The Government of Japan extended  financial assistance of 146,096 US Dollars; equivalent to approximately 14,548,239 Nepalese Rupees to AMDA Multisectoral and Integrated Development Services (AMDA-MINDS) under the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects Scheme.

AMDA-MINDS is a NGO based in Japan, which will provide technical and financial support to partner agency, SAGUN Nepal, to implement the Project for Enhancing  Community Capacity in Kharpachok VDC (Phase 1).

A Grant Contract relating to this project was signed and exchanged at the Embassy of Japan in Nepal between Masashi OGAWA, Ambassador of Japan to Nepal and Ms. Chiho MATSUMOTO, Country Director, AMDA-MINDS Nepal Office. 

According to a press release of Japanese Embassy, this project, aiming to enhance community capacity in Kharpachok VDC, is planning to promote the formation of  neighborhood self-governing bodies and enhance their capacity to analyze and solve practical problems such as poverty, water, and health and hygiene over  three one year phases. The first phase is composed of the following activities like formation of  neighborhood self-governing bodies.

The project will promote the formation of a Community Based Organization, so-called “Activity Group”, in each ward to develop human resources, and which will become a core of the community’s self-governance activities. These Activity Groups are expected to be an implementing body for community activities. The project will conduct a series of trainings, workshops and study tours aimed at capacity development of group members in various components such as practical problem analysis; participatory planning; resource management; effective monitoring, and public relations. As an output of the training, a “3-years vision” will be formulated with the consensus of each Activity Group, and based on the “3-years vision” “sub-projects” will be planned, Sub-projects will be implemented from the second phase/ year onwards.

Similarly,  it will also generate awareness level  bottom-up training for community people. Based on the issues identified by the project and community, the project will conduct an awareness raising program and bottom-up training for community people. AMDA-MINDS and SAGUN-Nepal will support the Activity Group to conduct an awareness raising program on health and sanitation focusing on school children.　Simultaneously, the project will organize training on income generation to those households which meet the criteria. Participants are expected to learn specific and practical means of improving their livelihood.

This project will be implemented for the formation of neighborhood self-governing bodies to enhance the capacity of community people in solving the problems they face.  The Embassy of Japan expects this project to be a success and a model case of self-governance in Nepal.