Many of the GEN girls have parents who are, or have been, in jail. This is because GEN operates as a special project under Prisoners’ Assistance Nepal (PA Nepal). Prisoners (innocent or guilty) in Nepal are amongst the most vulnerable people – they are stigmatised by neighbours, villagers and family members, and their families face enormous financial and emotional hardship. PA Nepal’s mission is to rid prisons of unnecessary suffering and hardship, in particular the suffering experienced by innocent children and prisoners who are poor and disadvantaged – this fits perfectly with GEN’s mission of wanting to help the most vulnerable and disadvantaged girls in Nepal.

Where does GEN operate?

In order to centralise our operations and to keep our costs low, GEN operates in 2 areas: in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, and in Jhapa, East Nepal. Our programme staff in Kathmandu include a programme co-ordinator who visits the girls every month, a part-time accountant and one support staff. In Jhapa we have a part-time co-ordinator.

We also have 2 girls in Beni, West Nepal, who GEN took on as the family’s situation was desperate and the girls needed urgent help. We are only able to visit these girls two or three times a year, but so far the arrangement has worked well.

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