The power is within you — EmpowHER 2015

KATHMANDU

We can achieve anything if we put our minds to it! No one knows this well than our EmpowHER girls. Their unwavering effort to fulfill their commitments despite of their many responsibilities is commendable. Hardworking, dedicated and passionate our change makers this week are ready to take up their ideas to the next level and showcase great examples of leadership.

Change maker #

7: Kreeti Modi

Student of Master’s in Business Administration at King’s College — Kreeti Modi is a young and dynamic individual who believes in giving her best in everything she does. After her MBA, she wants to start her own business in the field of tourism and hospitality.

Besides her desire to be a successful businesswoman, she also wants to empower women in our society to become self-reliant. She believes that women can only be self-reliant if they are safe in the community.

In today’s world where networking for career enhancement is crucial, many women lag behind due to weak participation. As these events usually take place after office hours, many woman fail to attend the event as their families restrict them to be out late due to safety concerns.

Kreeti herself faces these challenges with her family when she has to be out late attending a conference or working on a project. According to Women Rehabilitation Center, the reported incidents of violence against women were more than 2,000 alone in 2014.

The increasing number of sexual harassment amongst young women and the lack of flexibility to travel alone especially during late hours are the two main reasons that pushed her to develop a project that helps women protect themselves.

Through her EmpowHER ‘Impact Service Idea’, she plans to provide self-defense training to girls at different colleges so that they can boost their physical stamina as well as their confidence. With the help of self-defense training, these women will be alert and aware about their surroundings, and become physically strong and mentally prepared to tackle any undesirable incidents.

She defines EmpowHER as a life-changing journey, which has helped her gain exposure to different things, broaden her horizon, implement her ideas, and boost her confidence.

Change maker #

8: Kipa Dalee

Energetic and bubbly, Kipa Dalee knows nothing worth in life comes easy. With a passion to deliver change in every way possible she joined EmpowHER to transform her ideas into reality. A social activist at heart, she is

actively involved in variouscommunity-oriented programmes, especially the ones related to gender based violence.

She is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s in Business Administration at Prime College and is the Vice President of a student led club called Entrepreneur Management Club at her college.

Being a big foodie and art lover she loves to spend her leisure time dining at new restaurants around town and indulging in crafts and origami.

With a plan to do something concrete in the field of gender inequality, she decided to design her ‘Impact Service Project’ to create awareness about highly prevalent gender based violence in our society.

Through her project, she plans to open clubs at schools and colleges that run awareness campaigns, initiate open dialogues, and promote understanding about gender-based violence in Nepal.

Furthermore, she also plans to establish anti-sexual violence groups in schools to provide counseling and support services to the students about gender based issues if needed.

She hopes that with the help of her service project she will be able to change entrenched mindsets about gender-based violence in society and start open conversations without labeling it as a taboo.

She shares that EmpowHER has helped her get out of her cocoon, pushing her to learn and explore new things. She remarks EmpowHER as a medium through which she has enriched her experience, connected to many entrepreneurs, and developed time management and interpersonal skills.

With the headstrong attitude and resilience, these girls are bound to go a long way with their passion and dreams.

The values and lessons that EmpowHER has instilled in them will help them strive and make a positive difference within themselves and in the world.

The author is a Founder/Executive Director at Ujyalo Foundation, a non-profit organisation, and a Life Skills trainer at National Banking Institute. Reach Amuda @theamudamishra