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A document is newsletter of UN Trainee contributed by trainees and UN officials.
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Pg. 1 | 2012 | www.un.org.np
New Horizon
E-magazine produced by Joint UN Traineeship Programme 2011-12. (www.un.org.np)
Message from Robert Piper I am very happy to congratulate all of the trainees who have completed their 11 month UN
Traineeship. This has been a remarkable group of young people and we hope that
prospective employers will benefit from the professional and personal growth we have seen
in them over the past year. Indeed, we have also benefitted greatly from their presence and
inputs.
This scheme has been a pilot and based on its success, we have decided to continue to give
members of traditionally excluded communities an opportunity to gain experience from
working at the United Nations in Nepal. Our decision to continue, is not least, based on the
results we have seen from this first cohort of extraordinary individuals. I wish them all
success in their future endeavours.
New Horizon Horizon New
Photo@Rajendra, UNIC
New Horizon
Pg. 2 | 2012 | www.un.org.np
Overview of Traineeship Program
Many of the
trainees
under the
‗Joint UN
Traineeship
Programme‘ came to know about this
program through colleges and some
got the information from local NGOs.
Foundation for Development
Management (FDM) went to colleges
and many NGOs to advertise the
Traineeship Programme and as a
result, over 700 youths applied for this
Program. Some of the trainees were
fresh graduates whereas some were
teachers, social mobilisers,
housewives or pursuing different jobs.
There was an extensive screening
procedure to select only 31 individuals.
All of them joined with the hope that it
will provide a platform for their future
career. Being associated with many
UN agencies, it was only natural to
think that the 11 months spend will give
them a much needed impetus for their
career.
Many of the trainees come from a
modest background and worked hard
for their studies and this Traineeship
program came as an opportunity for a
better future. It is not easy for the
individuals from historically and
culturally excluded communities to
compete freely in the modern work
environment. To fit in the international
organization is quite farfetched.
However, with the learning from this
program and many professional
acquaintances they have developed;
there is a hope for a better career.
We had to bear in mind that the quality
of education was not of the same
grade for all trainees. Some were quite
privileged to be educated in good
schools and colleges in Kathmandu
whereas some of them studied from
government schools and colleges with
poor standard of education. Since UN
is an international organization, it
required English as means of
communication-written or spoken. This
was also a learning experience in
terms of written and spoken ability.
Similarly, this program also built
confidence in trainees to articulate and
present themselves well.
I believe the 11 months structured full
time training imparted to trainees
helped develop expertise in their area
of work, communication skills, building
team work, drive for result etc. Instilling
in trainees such virtues would be
pivotal for their growth in their
professional and personal life.
I hope, with learning from this Program
there is no looking back and the
trainees will be employed and excel in
their respective work; which is
precisely the purpose behind this
program.
Pratik Bickram Rana Program Specialist.
Foundation for Development Management (FDM)
How we learned on the trainee programme
Time can often pass fast in the UNDP Nepal country office.
Sometimes the pace of work can make it seem like you
never get time to think, as we deal and follow up with
government, push on policy, engage in project management
activities, speak to development partners or simply get
caught in traffic between meetings. However, there are times
when we must stop in our tracks and think about how we
interact and who are our key clients. I think, the UN joint
trainee programme is one such initiative that has made me
think long and hard about Nepal.
The environment unit has been one of the lucky groups to
receive a trainee. I have co-mentored Kul Nepali over the
past number of months along with other colleagues in the
environment and especially Anupa Lamichane who is his
Mentor. It has been a pleasure and I have learned a lot I
initially thought, we will need to work closely with our new
trainee to help him understand the technical areas of climate
change and environment. After sitting with our new arrival,
my first impression was incorrect. He held a depth of
knowledge on the topics.
I soon realized that it was not that Kul or all the other
trainees that turned up at his desk lacked technical
knowledge, it was sometimes simply the confidence to be
able to articulate that knowledge and put it into
understandable language was not always there. Speaking
with confidence on a topic takes skill that takes practice.
By the time, June came around, Kul was articulating his
impressions of UNDP at a unit level strategic day retreat.
