A force for good
UNICEF Nepal’s volunteer initiative is seeking to empower young people across the country with the knowledge and skills to bring change in their communities
Kathmandu, Nepal: In Sadhana Bhandari’s mind, the term ‘first aid’ had always been linked to providing medical attention to people during emergencies – never had she thought it could include psychological care as well. This, according to the 20-year-old from Kaski District, was among the many eye-opening moments she has experienced during her time as a UNICEF Nepal volunteer.
“Psychological first aid was something new I learned,” she says.
Sadhana is one of 1,200 young people from across the country – over half of them female – who have signed up to support UNICEF’s work and impact in their communities. This is part of the Generation Unlimited Initiative, a global effort to empower young people while accelerating results for children.
Having kicked off in 2020, just when COVID-19 had begun its dangerous sweep across the world, UNICEF’s volunteer initiative initially functioned as a platform to spread awareness about the virus and combat misinformation.
Through regular webinars on issues related to COVID-19 – such as preventive measures and vaccination – various online surveys, and sharing of content co-created with young people, hundreds of volunteers were provided life-saving information that they could then use and amplify in their own networks and communities.
Then, as the secondary impacts of the pandemic continued to emerge, UNICEF worked to engage volunteers on other issues, including mental health, climate change and gender equality – all existing challenges that had been exacerbated by COVID-19.
Virtual sessions were organized on mental health, for example, that brought in child and adolescent mental health experts, government officials, and other voices, to facilitate valuable discussions on mental wellbeing. These sessions were geared not just to chip away at the stigma surrounding mental health, but also to provide volunteers with helpful resources and stress management techniques.
Archana Karki, another volunteer, says that it was a relief to be able to talk so openly with others like her about such an important topic, given that we come from a society where "only physical pain is acknowledged."
“I realized how important it is to share your feelings,” she says. “All a person wants is to be heard without being judged.”
The 20-year-old from Kapilvastu District felt that the sessions were very helpful in placing a positive light on the subject, and in connecting participants to solutions such as helpline numbers, UNICEF’s mental health chatbot and the tele-counselling service at the Kanti Children’s Hospital that the chatbot links to.
Archana had been among the 39 volunteers who had pretested the chatbot and provided their feedback so as to improve the user experience for young people.
More recently, volunteers from Province 1, Bagmati and Gandaki Provinces also took part in a Protection Monitoring and Incident Reporting or PMIR programme. The PMIR system comprises a mobile-based app that enables information collection from the field, which then feeds into a live online database. Ninety volunteers spread across two batches were equipped with extensive guidelines and lessons on reporting tools, child safeguarding, and protection issues, as well as being trained in psychosocial first aid and disability inclusion through trained experts.
Following their orientation, the volunteers were among other young people that UNICEF tasked with observing and reporting on the protection environment – specifically the risks faced by children, women and vulnerable groups, any incidents of concern – in their communities through the PMIR system. The data thus collected would not only support UNICEF and partners in early intervention and response efforts, but also provide insights on existing gaps in protection, and enable planning of evidence-based advocacy and programming.
Twenty-two-year-old Priyanka Shrestha from Kathmandu says that working on the PMIR project was “invaluable”. “I’ve learned to identify vulnerable children to protect them from abuse and violence through timely reporting,” she says.
“It was an amazing, enriching, rewarding, and empowering experience that will remain in my memory forever.”
This is a sentiment that is echoed by most active volunteers, many of whom say they have enjoyed the exposure and learning that the different programmes – virtual or otherwise – have provided them, as well as the opportunity to give back. Saman Shrestha, 20, from Kathmandu, is happy to have learned so much about the various issues that affect children’s lives and prospects in Nepal.
“This is the perfect platform for young aspirants who want to contribute to the development and welfare of the community and country as a whole.”
UNICEF Nepal’s volunteer initiative is ongoing with additional engagements with young people to come. We envision a world where all young people feel empowered, are learning without fear, and gaining the skills and knowledge they need to thrive.
