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Nepal: Making the difference

"If there is to be peace in Nepal it's the Nepalese people that need to take the initiative." Peace Direct launch their latest Rapid Response Fund.

Nepal Map1

Peace Direct’s Pranav Budhathoki has the latest from Kathmandu.


Nepal’s peace process hinges, among many factors, on pledges by the political elite in guaranteeing human security for the country’s 27 million citizens. Negotiations and settlements at the top leadership level is indeed the way to draw warring parties away from guns and grenades. But how do you replicate peace and concepts of peace down to grassroots level? Especially in a country where 70 percent of the population doesn’t have access to electricity, one third of the country lacks basic infrastructure like roads and communication and almost half of its people are illiterate.

The answers lie in respecting local knowledge, skills, inspiration and initiatives. That is why Peace Direct has chosen three Nepalese civil society organisations and set up a working group to execute programmes under Rapid Response Fund (RRF). They are;

- Karnali Integrated Rural Development and Research Centre (KIRDARC) – an NGO led by a dynamic young activist named Min Bahadur Shahi. KIRDARC will have a wide geographical reach in six districts in upper belt of Karnali Zone, bringing under the protection-umbrella of RRF as many as 305,000 Nepalis.

- Saathi – a vibrant organisation led by a group of motivated women working successfully at the grassroots level. Saathi will cover 3 Terai districts in mid western region, protecting as many as 1,225,000 Nepalis. Because of its geographical focus, it has institutional capacity to deal with the new conflict that is raging in the southern towns and villages bordering India.

-Youth Alliance for Peace and Environment (YAPE) – an inspiring youth organisation that single handedly resolved a conflict between a community of businessmen and local villagers over polluting brick kilns. YAPE will work in outlying areas just outside Kathmandu valley, working to protect around 60,000 Nepalis.

So what will this working group do differently to help in Nepal’s conflict? First, global humanitarian and development organisations, under their rigid working mechanism, give too much concentration in providing more of the same to narrow populations that are already served. Due to the nature of RRF, these local experts slap bang in the middle of crisis will be able to determine that help is given to those who need it most. Second, conflict resolution is humanitarian world’s tar baby, especially when outsiders get too involved, when international community fails to distinguish between the essentials and the mere desirables. It is time for a fundamentally different approach.

More on the Peace Direct Rapid Response Fund

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