Vijay Singh, our unit head honorably wrote a day later ―dear
Kul, it was really good to hear reflections from you about the
office, your traineeship, and about us. Thanks for frankly
expressing your feelings.‖ However, there were many days
when Kul was not seen as a trainee, but simply as part of
the team, going about his duties and striving to do his work
as efficiently as possible – I‘m sure many others have had
similar experiences across UN House. I am sure we will be
hearing more from the trainees – I know I‘ll certainly be
staying in touch with Kul.
Mr. Brian Harding, Co-Mentor, Climate Change Specialist, EECC Unit
Pg. 3 | 2012 | www.un.org.np
New Horizon
Physical Labour, Status and people’s Perspective
I was carrying a water-filled vessel in a
programme organised to welcome the
Executive Director, Anthony Lakes by
UNICEF Nepal at Lalitpur. I was really
excited; for this was the first time I was
in ethnic attire. All the people were
dressed in Nepal‘s different culture due
to which the UN House premise
seemed painted in different colours.
On 12th January 2012, UNICEF
organized the programme in honour of
Mr. Lakes‘ visit. Like other sections of
UNICEF, the WASH section presented
its progress and achievements of last
four decades including future plans,
with a situation of WASH in Nepal
through performances. The
presentation was to portray the
situation of children and women in
Nepal. I played the role of a mother in
that short play.
As Andreas Knapp presented the
progress report, we were playing the
role of different characters. In the
meantime, he asked the Executive
Director if he wanted to carry the
vessel. He accepted and carried it. He
was happy, because of first such
experience in his life. The audiences
were amazed by his simplicity. The
following day, some people were
wondering whether he was offended by
such manner, because in Nepali
culture asking a senior person to do
any menial job is taken as disrespect.
However, it reflects Nepali perspective
towards physical labour.
Despite modernization, there seems no
change in people‘s attitudes towards
labour. It is enmeshed with gender and
caste in a large extent. The household
works like fetching water and cooking
dishes are taken as the work of
housewives. Moreover, hard working
people, with skill, are ironically tagged
as low caste and deprived of dignity;
whereas, sluggish people are
respected. As the Executive Director
was carrying the vessel, I remembered
my childhood days; we would go about
an hour distance to fetch water. Our
past hardship has eased a bit now
days; however, large numbers of
people still have no access to drinking
water. As a consequence, children and
women are highly affected in terms of
education, health, and so on. However,
the very contrasting aspect is some
people are suffering from health
problems because of over working,
whereas, some are facing such
problems due to lack of proper
exercise and understanding towards
labour.
Thus, as I saw the filled vessel carried
by Mr. Lakes, it symbolized the
suffering of children and women who
are confined to such works. At the
same time, it strikes me as how labour
has been assessed in term of status.
However, I wonder when will such
discriminations and discrepancies in
terms of gender, caste and status, will
meet its end.
Sita Bishwokarma Trainee, UNICEF/NCO, WASH Section
New Horizon
Pg. 4 | 2012 | www.un.org.np
Representation of UN Trainees
The UN Traineeship is an affirmative
action from UN to make the socially
excluded groups more competent in
the professional sphere. This initiation
of UN is very appreciable, which has
provided a genuine opportunity to
develop professionalism and increase
the marketability of the trainees. The
―UN Traineeship Program‖ is driven by
the agenda of ‗inclusion‘ and ‗equity‘.
Nonetheless, there are rooms for
improvements to make it more
inclusive in coming phases of the
program. Some of the points worth
considering in coming phases of the
program highlighted by the map are:
Highest number of trainees from
Western region
Low representation from Mid-and
Far-Western regions
No representation from Karnali
zone
Some interesting achievements are:
Higher representation of female
(57%) than male (43%)
All of the trainees from central
region are female
Note: The address and sex of the
trainees is as per the list of ‘Finally
selected candidates for UN
Traineeship Program 2011-12’ by
FDM.
Map: Representation of UN Trainees
Mohan Masarangi Magar Trainee, UNICEF (PME)
Pg. 5 | 2012 | www.un.org.np
New Horizon
Save good culture and remove bad culture
Every society and country is
modernizing day by day. No one can
break the process of change. New
things are being discovered all the
time. Change is the need of the
society. But in the name of change; will
the society forget their culture?
I got chance to know that some
societies are saving their culture and
profession when I participated into the
workshop of WTLCP project in
Sauraha as a UN trainee.
