Trauma Informed Care Trainings in Nepal

Our team in Nepal has completed their 20th training of the year, training over 500 teachers, parents, students, and community leaders to become mental health advocates.

The idea that children should be “seen and not heard” has only recently begun to be dismantled in many cultures. In Nepal, a country that is reeling from centuries of authoritarian rule, children remain lowest in the social hierarchy. As a result, children become young adults lacking the capacity to identify their needs, advocate for themselves, make healthy decisions, and break generational cycles of violence.

The Healing Together team is working to shift narratives and culture, one teacup at a time. Our pilot project in Nepal to build Trauma Informed Child Friendly Schools & Communities engages children and teachers to learn about trauma and healing together, in the same workshop, and to co-create new norms that center safe and violence free learning environments. During breaks, teachers are encouraged to drink tea at the same table as their students, allowing the children, many for the first time ever, to be seen and heard by adults as worthy, capable, and future leaders of their communities.

While this may appear as a subtle shift, the impact is massive in a culture where violence against children is often normalized and silenced. 

The children’s stories reveal the impact of power dynamics and enable adults to empathize with the challenges they face. As a result, the children are more engaged in their studies and inspired to become leaders in their communities.

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One of our youth program alumni, Urmila, has joined the team in Nepal! While attending our program as a teen, Urmila experienced severe bullying, leading her to practice self-harm and wish her life would come to an end. In Nepal, suicide is the leading cause of death for women and girls (US National Institute of Health), often connected to gender based violence and abuse.

Our youth program inspired her own healing, and now as a university student, to join our facilitation team, using her story as a catalyst to educate teachers and caregivers to identify signs of bullying and advocate for the wellbeing of youth. Participants connect with the struggles of young women through Urmila’s emotional and courageous shares. This work has also inspired young women to advocate for themselves and imagine a future where they are seen and heard in their power.