The Bachali Appeal has officially launched! Over the next four weeks, we’ll be raising money to improve opportunities for women in the Far West of Nepal, ensuring they have the skills and confidence to grow resilient and healthy families.
Our appeal will focus on Bachali and her family. We’ll share the challenges she’s faced as a woman living in a remote community in Nepal, and show how with support from PHASE, she’s had the opportunity to change her life for the better.
Bachali is 35 years old and lives in Mugu, one of Nepal’s most remote regions. She has three daughters and two sons and works at a nearby farm growing buckwheat, millet and pulses to feed her family. Like Bachali, most people living in Mugu rely on agricultural activities to make a living, but the region’s challenging geography and rural location make it difficult for people to meet their basic daily needs. Her husband frequently travels to India seeking work to support his family back in Nepal, leaving Bachali at home for much of the year to look after their children alone.
During the winter months, the harsh weather in Mugu made it difficult for Bachali to produce enough food to feed her family, with the freezing temperatures often destroying her crops and making it impossible to grow vegetables. With no access to nutritious food or appropriate healthcare support, Bachali’s son became malnourished.
Accessing maternal healthcare was almost impossible for Bachali, who delivered her first four children at home, alone, with no support from healthcare workers. There is only one hospital in Mugu and it would have taken Bachali several days to reach support on foot.
But just over two years ago, PHASE arrived in Bachali’s village. Now, her life has changed for the better.
PHASE began supporting the local community by providing essential and emergency healthcare services, with a focus on maternal and child health awareness, as well as nutrition. They also provided livelihood support by improving agricultural practices through training in seed support, polytunnel farming and livestock support.
Bachali received improved seeds and new farming equipment, along with regular monitoring visits from PHASE agricultural technicians.
She was able to take part in training on how to produce off-seasonal vegetables, so that even during the harsh winter months, she could provide her family with a healthy and secure food supply. Through regular nutrition workshops, Bachali also learnt how to use her vegetables and other locally sourced ingredients to make nutritious meals for her children.
To ensure Bachali felt supported both during and after pregnancy, she received regular antenatal and postnatal care check-ups from PHASE Auxiliary Nurse Midwives, who were able to monitor her baby’s development and provide Bachali with advice, support and reassurance.
Over the past two years, Bachali’s life has completely changed. But there are still thousands of women across Nepal who experience a daily struggle to survive. A lack of access to basic healthcare services, coupled with a harsh climate which makes producing food almost impossible, puts families just like Bachali’s at risk.
But with your support, we can help to break the cycle of poverty. With your support, we can make a real difference. By donating to The Bachali Appeal, you can help to ensure that more women and children in the far west of Nepal have access to appropriate healthcare and nutritious food.
Each donation made towards the appeal will help to support women just like Bachali, who should no longer have to face a daily struggle to feed and care for themselves and their children.
