Women's Day Picnic!

On Monday, 16th March, we held a picnic day for all of the women currently participating in our Daisy Chains project. Around 200 previously illiterate domestic workers joined us in a Kathmandu park to celebrate their achievements in learning to read and write and embarking on their businesses. The picnic was the culmination of a week of educational and advocacy programs organised by our partner, CWISH. These programs were held as part of the celebrations of International Women’s Day which was on Sunday, 8th March.

The day started at about 10:30am with all of the attendees enjoying a breakfast of roti, curry and tea. This was the perfect way to put everyone in a festive mood for the games and activities to come. It was inspiring to see so many women in one place who had each worked so hard to take steps to lift themselves out of the cycle of poverty. Many brought their young children with them and as I look around the groups it was amazing to see that many friendships and support networks had obviously formed.

The end of breakfast was signaled when the ghetto blaster started playing some familiar Nepalese folk songs, prompting many to hit the dance floor for the next hour! After the dancing there were some quick welcome speeches followed by a hilarious team trivia contest. As the contest was held in Nepali I am not sure of all of the questions and answers but I do know that when asked how many legs a spider has, ‘10’ was accepted as the correct answer!!!

Once prizes were distributed for the winning teams it was time for a more serious moment as a drama performance was given dealing with the issue of abuse and rights for domestic workers. The play was very well done and I noticed many women nodding as they could obviously relate to the scenarios being played out before them. There is something quite impactful about watching people enacting the brutality and cruelty that is sometimes shown to other human beings and I am sure everyone present took something away from the experience. The play concluded with some information given to the attendees on important numbers they can contact if they need help in these areas, this type of service is so lacking in Nepal, a country in which it is needed perhaps more than most.

The rest of the day was spent with more eating and fun. There was some more dancing, a little singing and even a game of musical chairs that must have involved about 120 of the women – chaos!!! A fun day was had by all and it gave them the chance to reaffirm the message to each of their peers that they are not alone and that they deserve each other’s respect and support for the things they are achieving with their lives.