Your Biggest Challenge?

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Permalink Reply by Claire Charamnac on February 12, 2012 at 8:58am

Our three major challenges are:

I. Lack of access to big donors: as a small organization based in Nepal, we have limited access to foundations and NGOs, who tend to focus on more established organizations with bigger budgets and capacity. We’re also hampered by the perceived lack of experience and track record. In order to overcome this and secure funding, we are striving to have a diverse portfolio of funders, relying on institutions, individual donors and earned income. This year we’re applying to women’s rights and Nepal-focused foundations with missions aligned to ours, such as Mama Cash and the Peaks Foundation. We are reaching out to individual donors through our sponsorship program and our board will help us fundraise through a Give-or-Get system. In addition, we’re building a local fundraising base in Nepal, focusing on corporate sponsors and earned income from our programs to build a sustainable revenue stream that is less dependent on outside funding. We also hope to cultivate partnerships with organizations with similar missions and situations who would like to pool together to apply as a collective for bigger grants.

 

II. Unstable work environment: Nepal’s instability, both in terms of the political situation and shortages of basic facilities like electricity and fuel, make operating at the level of efficiency we hope to impossible. The daily challenges of electricity limitations (we operate with currently with 4 hours of electricity per day) and last-minute program cancellations due to strikes are something we are learning to work with. We are overcoming these challenges by being flexible: we have built up effective communication channels to keep up the momentum of our programs even if we can’t physically be in the same place. We are also implementing security policies to ensure the safety of our staff and participants, focusing on creative problem-solving  (for example, we schedule our work around power schedules)

 

III. A culture that does not yet value women’s leadership: As our work in is direct opposition to the traditional male-dominated culture that is still prevalent in Nepal, we have encountered opposition from male principals in schools, high-caste males in partner NGOs, and some of our participants’ fathers and husbands who do not prioritize their leadership development. Navigating a culture that fully embraces some aspects of modernization but remains trapped in historically ingrained discrimination and prejudices is challenging. As young women leaders ourselves, we are not always afforded the respect granted to our male counterparts. While we cannot change this culture overnight, we are challenging assumptions and stereotypes on a daily basis by engaging young activists through social media and maintaining high standards of performance and professionalism.

Permalink Reply by 5 for Fairness on February 12, 2012 at 9:47am

This is such a terrific answer, Claire. Your ability to articulate your greatest challenges - and the clear steps you are taking to tackle them - says a lot about you, your Team and WomenLEAD. 

Permalink Reply by Claire Charamnac on February 12, 2012 at 8:56pm

Thank you so much! Your comment really means so much to all of us. We're so happy we found 5 for Fairness!