I met Meena for the first time in 2016, when I was working as a volunteer in a school rebuilding project in Nepal, consequent to the earthquake that destroyed large parts of the country. She had been committed in helping victims since one week after the earthquake, while she was herself recovering from it. This open-minded and altruistic woman wants now to complete her studies in order to work in NGOs and help efficiently her country. We can support her to make this project come true.

Nepal is one of the 10 poorest countries in the world, and this is mostly due to an inappropriate governance in agriculture. This poverty has a direct impact on food security, education and the status of women. With this in mind, Meena has already achieved a bachelor degree in agriculture in Kathmandu. She wishes now to complete her background with a master in sustainable agriculture and food security in a qualified European university. So she will be able to bring back new approaches and technologies to Nepal and therefore make an effective change. She is talented, her results prove it. Yet she will not be given a chance to achieve her goals without leaving the country to study abroad.

Indeed, she lives in a patriarchal society where women have limited opportunities. Women who refuse to get into the mould are subject to regular harassment and constant social pressure. This may result into forced marriage and domestic violence. “Don’t dream high, you are only a woman”, is what Meena has been told. Yet she wouldn’t give up. She is determined, hardworking and she knows she can achieve a degree abroad that will give her the qualifications to work in the implementation of agricultural programmes in Nepal, within NGOs or international companies.

All she needs is financial support to pay the fees.

I want to give Meena a chance, a future, the possibility to go further than prejudices and help efficiently people in extreme poverty. By helping one woman to raise above her condition and return what she will receive to her country, we open the door to other Meena to “dream high though they are only women”.

« My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean. Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops? », Mitchell D. (2004), Cloud Atlas

If you would like more information please feel free to contact me on mengel@hotmail.ch.