Sauraha attracts many tourists. It is the
central and the main entrance of the
Chitwan National Park. Many hotels
and resorts use the word ‗jungle‘ to
their name to give essence of forest.
Another best thing of Sauraha is that
there are scheduled dances of Tharu
culture in each hotel and resorts which
is the main entertainment for the
national and international tourists.
Tharu culture has amazing dances
involving Tharu males and females
taking sticks or fire logs. This exemplify
that some society is saving their
culture. We all have to salute them and
encourage them to save their tradition.
We keep hearing from everyone that
people are going to leave their culture
but it is evident from Tharu cultural
programme at Sauraha that not all
Nepali and communities are leaving
their culture. In the context of Dalit
Community, few castes are involved in
metallurgical operation and some
castes play Sarangi, Madal and other
musical instruments as their profession
and culture. These types of professions
are related with the so-called
―untouchable‖. People from different
community have different cultures and
professions, then why the
untouchablity factor is connected to
Dalit community. According to
Mendalism there are only two types of
species i. e. male and female in which
monohybrid and dihybrid cross can
take place. According to theory of
human genetics, all homosapines
species have 23 pairs of chromosomes
which are more valuable and important
to the scientific field. I just want to
emphasize that there is no
untouchability in the world scientifically.
So people belonging to Dalit
community don‘t have to hesitate to do
their profession and maintain their
culture. They have to save their
profession and culture which is good
but bad culture like untouchability need
to be removed from the society. Dalit
communities have to do their
profession but they need to be part of
modernization as it is the need of the
society. Government of Nepal /UN /
NGOs /INGOs need to support to
modernize their professions and in
saving their culture.
Kul Nepali Trainee, Environment, Energy and Climate Change
(EECC) Unit UNDP
Photo: Tharu people showing their cul-ture at Sauraha, Chitwan district.
New Horizon
Pg. 6 | 2012 | www.un.org.np
Shaping up happy life
It was on 26 April 2011, when I first
entered in the UN House with many
queries on United Nations and its
functions. I had no idea about the
United Nations except in the text books
during my schooldays. I always had a
dream to know about the UN System
closely. My dream became true after
joining as a UN trainee at the Strategic
Planning and Development
Effectiveness Unit (SPDEU) in the
United Nations Development Program
(UNDP). The frequent field visits and
report writing was the main task
assigned to me. During the period of
my field visits, I got many opportunities
to meet with the beneficiaries of the
UNDP supported projects.
During my recent visit to Jumla, I met a
37 years old woman beneficiary named
NIli Pariyar, a resident of Raralihi VDC-
9. She got married when she was 12
years old. She had her first baby girl at
the age of 15 and now she has eight
children. She and her husband used to
run a small tailoring business in their
hut by operating a hand operated
sewing machine in traditional way. She
used to follow a Lagi Pratha (traditional
practice where the service providers
are paid by grains on harvesting
season or during festivals instead of
cash wages) earlier which was
humiliating and was very difficult for
her to manage food, clothing, and
education of her children and to
celebrate festivals from her earnings.
Her elder children were not educated
and they have not been to school at all.
In February 2009, she joined the
Janapragatishil Micro-Enterprise
tailoring group and attended a 7 day
long skill training in June 2009. Her
group received three sewing machines
and one iron from Micro Enterprise
Development Program (MEDEP), a
UNDP funded project and started their
business. Now the situation is
changing and because of MEDEP
support she is now able to earn a profit
of Rs. 200 per day. Now her household
condition has changed for better and
she does not have to worry for hand to
mouth problem. She manages her daily
family expenses smoothly and she is
thankful to MEDEP for the support.
Her five children are now studying at a
government school and the rest of her
three illiterate children have got
married and settled.
She is also running her business
commercially in a modern way using
sewing machines that are operated by
leg peddles with over-lock machine.
She stitches mostly women‘s clothing
and limited men‘s clothes. She loaned
Rs. 30,000 to one of the villager and
earned 2% interest annually. She took
loan from the Poverty Alleviation Fund
(PAF) for goat farming and sells 2-3
goats annually which are additional
good source of income. She has now
refunded the loan from PAF and is
living happily with her family.
Nili‘s hard work will give her better
future and business in the days to
come.
