In Kathmandu:
Benjamin Crow / Rajib Upadhya
(44- / 4226792/3)
bcrow@worldbank.org
rupadhya@worldbank.org
Twenty-five Nepali Civil Society Organizations Win Grants for Projects to Secure Peace through Development
Kathmandu, June 24, 2008 ─ Twenty-five civil society organizations from across Nepal won grants today from a Rs. 37.5 Million (US$600,000) award pool funded by a partnership between the World Bank and the Nepal Poverty Alleviation Fund. The Society of Economic Journalists supported the program. The winners received approximately Rs. 15 lakhs (US$20,000) each to implement innovative ideas aimed at delivering basic services and expanding livelihood opportunities in rural populations. “This is my first opportunity to be involved in a development event like this and I’m extremely honored to a part of it,” said Mr. Nima Rumba, acclaimed Nepali actor and singer and jury member for the competition. “My hope is that this competition will help to empower, strengthen, and finance rural people to bring change to their communities.” The finalists ranged from grassroots service providers, including public sector development agencies, community-based organizations, and nongovernmental organizations; to schools and universities; and private sector businesses. Their enterprising ideas and creative partnerships focused on improvements in the delivery of basic services in areas of health; water and sanitation; agriculture, irrigation, and food security; small business and micro enterprise support; energy; information and communication technologies; infrastructure; and employment creation. “After reviewing the projects, I was pleased to see that there is participation of women in all of them,” said Ms. Anuradha Koirala, Chairperson of Maiti Nepal, social activist, and jury member for the competition. “This will result in increased opportunities for women in rural communities for jobs and participation in economic activities which will result in a decrease in the incidence of female trafficking. This can only be a good thing.” Projects featuring employment creation, income generation, organic farming, and tourism development were among the winning ideas. Using DM funds, they will have up to one year to carry out their projects to bring about change in their rural communities. “The lives of disabled people in rural areas are especially difficult,” said Mr. Kumar Thapa, Head of the Association for the Welfare of the Blind in Nepal and jury member for the competition. “My hope is that the projects selected for grants from the Development Marketplace will assist this group and have a positive impact on their lives.” Titled “Securing the Peace through Development,” the competition was designed to generate fresh thinking about the delivery of basic services to the poor and expanding livelihood opportunities to rural populations to enhance the peace process through development. After receiving a total of nearly 500 eligible proposals from all parts of the country, 50 finalists were chosen to participate in a national competition in Kathmandu to select the 25 winners. An independent jury of distinguished guest judges, from various segments of Nepali society, was formed to examine the detailed proposals received from the finalists and to publicly interview them at the final competition event before selecting 25 winners. “The innovative, homegrown solutions to deliver basic services to rural communities that were presented here today have a huge potential to make a difference in the lives of poor people,” said Ms. Susan Goldmark, World Bank Country Director for Nepal. “Without peace, it will be very difficult to have development, and, conversely, without development, there will be no peace.” The Development Marketplace is a competitive grant program sponsored by the World Bank and various partners that uses a transparent process to identify and support grassroots initiatives with innovative approaches to solving challenging development issues on a global, regional, and country basis. The program has awarded nearly US$34 million to roughly 800 small-scale projects over the last seven years. For more information about the Nepal Development Marketplace 2008 and the list of winning projects, please visit: http://www.ndm.org.np For more information about the World Bank’s work in Nepal, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/np
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