Namaste!
Help Society Nepal is a non-profit, non-governmental organization working for the rights and empowerment of Nepalese women and children.
HSN is a grass-roots, non-hierarchical organization that was born and grew out the determination of one woman, Radha Laxmi Shrestha who, after a gas explosion in the kitchen that left her mother dead and herself with third degree burns, started the first organization in Nepal to raise awareness of a widely ignored problem in Nepali society and help women who have similar experiences to re-build their lives. Help Society Nepal was founded in 2007 and is a legally registered NGO.
After her accident Radha recognized from her own agonizing experience, the necessity to respond to the physical, psychological and financial needs of other burns survivors, addressing the stigma that society places on them and enabling them to live with dignity. HSN is an organization that works for the rights and empowerment of women. It is women who make up the majority of people at risk of kitchen fire as in Nepal’s inherently patriarchal society it is they who are prescribed the role of working in the kitchen. It is also women who suffer the most from financial difficulty and social discrimination. In a society that is biased in favor of men, with a severe lack of laws that protect women’s rights, safety and access to empowerment, women are at risk of many forms of gender related violence. The primary focus of HSN is on female burns survivors but recognizing this issue as being linked within a broader framework of gender and poverty related violence, HSN offers support to all women and children who suffer social inequality.
We offer shelter, financial help and educational funding to women and children who suffer from poverty and social discrimination. Burns survivors are provided with the necessary support needed to recover from an accident and gain the health, self confidence and financial independence needed to start a new, dignified life and integrate back into society. The organization offers counseling and awareness training and runs a care and support centre which provides food, shelter and training in income generating activities.
In addition to rehabilitative support an important objective of HSN is to raise awareness of burn issues and the struggles that burns survivors face. HSN’s goal is to create an equitable and violence-free society which is responsive to burns issues and responsive to the needs of all those who face economic problems, negligence and social prejudice. We are working for human rights, equality and empowerment; to fight discrimination and bring about social change.