learning as the only way to educate a child. It's our goal to see that women are provided equal opportunity to learn. We continuously fight against corruption by finding new sources of funding worldwide for all of our endeavors.
The Team
The Rights4Children Team
Tell us about the Right4Children team. What kind of people get involved and how have they best supported the program?
The Rights4Children team are all colleagues who have been recruited within Nepal and predominantly local. They are a fairly young team with the average age 32. We do have foreign volunteers from time to time, who range from gap year students to professional volunteers and consultants who provide their time to empower and transfer their skills for our team members. We also have a good network and solid group of financial supporters who are predominantly based abroad in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the UK, amongst others.
Partnership
What are you most looking forward to about this collaboration with Traverse Journeys and the visit with our guests?
We are excited to broaden our horizons and connect with other sustainable travel experts! We love that Traverse Journeys is dedicated to providing their guests with true local community experiences, social give-back, and exposure to effective social entrepreneurial services that are sustainable. This form of travel exposure is eye-widening, and we believe that engaging and sharing with people from other cultures is an enriching opportunity for all. When we come together with an open mind the result is peace, harmony, and prosperity in a world that needs these elements more than ever.
We’re excited to support Rights4Children on our Nepal trip through the trip donation and a visit to their FAB Hospitality Training Center. In this program, selected youth who have come from challenging backgrounds such as trafficking, domestic slavery, and poverty receive training in travel and tourism. After the program they are linked to local, domestic and international jobs that ensure them safe, sustainable livelihoods. After a tour of the training center, we do a cooking class with the students to learn how to make traditional Nepali dal bhaat thali then enjoy it together for lunch.