Nepalgunj

Till two days ago they were barely able to talk freely. But by the third of participating in the Spoken Word Poetry workshop, the differently-abled young girls were able deliver speeches on stage, and express themselves with panache.

The transformation was possible thanks to the three-day programme in Nepalgunj — an initiation of the Save the Children and Word’s Warriors — that introduced the art form of spoken word poetry to these young girls.

In the workshop that started in Nepalgunj on July 4, one of the participants was Rupa Khadka — a differently-abled girl from Dailekh. When she first joined the workshop, she hesitated to even talk freely. However, her confidence seemed to soar on the last day of the workshop (July 6) — she courageously mounted the stage, and recited a poem with confidence. Khadka, who had never attempted to pen a poem before this, engrossed everyone with her recitation.

A total of 29 girls, that included 12 differently-abled, expressed their creativity from the stage on the last day of the workshop. The event saw the participation of the girls from five districts — Banke, Bajura, Kalikot, Achham and Dailekh.

According to the Save the Children regional office, the workshop helped in encouraging teenage girls to put forth their views about child rights. It also helped the stakeholders to identify the concerns of the children and empower them. The workshop had been organised with the motive of empowerment through poetry.

Rachana Shrestha, Communication, Documentation and Reporting Coordinator of Save the Children, described the workshop as a success, saying it helped participants boost their morale and express themselves through poetry.

“The girls, who couldn’t even tell their names on the first day, were able to freely express their feelings and problems. The programme, which is a first of its kind in the country, went better than what we had expected,” she said, adding the programme was hosted with the vision to ensure that no girl is deprived of her rights.

Kathmandu-based Word’s Warrior’s group’s Ujjwala Maharjan, Yukta Bajracharya, Pramod KC had imparted training to the participants at the workshop that concluded on July 6.

The organisers expected the participants to spread the knowledge they learnt at the workshop amongst their peers so as to encourage them to raise voice against discrimination, injustice and other social evils against children.