We are a grassroots organization working towards creating a sustainable society. Following the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, we decided to focus on rebuilding rural communities throughout Nepal. We are a group of youth who, after working as earthquake relief volunteers for some time, joined hands and established our own organization to help fix the problems we were seeing. We are Powerful Hands. The r
elief programs we offer focus mainly on building earthquake-proof houses and providing instruction on modern farming techniques. We also arrange health checks, medicine distribution, and other activities to improve the general health in our communities. These are our current projects:
Project 1--Reconstruction: We are building two new, earthquake-proof school buildings on a small campus in a village in the Sindupalchok district. These schools will provide education to the surrounding villagers. They will serve students studying in primary school up until bachelors. For this construction, we are using the modern earth-bag technology. Big plastic bags, filled with soil or gravel, are stacked on top of each other like solid bricks. This forms a steady structure for our buildings. The major advantage of using this earth-bag structure is that it is far more flexible than stiff brick or concrete walls. This allows the walls to be moved during an earthquake without breaking or falling apart. It is a sustainable way for construction rural communities destroyed by the earthquake in Nepal. As a volunteer, you will help in all steps of this process. It's hard, but rewarding work. No experience is necessary to help out and we provide free accommodation for the duration of your trip. Project 2--Sikaai: Girls fifteen years or older are brought from their villages to our main office in Kathmandu to continue their education. Literacy rates for Nepali women are extremely low. Most women leave school at the age of 15. Sikaai aims to support motivated, intelligent young girls who want to finish their studies. We also teach them vocational skills so that they are well-rounded and able to succeed in various fields. Through Sikaai's services, our girls are able to become exemplary leaders for their communities. We provide academic support, meals, housing, and other accommodations for all of the students who live with us. For this project, we need donations to fund their tuition costs. You can pledge as little as $1 (Rs. 100) per month to help support their education. We also need volunteers to teach the girls different subjects, such as English, craft making, Maths, science, etc. Any skill you have and are able to teach is welcome! We want our girls to learn as much as possible. The minimum commitment for teaching is one hour every week. You are more than welcome to teach up to six days out of the week (a maximum of 12 hours). Free accommodation is not provided for this project. Project 3--Women's Empowerment:
After the earthquake, women were offered "jobs" outside of the village. The women, hoping to make more money than they would at home, were actually sold into human and/or s*x trafficking. This project aims to teach women from villages how to produce and sell their own products so that they can become financially independent and will, therefore, be less likely to be exploited and trafficked. A lot of these women are extremely vulnerable to depression and unfortunately, many of them commit su***de. This project empowers women economically and socially. The women are able to form a support system for one another and talk about their issues, feelings, and lives in a safe, judgement-free space. Our overall goal is to have these women feeling confident and able to support themselves and their families. We need volunteers with knowledge of sales, marketing, and product design to help these women make their own living. We provide free accommodation for participants in this project. If you are interested in any of these projects, please let us know and we will provide you with further details. If you cannot volunteer but would like to contribute financially, please let us know as well. Please tell us about your skills, interests, and abilities when applying to volunteer. Each and every volunteer is also encouraged to get creative and find other ways and small personal projects that can help the community. Any help or insight you can provide for our organisation is greatly appreciated!
