Skip to main content
Fighting poverty through volunteering

Search form

Partner with us
Menu Search
Image credit toggle
©VSO/Willemijn van Kol
Sisters for Sister's Education

Equality in education for girls

Sisters for Sisters Nepal

Four years, four districts, and 48 schools.

The Sisters for Sisters’ Education project has been getting some of the country’s most vulnerable girls into education, and keeping them there.

A grassroots approach

Between early marriage, domestic duties and menstrual taboo, girls are being kept out of school in Nepal. And when they do get to class, it’s as though they aren’t there at all.

Sisters for sisters in Nepal VSO/Suraj Shakya

“I have learned that I need to speak up and be active. I am inspired by my Big Sister to study hard and take part in extra activities. Today, I am regular at school and very happy to be in the school. I like to study and be with friends. I dream to be a teacher and serve in my community.”

 

Pramila, 13, is a ‘Little Sister’ on VSO’s Sisters for Sisters’ Education project in Surkhet

The prejudices against women and girls run through society, from the local level to policy-makers – and even among the girls themselves. Which is why change has to come from within the community.

Now in its second phase, the project will get 9,114 girls learning and growing through the power of role models. ‘Big Sisters’ – local women with training in life skills and education – mentor, inspire and motivate their ‘Little Sisters’, ensuring they get the education they need to unlock their potential.

Because education isn’t just about passing exams. For these girls, and many like them all over the world, it’s about taking control of their lives. It’s about confidence, self-reliance and lifting one another up from unjust circumstances.

And that’s just what they’re doing.

Results:

  • We’ve trained 320 trained Big Sisters as guides and mentors for 1,283 Little Sisters.
  • Through awareness exercises like community discussions and street dramas, the communities around 48 schools are taking active responsibility for ensuring that their girls get the education they deserve.
  • 144 trained Adult Champions are actively supporting the Big Sisters.
  • 152 teachers have been trained on gender-sensitive teaching methods, meaning 7,686 girls are being listened to and included in lessons.
  • 93.8% of the Little Sisters said that they liked the mentoring approach of the project and thought it would help them stay in school.
  • We will have reached 9,839 girls by the end of the project. 

It’s really important for girls to have an education, so they don’t get downtrodden.

Head teacher at one Sisters for Sisters school

Case studies from Sisters for Sisters

Our partners

VSO’s valued funding partners in Nepal include DFID, SAMRC and the EU. We have good relationships with Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (MoFALD), Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), Ministry of Education (MoE), Ministry of Finance and the National Youth Council (NYC).

More information