An Investigation of Civil Society Organizations in the Communal Level in Nepal and an Exploration of Pediatric Medical Care in Bolivia

Johanna Yun University of Louisville Brown Fellow, Class of 2014

ABSTRACT:!During the summer months of 2012, I lived a most opportune adventure, from which I received an education beyond the limits of my home in Kentucky. In May, I traveled to Sarangkot, Nepal, where I lived in the village with a family in order to conduct social research for the NGO Volunteer Aid Nepal. Through prior training and the cooperative work with an interpreter, I interviewed villagers from various local volunteer organizations in order to study how their village groups functioned and contributed to the development of their society. Following a month’s stay in Nepal, I jaunted to Cochabamba, Bolivia. As a student, I attended classes daily at Sustainable Bolivia, taking advantage of the one-on-one classes provided. With my improved language skills, I applied them as I worked as an intern for Movimiento Sonrisa in the pediatric unit of Hospital Viedma. Prior to the trip, I organized and packaged arts and crafts to take to the children. With the supplies, I taught art projects to the children, at their bedside, or in the post-op lobby. During my internship, I lived with a wonderful host family, the Rameros. Every single day was a blessing and a rewarding experience to learn from. !

Thank you to the Brown Foundation, UofL, and mentors for making this summer project possible.!!

PART I: !An Investigation of Civil Society Organizations in the Communal Level in

Nepal"!BACKGROUND:!In society, there are three sectors, which include government, business, and civil societies. Civil society organizations (or CSOs) play a significant role in supporting democracy and provide an opportunity for communities with diverse ethnic, religious, cultural, and racial identities to come to a common ground and work together. Prior to 1990, the Nepalese government existed as an autocratic political regime that discouraged the registration of civil society organizations and did not protect freedoms of speech and association. In 1990, the democratic movement of Nepal overthrew the autocratic regime and established the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, which guaranteed freedom of speech, assembly, respect for the International Declaration of Human Rights and other International Covenants that were important for the growth of civil societies in Nepal. Civil societies experienced a sudden emergence and development. As of now, there is little known about how civil society organizations are functioning in the local level. Since the current trend of the non-profit world is to work from the grassroots upward and there are large democratic movements in the formation of the constitution, I focused on the study of functioning civil society organizations and how they are currently transforming village societies. With my previous background knowledge of democratic movements in Southeast Asia, my academic interest in Anthropology, and non-profit work, I decided to utilize this program as a method of gaining research experience in social work.!

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CONCLUSIONS:!Based on case studies and surveys from a total of 25 interviewed groups:!-The female membership population overrides the male population in civil society organizations as a whole. Women’s groups seem to be the most populous type of CSO in Sarangkot, most likely due to the democratic development and movement for women as well as their marginalized position in society. Children and youth groups often support each other and collaborate with women’s groups for community projects.!-Although there are few Dalit members in the CSOs, they are becoming widely accepted by community groups. Dalits have formed groups to improve their standards of living in the village.!-Communication within the groups is generally carried out by word of mouth, mostly through the secretary of the club. Policies or rules are created by the members and enforced by the president, or members with a leadership position. Meetings to discuss issues are held monthly, usually at home.!-Although there are growing numbers of civil society organizations, membership capacities of particularly female groups are largely limited by lack of financial support. While forest user groups and internationally supported groups can collect steady funding, most female organizations do not have financial support. Many women’s and mother groups use indigenous knowledge, such as basket weaving, farming training, and cultural programs, to collect money for their purposes. !-The main issues hindering the growth of CSOs include lack of financial support, lack of education, and lack of time commitment (since most of the villagers are farmers). Although the VDC supports CSOs that are registered, which is more than half of the groups, 92% of groups maintain that the funds are not sufficient enough and hence, do not consider its support as significant financial aid.!-Societal perspectives on CSOs in Sarangkot are almost unanimously positive. Individual surveys show that volunteer work is an essential part of their village’s development and has improved the cultural acceptance of advocacy for marginalized groups and cultural reformation. !

RESULTS:! PART II:!An Exploration of Pediatric Medical Care in Bolivia"

"The Movimiento Sonrisa internship allowed me a grand opportunity to see the internal work of pediatric care at Hospital Viedma. Unlike my experience in Nepal, I had the advantage of having the ability to communicate with the Bolivian people. In order to improve and practice my language skills, I lived with a Bolivian family while attending classes every morning. In the afternoon, I worked with children who were recovering from surgery or awaiting operations. I frequently visited the general surgical unit and the burned victims unit to introduce fun and interactive craft projects to inspire creativity. I brought canvas backpacks, fabric markers, pencil cases, journals and more. I believed that if the children could functionally use the materials that they crafted for educational purposes, they would be motivated to learn as well as create art. Working at the hospital increased my enthusiasm for my medical career path in public health, as well as teaching others.! !

FUTURE PROJECTS:!I have remained in touch with my friends in Sarangkot and plan to return to Nepal next summer, but with something more than my completed research paper. Based on the results I discovered from my research, I plan to create a women’s scholarship fund for Sarangkot in order to educate and increase the health and well-being of females in the community. I developed a strong relationship with the women there and I intend to strengthen that bond by helping to develop their community and contributing to their life work for their abundant kindness.!My experience in Cochabamba, Bolivia equally left a deep impression on me. The week before I left Bolivia, I involved the children in a project, which I named the Hands of Hope Project. Taking the handprints of the children using finger paint, each child from the pediatrics ward stamped his or her hand onto a piece of cloth to be sewn onto artisan crafts that I purchased in the city. I will be selling these crafts with the handprints in hopes of raising awareness and money for the children who cannot afford operations (which is a greater number of patients than one would expect). I also left supplies and instructions for the next volunteer from the Movimiento Sonrisa internship to do the same and to continue to spread the fundraising project. I hope to also return to Bolivia to maintain the progress of the Hands of Hope project. To see a mini-video clip of the project pictures, search YouTube “The Hands of Hope Project or El Proyecto de Las Manos de Esperanza.” Improvements to the project are still being made. !