Srijana - From “Our Study Place,” to college, and back again

Born into a poor rural family, Srijana and her siblings attended school but had little support from home. To make matters worse, while their father was abroad working as a laborer, their mother deserted them.

Thankfully the Nepali non-profit Console Mission reached out to Srijana’s family. Her fees, uniform and school supplies were covered through a grant from DDHCFN. After school she attended “Our Study Place,” a place of refuge from stress and a source of help with homework. Before long she was volunteering to teach the younger children who attended as well.

When Srijana passed her Class 10 exams in 2019, Console Mission assisted in procuring a 3-year vocational scholarship for her to study Food & Dairy Technology in the city. She returned to her village for short visits and helped out at “Our Study Place” when her own courses were canceled due to the pandemic. She also organized a food distribution program to help alleviate hunger during the first wave of Covid19.

Upon graduation Srijana hopes to work for a company that helps small farmers market their produce and milk in a way that ensures a fair price.

The Business of Beads

Asmita had no income when she was introduced to Hope for the Future. She had heard about their bead jewelry training and was delighted at the invitation to join. But she admitted to being a bit skeptical. “At first I didn’t think the training would be very helpful. Would I really be able to make anything beautiful enough to sell and make money?”

Asmita’s hesitance soon changed to enthusiasm as she gained both skills and confidence. She discovered she had artistic talent and thoroughly enjoyed experimenting with different styles of earrings, necklaces and bracelets.

In addition to learning creative design and jewelry-making techniques, Asmita and her fellow trainees gained insights into sales and marketing. In Nepal, beads are inexpensive and readily available, so jewelers can start producing with minimal investment and overhead. They can work from their own homes, or ask tailors, clothes sellers or other small businesses in the marketplace to include their jewelry in the window. As for demand, since bead ornaments are affordable for common people they are extremely popular.

In Asmita’s words, “This training was so good and so practical. By the end I became a bead ornament designer! Now I am famous in my community for my bead business. And all credit goes to Hope for the Future and its supporters.”

After her local success, Asmita sent some of her designs and samples abroad, in hopes of expanding her market outside Nepal as well. “Please pray for me and my dream,” she asks.

Hope for the Future has received small grants from DDHCFN for their Capacity Building Project for low income women. Since it started offering bead jewelry training, over 300 trainees have learned this new and practical skill. Many have become successful in their small business endeavors, and some have become trainers, passing on their skills to others. They struggled during the pandemic but are encouraged that business is slowly picking up.