Two artists of Samunnat Nepal with their polymer clay creations. Photo: Malcolm Moore.
In 2006, as Wendy Moore was making earrings on a sunny veranda in eastern Nepal, a local named Kopila Basnet approached her and asked, “Can you teach our women to do this?”.
It was at this moment a partnership began, which would go on to help hundreds of young Nepalese women survive and thrive in the aftermath of their experiences with domestic violence and human trafficking. Samunnat Nepal is a non-government organisation (NGO) started by a group of Kopila’s friends who wanted to take action for the many victims and survivors of these issues, which are rife throughout their country.
Not-for-profit, Project Didi, sells the beautiful jewellery made by the Nepalese women Australia. The funds are then redirected back to Samunnat Nepal, for them to continue supporting survivors with education, employment, legal aid, and counselling.
Over the past few years, the two organisations have been providing trips to Nepal which show the impact of the work they do. For the first time, they are joining together for two special trips, this year and in early 2024. Wendy will be leading one of these trips in November and they’re still looking for people to sign up.
Wendy and her husband Malcolm recently moved to Albury from Canberra, but still make regular trips to eastern Nepal, which the couple used to call home. Malcolm taught medical students at the major teaching hospital in the region, while Wendy taught art and jewellery classes to the women of Samunnat Nepal.
During their four-year stay the couple witnessed how Nepal’s dependence on foreign aid, corrupt government, and poorly run international NGOs, was having disastrous results for the local women.
Wendy and Kopila have remained friends and colleagues for the past two decades. Photo: Wendy Moore.
Outside the widespread issue of domestic violence in the country, there are also human traffickers who go to villages where families are desperately poor, and offer their young women jobs, education, and housing in exchange for money. Once the parents of these families accept the deal, these women, often children, are taken across the border into neighbouring states and have their passports taken before being forced into marriage, sex, or labour trafficking rings.
Even if these young women manage to escape and return home, they are often rejected by the community as ‘damaged goods’ and left to fend for themselves. Samunnat Nepal and Project Didi help these women by providing them with the independence they need to avoid falling back into these rings or a violent relationship, and instead lead a long, happy, and healthy life.
In Nepal, signs like these warn young women about the false promises human traffickers make of arranged marriages. Photo: Laura Sheahen/Caritas.
The trip in November will take a small, entirely female group all over the eastern part of the country, which according to Wendy is mostly flat with “no westerners, and frequent monsoons; very different from what most people think of when it comes to Nepal”.
In the months prior to leaving, members of the group will raise funds that will be sent over to the women they’ll be meeting, so they can see the impact of their efforts over there.
The group will spend time in the capital of Kathmandu and with the communities of the east, where they’ll see and participate in the jewellery making work done by the organisations, get cooking classes from the local women, and have a genuinely authentic rather than performative experience of eastern Nepali culture.
A previous group participating in a cooking class with local Nepali women who support children that have experienced trafficking and gender-based violence. Photo: Leonie Keogh.
Before returning home from their very busy trip, the group will rest for three days in an organic farmhouse and visit the famous Boudhanath. If you can’t join the trip, Wendy says the best way to support their work is by either purchasing jewellery sold at one of the many stores around the ACT and NSW and online, or joining Project Didi’s volunteer team.
For those interested in joining the trip, you can find instructions here.
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