HUMANITARIAN
AWON provides medical, psychological, legal, and shelter support to the women and girls who are survivors of gender based violence, conflict and other forms of disasters. AWON employs a lawyer at the national level for prompt response.
Under this heading, AWON also collects clothes, notebooks, pencils, medicine, and toys to distribute in areas of focus such as Kalikot, Jumla, Humla, and Achham. AWON has developed a code of conduct for such activities where beneficiaries take leadership in distribution and management.
Miteri Recycle Center
Action Works Nepal formally launched a Miteri Recycle Center in City Hall Kathmandu, during International Youth Day, 12 August, 2013. It is a 3 year long exercise of assessing demand and supply of clothes, and its greater impact on livelihood, environment, and climate change. It is also a shared dream of the youth for a peaceful and prosperous country, by addressing invisible conflicts where ex-primeministers, ministers, political elders, Civil Service Organization (CSO) leaders, media activists, and students gather, observe, and buy the clothes. The Miteri Recycle Center is based on the principles of Social Business (Peace Laurates Prof. M. Yunus) and strives to adopt some of the same qualities as Frip Ethique and Oxfam UK.
The Miteri Recycle Center is important, relevant, and significant for many reasons in Nepali culture. Every year, mortalities and morbidities are reported due to extreme cold in Terai. The government provides firewood/timber to burn for warmth. Likewise, Karnali, the high hills and mountains, have frigid temperatures, often going below -20 degrees Celcius, and more during the winter. Both Terai and the hills have poor infrastructure, and its people have low purchasing power to protect themselves from the cold. Further, the environment is negatively impacted due to high consumption of firewood, bi-product of air pollution, deforestation, and climate change. In this sceanrio, the poor, Dalit, marginalized women, and otherwise unjustly treated communities are more at risk, and are vulnerable.
In 2010, AWON initiated a pilot `Social Business’ collecting used clothes from Kathmandu to be recycled and resold locally in Karnali by women’s groups. The clothes are washed, repaired, ironed, labelled, and packaged well to look like retail items rather than donations, and are sold at a price that is affordable to the poorest consumers. This preserves the dignity of the people buying the clothes, and provides a sustainable income for the women’s groups. The project has been informally piloted by Action Works Nepal (AWON) in 4 of the most remote districts within the Karnali region – Acham, Humla, Kalikot and Jumla, targeting the marginalized communities. Clothing is collected in Kathmandu and transported to these areas, and sold by AWON volunteers.
This model has several key impact points:
- Number of women employed in sustainable livelihoods
- Increase in women’s annual income
- Clothing recycled rather than thrown as waste
- Conserves the environment and positively impacts climate change
Additionally, women are empowered and their confidence will increase due to involvement in economic activity. The income and security will have additional benefits to their families health, welfare, and education. Any and all interested individuals, corporations, and organizations can be involved in the Miteri Recycle Center by donating, buying, or volunteering. For more details, please visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Miteri-Recycle-Center-Nepal/508155022598780
