Project Advisory Committee (PAC) Meeting in Surkhet
On 4rth November 2025, Project Advisory Committee meeting was conducted with the objective to share key updates of ongoing project interventions showcasing key results, lesson learnt, key challenges and future plan along with potential opportunities of collaboration and co-creation. The PAC meeting also helped to collect key recommendations from local government, identify key approaches for project exit strategy.
The participants included representatives from local government; mainly ward chairperson, LGU focal person and Deputy Mayors. The Meeting was chaired by JuRI, President and welcome remarks was shared by FEDO District Secretary. Project community volunteers and SHGs members shared their change stories focusing on key interventions; on addressing harmful and discriminatory social norms, enhancing collective leadership and collective actions, strengthening income generations opportunities and mobilization and engagement of local service providers and community. Moving ahead a brief project presentation was shared by project Team Leader.
Following it the representatives from local government admired the efforts of project, that it has enhanced understanding and knowledge of SHGs on gender and harmful norms their rights and participation roles in different structures of local government. They also highlighted the collective leadership of SHGs as they are recognized as one of the active community organization to challenges the harmful and social norms. They shared their commitment to support SHGs to sustain their key achievements and community level advocacy through allocation of budget and program, regular monitoring and connecting to various service providers and opportunities.
“The Hamro Sahakarya project is a complete package to empower women and most marginalized group as its consist awareness on human rights, gender equality, leadership skills development, strengthening income generations and referral support. It has created a safe platform for learning and practicing leadership skills. Women’s are empowered, challenging harmful norms, sensitizing community people and coordinating ward offices. These changes are impactful but it has covered small areas of LGU there are more such community where such intervention is important. He also highlighted emerging issue of illegal migration of women and girls for domestic work in the gulf country from India that need to be addressed jointly by CSOs and government. He also suggested project should engage ward committee while drafting exist strategy.” – Dinesh Khatri, Ward Chairperson, Birendranagar Municipality ward no 1, Surkhet
“FEDO and JuRI has experiment and establish a successful model of community development and empowerment program approach; it’s Self-Help Group. Now local government need to take similar approaches for empowerment. It should offer more support to SHGs in the municipality and sustain its key achievements, mobilize them as change agents. For this the limited budget should prioritized, coordinate with donor agencies, federal government and also CSOs for long-term and greater impact. She also shared her commitment to support SHGs members through Deputy Mayor, Self-Employment Program for business development and economic empowerment.” – Dhansara Bohara, Deputy Mayor, Bheriganga Municipality, Surkhet