Dear GYCA members,

Hello once again from Nepal. This is my final blog post wherein I will be talking about the final outcomes of my project, along with the successes and challenges faced throughout. We were aiming to increase the number of youngsters having right information about peer-pressure, drug use and HIV and AIDS and empowering young Nepalese to prevent and not be a part of peer pressure driving the vicious cycle of drug use and HIV through extensive participation with collaboration and partnership with school administration, parents, management committees and other civic organizations.

We were able to reach 370 youngsters with the right information among which 75% showed raised awareness level in the post-test survey. We also performed various activities successfully to empower them. A number of cases dealt by the students after taking the sessions, within the reporting period is an indicator of the real empowerment and change created by the project.

Having constant requests to conduct more sessions by youngsters, schools and parents was very encouraging and so was the support from other civil society organizations. We were able to not just meet all of our preset targets of all indicators but rather over achieve some of them. That’s another angle added up to the success of the project.

We had to face some challenges but we did not let any of them hinder the smooth running of project activities. For example, when there was risk of delay of printing the IEC materials due to power cut-off, we paid extra and got it printed using generator. Session-breaks in the entire nations which happened to coincide with the first half of the project could be a huge hindrance had we not carried out contingency planning and conducted community based sessions, rather than school-based ones for that period.

Although the journey was not easy, I enjoyed each and every step of the project to its fullest. It was a great way of actually putting ideas into practice and observing what works, what does not and what could be modified to make it more efficient and effective. While talking about sustainability, the project activities could be scaled up to different parts of the country, provided that extra fund is available. Even if this cannot materialize soon, we have effectively handed over the project activities to the students of different schools and briefed them on its continuation. S, the sustainability is ensured to a large extend. The immense support and cooperation form the parents and teachers only adds up to this reliability. And I believe that the project activities shall continue to make a difference in the lives of thousands of young Nepalese adolescents around Nepal.

Lastly, I would like to thank GYCA for providing me this opportunity to translate my vision into reality and you all for following the blog posts and sending me your comments and suggestions.

Thank you, and Bye!
-Vinita