Manisha Kumari Nath is from Kuntibandali, a small town in the Achham region of western Nepal.

She lives with her father, mother and two little sisters in the house. As like most rural areas of Nepal, her family is very humble, her mother sells vegetables and thus can pay for the education of her daughters.

After she finished her final exam, she was asked to participate in the Rato Baltin Project, so right now Manisha is teaching other girls to use the menstrual cup, to have more knowledge about their own body, to know what the menstrual cycle implies, and to be able to differentiate between the Chhaupadi tradition and menstruation.

Before participating in the project, Manisha had never been in a different environment than her town and never had the opportunity to understand how different it can be to live elsewhere. Working on this project is helping her gain experience and learn new skills. Also thanks to the project she can continue with her higher education.

When we asked Manisha what her life was like since she was part of the project, she told us: ‘I was never concerned about learning new things and was also not aware that I could do something good to change the society. Since I joined the project, my life has been very good since. I have learned to be helpful and responsible. Yes, my vision towards my future has changed. I can see myself growing in this project’.

Clara, CEO and co-founder of be artsy witnessed Manisha’s evolution, and she said ‘When we first met her, she was a young, carefree girl, but now she is a responsible young woman who is in charge of her life and cares about the lives of others. And now in Nepal people are facing a health and a food emergency, and people can help us’.

Text by Carmen Alcañiz, photos by Clara Garcia i Ortés.

There are several ways in which you can get involved with our projects and help girls in Achham:

Teaming Group: 1 euro a month – become part of Rato Baltin Project!

Teaming Group: 1 euro a month – become part of the team and get your friends to help you sponsor her and avoid early marriage!!

 

Regular donation: to https://donorbox.org/againts-chhaupadi

Become a member: https://beartsy.org/associate/

🙂 Thanks!