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In this issue:
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September
2002  |
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Sarah Harding Sarah Harding has a B.A. in Women's Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Sarah visited Nepal in 1999 and conducted research on the lack of health care for women. While at UCSB she volunteered at Jagriti International and she is deeply invested in supporting the empowerment of women. Sarah is looking forward to hands-on work with a Nepali women's organization and to sharing her computer and English language skills with Women's Awareness Center Nepal (WACN) in Kathmandu. The aim of WACN is to empower and improve the socio-economic condition of Nepal's women. WACN - Women's Awareness Center Nepal Women's Awareness Center Nepal (WACN) was founded by writer and social activist Prativa Subedi in 1991. Prativa's goal was to improve the inequalities faced by women. The mission of the organization is to empower and improve the socio economic condition of Nepal's disadvantaged people, particularly women. WACN goals are achieved through "awareness campaigns" which are conducted in rural villages. WACN primarily works with women living in poverty stricken villages. These campaigns help create credit groups, job training, and literacy programs. They serve approximately 3,000 rural women and have on-going programs in four districts outside the Kathmandu Valley. In two of the four districts where they work (Kavre and Chitwan) WACN programs reach an estimated population of 100,000. WACN has 25 staff members and 200 volunteers working in the villages. WACN members and volunteers meet monthly to discuss solutions to problems faced by the organization. The organization is currently focusing on setting up women's informal savings and credit cooperatives and developing a sustainable agricultural program. Informal savings groups are a way for women to take out loans and start their own businesses. In recent years, WACN has been involved in advocacy activities, including lobbying for funding for women's community projects and raising awareness in the public sphere about issues that affect women including trafficking and violence. For more information: www.wacn.org.np
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