Training centre for women in Nepal

Women in Nepal are often treated as second class citizens. Most are poor, illiterate and oppressed.

Girls are not considered worthy to be educated and carry the stigma of being female from the moment they are born. Many village families refuse to spend money educating girls and marry them off as soon as they are in their teens. Others are forced to work long hours in the fields doing menial tasks. They have no self respect or confidence because of the way they are treated.

The lack of education for women can lead to a very poor quality of life within the communities. The women lack basic life and healthcare knowledge and the skills needed to support their families. One of the results of this is that the infant mortality rate is very high in some villages, due to lack of maternity skills.

Providing education for women

Mrs Danmit Sharma, a nurse and midwife, travelled for many years visiting women who live in remote villages of Nepal, encouraging and teaching basic health care and life skills.

The Lydia Project, a Christian training centre for village women was set up in Kathmandu initially inviting 10 women to join a 5-month residential course. The project is a huge success, with 40 women going through the training each year.

As well as life skills (which include learning the benefit of good sanitation) and health care (including basic maternity nursing), a vocational training programme has been added to the curriculum. Basket weaving, knitting, sewing and needlework, as well as reading, writing and Bible study are part of this programme. After training, the women return to their villages with the gift of a sewing machine and the skills to begin a small business. The women and their families are then able to be self sufficient.

The centre has resulted in healthy, confident, trained women, being able to return to their villages and make positive improvements. Many villagers are becoming Christians, family relationships are being restored, young people are learning new skills, women are gaining respect and are not seen as second class citizens, homes are cleaner, people are healthier, farms are more productive, life is much better for young and old alike.

"Thank God for Lydia, it helped me save my marriage, it helped me help my village, it helped me gain my dignity as a woman!"

Over 400 women have been trained and returned home with a gift of a sewing machine, ready to train at least 5 other village women in the same skills. Anecdotal evidence suggests that over 2000 women have been taught by Lydia trainees.