KIT Blog

Sundar, 29, lives in the southern district of Rupandehi in Nepal, with five members of his family including two sisters with disabilities.

He is from the untouchable caste. They are the lowest social group based on the caste hierarchy in Nepal. Sadly, this limits his rights and access to opportunities for education and work. Yet he managed to stay in school up to grade 11 when the household workload meant he could not continue further.

Sundar is a member of the Milan Self-Help Group. He is an active member who also facilitates the group for meeting and other decision making. Now he is also one of the active members of his cooperative formed under the IMPACT project. Following on from training in cooperative management and bookkeeping, Sundar is now the secretary of his cooperative.

The IMPACT project that you help support has formed eight Self-Help Groups (SHG’s) in the Rupandehi district. From this, the project helped register two cooperatives, merging four SHG’s into one. Cooperatives allow larger groups of people to combine resources. They can also establish more formal business structures. Becoming registered unlocks opportunities for the group. For instance, they can access government or non-government grants and other benefits.

This allows groups to look at larger business ideas to increase financial security.

This is a life-changing achievement for members who had lived ‘hand to mouth’ not knowing if they will earn enough to provide meals for their family. But thanks to you, and other faithful supporters, people like Sundar no longer have to. Thank you!

Sundar has also showed interest in learning more about sustainable livelihood. His cooperative encouraged him to undertake training and become the resource person for livelihood support in their community.

Sundar said “This is very fruitful training, and I would like to do the nursery business as well as onion farming after this training. For that I would take some land on lease and would do my business.” 

Sundar made a commitment to give technical support to his community, cooperative and Self- Help Group members. He has had training in nursery management, learning about growing food, including preparing organic manure. He has also had training in livestock management, especially in raising goats and pigs.

He has taken a loan from his cooperative and started a provision store. From this he earns his livelihood and can pay back instalments of his

loan. Thank you for helping make this possible for Sundar and others like him.

Without your prayer support, people affected by leprosy may not experience God’s love through the care they receive. Your amazing Christian heart is essential to God’s healing ministry toward people affected by leprosy.

Please pray for the ongoing transformation of the lives of people like Sundar through the IMPACT project. 

Pray for Sundar who is also trained as a community champion of the IMPACT project. 

Pray for the Self-Help Group and the cooperative as they bring about improvements for themselves and for their community. Pray for the sustainability of these new practices. Pray for the positive environmental effect of this training for the whole community. 

Sundar is very thankful for the IMPACT project. He expresses immense gratitude towards the donors who have made this project possible. Sundar hopes the project will continue to help vulnerable people establish themselves.

Thank you for not giving up on people in great need. Your generous heart and prayers make all of this possible. God bless you. 

The Integrated Mobilisation of People for Active Community Transformation (IMPACT) Project works with communities in 3 Terai districts: Rupandehi, Kapilbastu and Parasi. The project supports people to recover from leprosy, obtain sustainable livelihoods and increase their inclusion in society.

 36 self-help groups (SHGs) supporting over 700 people have been established under the IMPACT project. Through SHGs, people with leprosy, disability and other marginalised people learn important finance, organisation and business skills that will help them to develop sustainable livelihoods.The IMPACT project has supported the SHGs to not only learn the necessary skills to develop small businesses but have supported groups with small loans and have taught groups to save amongst themselves. 

In addition, the IMPACT project also provides health education on water and sanitation hygiene, COVID-19 awareness, and education on gender-based violence to the SHGs and their communities

The Integrated Mobilisation of People for Active Community Transformation (IMPACT) Project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).