Philanthropy for Equitable Justice and Peace

Tewa organizes volunteers training twice a year to let community people understand the philosophy of Tewa. Our philosophy, as the only women's fund in Nepal is to develop and promote modern philanthropy in the local community people to support the emerging women groups.

Yasodha is one of the volunteers of Tewa who took the Volunteers Training in 2014. Shy by nature and homemaker at that time, Yasodha was like the most Nepali women who had no idea of what women rights were. After attending the training, Yasodha became aware of the ongoing issues of women in the community. Most of the people in Nepal looks up to I/NGOs from a very different perspective, as most of them are donor dependent. But, coming to know about the philosophy of Tewa and the work we have been doing, Yasodha was eager to play her part in every way possible to make the voices of the most marginalized and vulnerable women heard. Her self-confidence built up and she realized that we should speak for ourselves and our rights. Slowly, she started transferring the philosophy and learnings from Tewa to other women from her communities. She acknowledged the changes in her life by engaging in volunteerism. Yasodha was also involved in an NGO as a General Member. But after the training, she actively got engaged in that organization which works on women empowerment.

 In 2015, Yasodha was also honored with Outstanding Award by Tewa. The same year when 7.8 Richter scale Earthquake hit Nepal, Tewa mobilized 22 volunteers in the 6 most affected districts of Nepal at the time. Yasodha is one of our volunteer who was mobilized in one of the districts. During her 23 months long volunteering work, she got an opportunity to work closely with the community and grassroots level women. She along with other volunteers helped the community people to engage in different ways, transferred the skill they know to the women, supported to build houses, toilet and community taps. At that time, the volunteers also formed a women's group to share a platform, collectively where they can learn from each other. The work done by Yasodha during her commitment was remarkable.  Yasodha pushed her boundaries and came out of her comfort zone to take upon the leadership role in the community.

Later on, when the local election took place in 2017, Yasodha put forward her candidacy for the post of Women Member from her Ward Committee. Even though she was not elected but she was happy to even try.

Yasodha says, "I cannot even imagine that I could bring so many changes within myself and the community. Tewa has taught me a lot of things. I have always thought that donation can only be measured in monetary terms but after connecting with Tewa and the work it does, giving is more than just money. Our values and support also play a vital role. Talking about my journey in politics, I was not unhappy with the results since it was my first time. I was proud of myself that I stood for the candidacy and the love and support I got from the community people built my self-confidence. I am surely going to try in the next election and I believe that people from my community will always support me."

Links:

• Recent Volunteers Training organized by Tewa on June, 2018