Our newest project provides safety and support for women victims of violence in the remote Himalayan mountains of Sankhuwasbha District.

In partnership with Mountain Madness, All The Sky Foundation, Society Development Center (our Nepal partner), and the local Nepali government, we have established a women’s safe house in eastern Nepal. Samridhi Ghar (House of Prosperity) opened in 2022 as the first of its kind in the region. Women are particularly vulnerable to domestic violence, rape, trafficking and other social problems given the cultural norms and lack of women’s rights in Nepal.

Over 25% of Nepalese women experience domestic violence, and in remote areas no shelters exist to offer them safety in times of emergency. 

95% of girls and women across Nepal report first-hand experience of gender-based harassment or violence. Samridhi Ghar provides safe shelter and builds community awareness of women’s issues and rights.

When women need help, our Safe House provides safety, shelter, counseling, hospital and court connections, guidance through the legal process, and resources for becoming self-reliant. Our goal is to create a place where women can access support, learn more about their legal rights, feel safe from violent situations, and begin to establish themselves independently from abusive situations. Prior to opening, the local police would have send women back to abusive situations or leave them to fend for themselves after violence because there was nowhere to house them, even for a night. We now have partnerships with the District Police and the District Hospital, and they have begun sending women in need to Samridhi Ghar. We are also conducting outreach in the villages throughout the district so that people become more aware of women’s rights and of the services available to them at the Safe House. In a remote and isolated region, women are beginning to know that  legal protection and safe shelter both exist for them.

Our intention is that Samridhi Ghar will serve as a model for similar safe houses in neighboring mountainous districts in the future.