I am pleased to present our Annual Report for 2023. As I reflect on the year, I remember the story of Ranjana Karki, a survivor of the 2015 earthquake, who joined our program. After the disaster, her family lost their home and had to move in with distant relatives. Ranjana was traumatized and found it difficult to adjust. She was very quiet in school and didn’t participate much. But with the help of her mentors (Didis), she began to make progress and excel in her studies. In a few years, she transformed into an empowered girl and became one of our best examples. In 2023, she even joined our team to mentor and empower younger girls. After finishing school and gaining work experience, she is now leaving us to pursue an opportunity abroad with her extended family. Although we are sad to say goodbye, we believe she leaves us as someone who can take care of herself and her family.
I credit Ranjana’s success to her strength and our holistic program, which has empowered her for the last six-plus years. Through our program, she received mentorship, self-defense training, regular health check-ups, and the opportunity to gain work experience. It is stories like Ranjana’s that make my work worthwhile. We have seen many other stories of holistic empowerment this year, from promoting digital empowerment to helping establish a business for local women to focusing on total well-being. Lastly, with the recent earthquake that impacted the community of Jajarkot, I am proud that our team was able to provide some financial support and share how we were able to get schools up and running after the earthquake. I am proud of all our girls and our team, and I am grateful to our donors and supporters worldwide for making it all possible. This year we added 45 more girls to our program, and I hope to be able to share more stories of transformation in our future updates. Thank you for everything you allow us to do. Please enjoy our 2023 Year in Review with stories of Transformation & Empowerment. Namaskar!