Nepal is an incredibly beautiful country with its natural God given beauty. Although it is a rich country with its diversity of languages, culture, heritage and its ethnicity, yet a majority of the population live below the poverty line. Factors that directly hinder the economic growth of the country include unemployment of a large segment of the population, a very low literacy rate, and religious beliefs.

The total population of the country is about 27 million, out of which more than 51% are female. Nepal was known as the only Hindu country in the world for centuries till the monarchy was recently abolished. The lives of women are very hard with the cruelty of the caste system that still prevails, resulting in devastating situations to thousands and thousands of women.

Unfortunately, the women of the Western part of Nepal have been victimized the most due to the remoteness of that part of the country, the difficulty in entering the hill and mountainous country of that area, and the lack of infrastructure. Agriculture is the only way of living without irrigation canals, and there is no assistance from the Government. This results in the huge migration of men out of the villages in search of work. This migration of men folk to the cities and towns within the country and out of the country has proved to be one of the major causes of problems for the women and children:

A dedicated Nepali organisation has established a shelter for women called the Safe Haven. Asian Aid is supporting this shelter to enable a safe place for women caught in prostitution, people trafficking and abuse to go and stay. As well as a safe place to live, good food to eat and protection, Asian Aid is supporting the training of women in useful skills such as sewing, handicrafts and weaving. They are also being taught how to read and write so that they can look after themselves and not be tricked into signing contracts and documents that they do not understand.

Asian Aid is committed to helping the women of Nepal and we appreciate the assistance of everyone who has donated to start this program. We will continue to need donations to keep this good work happening and hopefully expand it so that more women can be supported.

All donations are tax deductible.