From the field observation, I have
come to know how UNDP has
supported at the grass-root level and
how the beneficiaries have benefitted.
Sanjay Pariyar Trainee, Strategic Planning and Development Effec-
tiveness Unit (SPDEU) UNDP
Photo: Nili Pariya—37 , Raralihi VDC-9, Jumla.
Pg. 7 | 2012 | www.un.org.np
New Horizon
Getting light through darkness
As a trainee, I got to work in the
Human Resources unit in UNDP
Nepal. This was a very good
opportunity for me to prove myself, and
to play a part in changing the way
lower caste people are treated in our
society.
I belong to a so-called lower caste.
This was reason enough for my
friends, and even my teachers, to
discriminate against me and to
disrespect me. All people are equal
regardless of their caste, and we must
respect one another, and treat
everyone equally. But this does not
always happen. Everyone does not
realize that if only given the right
opportunities, people from lower castes
can fare well too. And because the
people around me lacked this
realization, I was disrespected. At
times, I even felt inferior myself.
But ever since I got this opportunity to
work in a prestigious and exemplary
organization, the attitude of my friends
and teachers towards me has
changed. Now they respect me for my
versatility and for being recognized.
The respect I now get from them is
also probably just human nature – to
respect people that hold higher
positions! My association with UNDP
has made them see me as someone
with a high position!
This traineeship has also brought a
vast difference in me. It has given me a
chance to know and cherish my own
talents. It has given me my identity, a
big reason to smile.
It is said that it is always a dark night
that brings a bright morning; and
hopefully tomorrow, my ambitions and
dreams will come true. Tomorrow,
people will understand that no one is
untouchable, no caste is small, and no
one with the right opportunities will fail
just because of his caste. I encourage
all my fellow-beings who are fighting
caste-based discrimination to keep the
hope. Good fate is created by hard
work. So, learn and live – there is light
coming your way.
Sushmita Diyali Trainee, HR Unit, UNDP
New Horizon
Pg. 8 | 2012 | www.un.org.np
Gender Equality in the context of Women Participation
UNDP places
gender equality
and women
empowerment
as a
development
goal, a human
rights principle
and an effective
means and
approach to
achieving
development.
UNDP‘s Gender
Equality
Strategy defines
gender equality
as ‗equality
between men
and women‘ and positions it as an
indivisible and integral part of UNDP‘s
human development goal. It actively
seeks to raise women participation
from local to national level.
Women participation is increasing
these days, but is still not adequate. In
a ‗community-based water induced
disaster and soil conservation training
cum workshop‘ in June 2011 in
Nawalparasi, women participation was
45%, but in a similar workshop at the
national level, it was 18%. This shows
that while the communities are
becoming aware of gender equality
and importance of women participation,
there is still a lot to be done at the
national, policy-making level.
Equality in a male dominant society like
Nepal is not achieved until there is
equal opportunity for women. But
giving opportunity is not enough, the
women also need to be empowered to
grab the opportunity that is provided.
They need to be encouraged and
supported to come out of the social
boundary that we have created. We
should help them to explore their
needs, desires and issues
independently. They should not be
intimidated as just household workers.
We require a holistic approach and
intervention from both governmental
and local level in development and
implementation of strategies for gender
equality and women participation. We
must realize that the two-wheel cart of
society will move smoothly only when
both its wheels are equally and
perfectly working.
Making a Women Empowered Nation
is definitely a difficult task but it is
achievable – we only need to keep
learning and working towards it.
It is not about Who and Which, it is all
about We.
Lakpa Tsiring Tamang Trainee, Disaster Risk Management Unit, UNDP
Photo: Technical Capacity and Need Assessment and Gap Identification of DHM for Sectoral EWS for CRM in Nepal
Photo: Presentation by Sita Gaire in community based water induced disaster and soil conservation training cum workshop, Nawalparasi.
Pg. 9 | 2012 | www.un.org.np
New Horizon
Leasehold Forestry: A boon to pro-poor and socially backward people
Leasehold Forestry and Livestock
Programme (LFLP) is a programme
that has both a vision and action. An
extension of Hills Leasehold Forestry
and Forage Development Project
(HLFFDP), it is being implemented in
22 mid-hill districts of Nepal. It focuses
on livelihood improvement of the pro-
poor and socially-backward people of
the districts as well as on supporting
environment conservation by providing
leased land for 40 years. The
programme helps to decrease the
income gap between the haves and
have-nots.
