The role of local women's NGOs

The steep, mountainous terrain of the mid and high hills in central Nepal have made travel, communication, and delivery of services, such as drinking water systems, extremely difficult. Few roads and no railroads exist. Most travel is by foot. Due to these difficulties and a severely restricted economy, government water systems have reached only one third of the rural hill villages in Nepal. Diarrhoeal disease leads to 44,000 deaths per year (Ali, 1991). In addition, the predominant concern for oneself rather than the common good of a community, and the belief that difficulties are one’s fate (and therefore there is nothing one can do about them) have also hindered development. The commonly-held notion that “We have this problem, but we can’t do anything about it unless the government or another organization comes and solves it for us” has also slowed development. This paper shows some examples of how local village women in Okhaldhunga District in eastern Nepal were successful in bringing drinking water to their villages and in carrying out other development activities by forming their own local non-government organizations (NGOs). This was accomplished despite the traditionally low status and homebound situation of women in Nepali culture. The hindering attitudes were overcome by a spirit of working together learned by being part of their local NGO. Community activities by local NGOs can help to fill the great needs in community development not able to be filled by government services.