Education for vulnerable children in South Lalitpur, Nepal

Safeguarding Futures: Improved Right to Education and Protection of Vulnerable Children in Nepal, 2025-2028

Project location: South Lalitpur (Mahankal and Konyosome Rural Municipalities)

Partner organizations:

Loo Niva Child Concern Group

Patan Community Based Rehabilitation

Loo Niva started in 1994, when a group of school students started to run a library and a child club. Loo Niva was established in 1997 as a non-governmental organization working for child rights. Loo Niva works with the community at the grassroots level towards preventing exploitation and marginalization of underprivileged children and has been recognized by communities and local authorities as an important actor in promoting education. Loo Niva’s practices are rights-based and benefit the most vulnerable children such as girls, dalits and children with disabilities or children from extremely poor families. Interpedia has worked with Loo Niva since 2004 in Lalitpur and the Far West. Interpedia has seen Loo Niva’s developing process from a small, community-based organization to a national level advocate NGO which thematic and geographical coverage.

Patan CBR was formally established in 1999 and Patan CBR has succeeded in serving more than 1900 children with disabilities, both in urban and rural areas. Patan CBR has a center-based program with more than 50 students, where education, physiotherapy and skill development are key programs. Patan CBR is providing rehabilitation facilities in all the sectors of 5*5 matrix developed by WHO. Patan CBR has a good community network, as it has been working in local communities for the last 19 years and the majority of the staff has more than 10 years of working experience.

Safeguarding Futures: Improved Right to Education and Protection of Vulnerable Children in Nepal, is a cooperation project of Loo Niva Child Concern, Patan Community Based Rehabilitation and Interpedia. The project, running from 2025 to 2028, works in South Lalitpur. This project builds on previous co-operation between Loo Niva, Patan CBR and Interpedia.

The four-year project strengthens right to education and protection for children in Nepal by creating inclusive and safe schools and communities. The project focuses especially on improving the rights of vulnerable children in Mahankal and Konyosome rural municipalities in Lalitpur District.

Nepal has made progress in primary enrollment rate in basic education, but dropout rate and learning achievements remain critical. Gender and caste-based discrimination, lack of disability inclusion, and in this project area, situation of orphans and abandoned children are major concerns. The children and communities need to be oriented on child rights, and the local duty- bearers’ capacity needs enhancing to ensure better safeguarding of vulnerable children.

Considering learnings from past projects and feedback from the community and government officals, the project plans to achieve its objective through improving the right to inclusive and quality education and protection in project municipalities and capacitating civil society to promote these rights. Thirty percent of the project’s funding is directed specifically for improving disability inclusion and mainstreaming, and the rights of children with disabilities.

The rights-holders of the project are vulnerable children, especially those facing discrimination like girls and CwDs, as well as orphans/abandoned children. Many of them face multiple discrimination and are vulnerable to abuse or child marriage.

The project works with rural municipalities and their entities, provincial government, teachers, school staff, parents and caretakers, persons with disabilities, and the communities, collaborating with other CSOs to amplify results.

The project takes a human rights progressive approach, creating dialogue between rights- holders and duty-bearers, raising their capacity to ensure sustainability of results. The work is done in eleven wards, covering all their villages and 43 schools.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland is financing 85 % of the project and 15 % is covered by Interpedia.