I visited the Jhirubas Village
Development Committee (VDC), Palpa
where LFLP is in action. The VDC is
mostly inhabited by Magars. They were
mostly poor people with less than 6
months of food security before the
programme started. They practiced
shifting cultivation, in which they
slashed and burned the natural forests
in patches, causing environmental
degradation and worsened food
security.
The formation of leasehold forest user
groups (LFUGs) under LFLP has given
a ray of hope for them. The programme
employs agro-forestry for natural
resource management and increased
food security. It involves plantation of
short-term as well as long-term income
generating species. One encouraging
outcome was that within 9 months of
programme implementation, the
LFUGs in the VDC were awarded
Mountain Development Prize-2010 of
NRs 200,000 due to their active and
continuous involvement.
The programme also supports the
people in other ways, such as by
providing them goats as an income
generating source, by facilitating
saving and credit activities to avoid the
need to borrow from land lords at very
high interest rates, and also by linking
the groups with other development
partners which support them in
infrastructure development such as
solar-light installation, road
construction, micro-hydro projects,
drinking water facilities, etc.
LFLP has been a boon to the people. I
am pleased that I got an opportunity to
witness this and to lend a helping hand
towards making this project successful.
Bambam Mandal Trainee, LFLP, FAO
Photo: The group members working in the field for cultivation of broom-grass, one of the sources of income. V
ision without action is a dream; Action without vision is just
time pass; Vision with action can change the world.
New Horizon
Pg. 10 | 2012 | www.un.org.np
UN Efforts for Socially Excluded and Marginalized Groups in Nepal
In the
Program of
Action of the
World Summit for Social Development
held in Copenhagen in 1995, the
inclusive society was defined as ―a
society for all‖, in which every
individual, each with rights and
responsibilities, has an active role to
play. An inclusive society is one that
rises above differences of race,
gender, class, generation and
geography to ensure equality of
opportunities for all regardless of origin
of people. The studies have shown that
inability to exercise political and
economic power fuels armed rebellion
and undermines peaceful transition
under democracy.
In the Nepalese context, the social
order remained exclusionary because it
classified all groups within the broad
framework of the Hindu hierarchical
system of the four varnas based on the
concepts of ritual purity and pollution
putting the Dalits at the bottom rung.
Junga Bahadur Rana in the 1954 Civil
Code, creating a vicious circle of
poverty and further marginalization,
first codified the exclusion. The
traditional social power structure and
the lack of access to political power
remain key factors for continued
discrimination against women and
traditionally excluded groups.
Since beginning of Peoples‘ movement
in Nepal, UN has been giving priority to
promote gender equality and social
inclusion through integrating it into
programs and policies. Human rights,
gender equality and social inclusion
are one of the four priority areas of
UNDAF in Nepal. Among the various
initiatives, the ―UN Joint Traineeship
Program‖ is one of the great efforts by
UN to uplift this particular group in the
society. This is a very new initiative
launched with a view to promoting
inclusion of the excluded groups in
employment. Twenty-nine trainees
were placed in eight different UN
agencies (UNDP including RCHCO,
UNICEF, UNHCR, UNFPA, FAO,
UNESCO, WHO, UNHCR) vis-à-vis
their background and interest. The
eleven-month Program started on 26
April 2011 to enhance their
professional competencies in order to
improve their employability in the
public, private and non-governmental
sectors. It has tremendously helped us
to tap into available UN expertise and
resources.
During my stint, I learned the UN
working system and substantive work
of the respective unit, as well as
communicating and coordinating with
different stakeholders. As trainees in
OHCHR-Nepal, I have gained
knowledge about national and
international human rights instruments,
protection and monitoring mechanisms,
and Nepal‘s international obligations. A
hundred day campaign slogan with "I
Commit to End Caste Based
Discrimination and Untouchability" to
raise wider awareness on the content
of Untouchbility Act 2011 aiming for the
effective implementation of Law, jointly
organized by the National Dalit
Commission (NDC) and OHCHR-Nepal
provided me a very good opportunity to
participate in and contribute to different
promotional activities. We were five
trainees in OHCHR-Nepal who were
involved in almost all events organized
inside the valley. We helped to collect
online commitment, thumbprint and to
disseminate the Campaign materials
for more than 20 programs. In addition,
I had the opportunity to be involved in
different discussions and consultations,
especially in the area of economic,
social and cultural rights.
