Project Overview
The Breaking the Bonds-II (BTB II) project was implemented between January 2023 and November 2024 in three rural municipalities of Dhanusha District in Nepal. Financially supported by Fresh Leaf Charitable Foundation, this intervention was collaboratively implemented by Street Child of Nepal (SCON) and Janaki Women Awareness Society (JWAS), a prominent local non-governmental organization. The project aimed to provide targeted support to 400 disadvantaged, married Dalit girls from marginalized communities. These beneficiaries were organized into two cohorts with interventions centered around a comprehensive approach that combined life skills education and livelihoods support. This report evaluates the impacts of the project intervention, and the effectiveness of the life skills classes and livelihoods support initiatives.
Interventions and Impact
A total of 407 married Dalit girls, aged 15 to 25, benefitted from the diverse interventions implemented by the project. These interventions comprised a financial literacy training program, life skills education classes, and a livelihood support program.
1. Financial Literacy Training (1.5 months)
A one-and-a-half-month financial literacy training program was organized, resulting in a significant 29% increase in the knowledge of participants, rising from a baseline of 32.5% to 61.5% at the end line. Through this training, participants acquired essential skills such as performing basic addition and subtraction, understanding saving and credit, calculating profit and loss, recognizing money, maintaining simple records, and gaining foundational knowledge about business and enterprises.
- Topics Covered: Savings, credit, income/expenditure management, business planning, banking & insurance.
- Attendance: 82.45%.
2. Livelihoods Support Program
- Enterprises Established: 10 types of enterprises were established, including buffalo farming (42.3%), goat farming (27.9%), and tailoring (21.6%).
- Profitability: 80% of surveyed participants made profits, with buffalo/goat farming proving most lucrative. Home-based enterprises successfully enabled women to balance work and family duties.
3. Life Skills Education (4 months, 19 centers)
- Topics Covered: Decision-making, health & hygiene, family planning, puberty, HIV/AIDS, menstruation, gender-based violence, vital registration, and civic sense.
- Outcome: A massive +47.3% knowledge increase (from a 22.2% baseline to 69.5%), leading to increased confidence, reduced GBV cases, and improved family harmony.
Challenges & Recommendations
The project identified several challenges, including livestock deaths without replacement plans, dropouts due to pregnancy, and limited male engagement. Key recommendations include incorporating livestock insurance, adjusting training duration to the seasonal calendar, and strengthening coordination with local authorities for long-term sustainability.
Conclusion
The integrated approach of financial literacy, livelihood support, and life skills education substantially improved participants' income, confidence, and social standing, fostering both economic empowerment and social change within marginalized Dalit communities in Dhanusha.