Fund Handover Program To AAWAJ (Local NGO Of Nepal)

16 days of activism against gender-based violence is a global campaign to raise awareness about gender-based violence, challenge violence issues and call for actions to end violence against women. Every year the campaign runs from 25th November to 10th December. Thursday, 25th November 2021 is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and marks day one of the 16 Days of Activism. Various campaigns and programs were run across the globe challenging violence against women and girls and calling for action against gender-based violence.

Like every year, this year as well Didi Bahini Samaj Victoria (DBSV) has organised various programs for this global campaign against violence, as such, Walk against family violence, Clothesline project, Respect is.. campaign, an information session about violence, social media engagements, ‘Knitting: The New Me’ project closure and many more. On the very first of this international campaign, the DBSV team also successfully organised and participated in the walking campaign ‘Walk against Family Violence (WAFV) 2021’ which was organised in Coburg Lake Reserve on 25th November 2021. The objective was to speak out against violence and call actions to prevent violence against women.

During the program, DBSV took the opportunity to hand over AUD 5000 which was raised to support survivors of family violence in the mid-western region of Nepal. The money was virtually handed over to AAWAJ (a profound local NGO working to support survivors of family violence in Nepal). The fund will support women to heal, rebuild, establish their independence, build their confidence and create a future of their own making. Hence, the costs will bear the cost for the provision of safe short-term accommodation, and support for other essential services such as medical treatment, legal advice, counselling, family and social mediation process.

For the last six years, DBSV has been raising funds in various ways. One of the most common was the Teej program’s entry fee. However, due to the restriction imposed with the Covid restriction for two years, like last year (2020) this year (2021) as well we were unable to celebrate our Teej in person. Amidst Covid restriction, we celebrated this year’s Teej program virtually and in a more creative way. Also, we opted for different alternatives to raise funds and to fulfil our ongoing dedication and commitment to supporting those women and girls. With all of the helping hands and kind heart, this year we were able to hand over AUD 5000 for this great cause.