We are very thankful to the Foundation
for Development Management (FDM)
for its unrelenting support to us. It has
played a vital role for the effective
learning by organizing different
meetings, workshops, etc.
Finally, yet importantly, as UN
Trainees, we learnt many things for our
career development. As the program
initiator UN Resident and Humanitarian
Coordinator in Nepal Mr. Robert Piper
has said, this program will continue
next year also. Thank you for this great
opportunity. Hope it will bring a lot of
changes especially for the prosperity
and well being of the society.
Bhagawati Ghale Trainee, OHCHR-Nepal
Pg. 11 | 2012 | www.un.org.np
New Horizon
‗‘I have to rush
for another
meeting and
need to
complete this
task by the
end of the
day‖. This is the most common phrase
that we usually hear from UN staffs
committed to their respective work.
Dedication, patience, hard labor,
sincerity and cooperation are what UN
staff posses while carrying out
activities in order to bring positive
outcome and meet organizational goal.
Respecting each other‘s views while
having discussion during meetings,
letting everyone to speak, taking
comments/suggestions positively for
the betterment, well planning and
coordination among the team members
have indeed led UN people to perform
better. Moreover, the culture of
appreciation for the task being
performed even though it is minor one
is much remarkable. Most importantly,
UN staff members adhere to the
principle of equality and respect, which
I have closely observed while working
at UNRCHCO office as everyone is
treated equally no matter what position
do they hold.
Punctuality is another thing that
matters a lot for UN people. Whatever
task they are committed to do, they
strive to complete on time and with
much accuracy.
These people are so much dedicated
and committed towards their work that I
have many times seen them working
from early morning to late evening. In
fact, they have such a hectic busy
schedule that they even don‘t have
time for lunch.
Though it is said that professional
workers don‘t much enjoy their
personal life however I found UN staff
equally capable in maintaining their
personal life too. Besides, they do also
manage to make their presence in
various social occasions such as
birthday celebration, farewell party and
other festive celebrations taking place
inside the office.
This is what we should learn from UN
people!
Sangmo Yongon, Trainee, RCHCO
My learning
as a UN
Trainee at the
United Nation
Office of the
High
Commissioner for Human Rights-Nepal
(OHCHR-N) was incredible and
productive in terms of both capacity
building and exposure to the UN
system. It familiarized me with the
context of Human Rights as well as the
substantative work. I am swollen with
pride to be a part of OHCHR, the
global Human Rights Organization.
Professionalism, sensitiveness,
dedication, sharing culture, flexibility,
coping with the pressure to meet
deadline in a short time period and
working in a multi-cultural environment
are some of the major aspects which I
learnt during the course of my training.
As a trainee, I was provided with
numerous training opportunities.
During the course of my training I
attained various seminars, workshops
and interaction which enhanced my
knowledge on the various aspects of
Human Rights. Among them, training
and interaction on Demonstration and
Public Protest Monitoring, interaction
on serious cases withdraw and ToT on
the Caste Discrimination and
Untouchability (Crime and Offence) Act
-2011 were the major events I was
exposed to. Report launching event of
the Access to Justice for the Dalits in
Nepal was also one of the significant
events in which I participated.
During the course of my training period
I have learned the human rights
situation of our country. The principle
of non-Discrimination and the Right to
Equality are core human rights
principles that are enshrined in the
Charter of the United Nations‘ the
Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. However, the steps to address
the issues of marginalized and
disadvantaged groups are insufficient
and not satisfactory. Till date, the
situation of the human rights in Nepal
is very much pathetic. Although Rule of
Law, impunity and accountability are
highly emphasized in the law, these
are yet to be implemented and
reflected in the practical life so that
people could realize them. The human
rights violators are roaming freely in
the society and some of them are
holding the position of public interest.
In fact, it shows the extreme failure of
the state. Delay on the formation of
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
(TRC) and Commission on Inquiry of
Disappeared (CID) has hampered the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
Lack of the legal framework on the
witness protection is another element
to be addressed. And the expectation
of civilians are ruined. So on this
pretext, the questions of protection and
promotion of the human rights are
considered as a day dream. Although
there are lots to be done, some
advancement had been carried on. The
passage of the new Untouchability Act
and National Human Rights
Commission –Nepal entitled as a
Constitutional Body is one such good
step.
Sapana Pariyar Trainee, OHCHR Nepal
UN staff in my observation
Working as a Trainee
New Horizon
Pg. 12 | 2012 | www.un.org.np
UN support for socially excluded and marginalized group
UN is an
organization
advocating for
change and
connecting
countries to knowledge, experience
and resources to help people build a
better life. It is focused on helping
countries build and share solutions to
the challenges in the field of
Democratic Governance, Poverty
Reduction ,Crisis Prevention and
Recovery, Environment & Energy,
HIV/AIDS. It is helping the developing
countries to attract and use aid
effectively. In all its activities, it
encourage the protection of human
rights and the empowerment of
women.
UNDP in Nepal concentrates its efforts
for greater impact in the most remote,
poor, and/or conflict-affected areas of
the mid- and far-western development
regions and the Terai, where its rights-
based interventions are targeted
towards the disadvantaged and
vulnerable groups.
it‘s rule of law activities seek to
address the exclusion of the poor and
marginalized, ensuring legal protection
of and justice for all. This involves a
bottom-up approach of legal
empowerment to enable the poor and
disadvantaged groups to understand
and claim their entitlements and rights,
and access justice, security and
services for this purpose. Support for
gender equality, and the inclusion of
marginalized groups and groups
subject to discrimination are key
aspects of this work.
Based on this spirit, the UN Country
Team in Nepal lunched UN joint
traineeship programme for socially
excluded group and selected 30
trainees. The purpose of this program
is to provide training to recent
graduates from historically, socially and
politically excluded group, by providing
them with work assignment so that
they can build up their capacity, to gain
greater confidence for future job
interviews, experience, and of course
improve their English skills. I‘m also
one such UN trainee and am feeling
extreme change within me before and
after joining this program, I have learnt
many things during these days and
have gained the experience which is
fruitful to me and for my career. I‘m
very much thankful to the UN.
Manju Sah Trainee, UNESCO
UN Trainees experience working for human rights with OHCHR Sapana Pariyar, who has an extreme interest to work in the
field of human rights, says UN traineeship program
introduced her not only to human rights protection and
promotion work, but also familiarized her with the multi-
cultural working environment and the UN system. She is one
of the trainees among five others who joined OHCHR-Nepal
under the United Nations Country Team (UNCT)‘s UN
traineeship program. In OHCHR, the trainees were placed
under three of its different thematic units and sections,
namely, Accountability, Impunity and Rule of Law (AIR), Anti
-discrimination and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(ADESCR), Analysis, Reporting and Coordination (AIR) and
administration section.
―Placing them under different section is an effort to
familiarize them with the work of each thematic unit and
provide them an opportunity to learn about different areas
related to human rights protection and promotion.‖ says
Narendra Pande who is an agency focal point from OHCHR-
Nepal for UN traineeship program. Besides an enriching
experience of learning by doing, the trainees joining OHCHR
-Nepal received different other opportunities to increase their
competencies including through computer classes, career
counseling and trainings on different thematic areas of
human rights adds Mr. Pande. The trainees acquired
different skills including human rights monitoring and
reporting, training organization and management and
administration skills while working with OHCHR-Nepal.
Bhagwati Ghale, who originally hails from Syangja recollects
similar experience to Sapana of working with OHCHR-
Nepal. She describes her work as a great learning
opportunity which did not only help in creating a conceptual
clarity on human rights but also exposed her to the field of
human rights training and capacity building.
―I have observed our trainees gradually increasing their
performance and confidence level. They very new to the
field of human rights when they joined our office and it is
quite amazing to see the way they have progressed. I am
sure this opportunity will reward them in the future‖ says
Satish Mainali, a mentor of one of the trainee with OHCHR-
Nepal. He says that it can be made much more effective by
reaching out to the socially and geographically excluded
people, creating their access and providing them an
opportunity to work and learn by being part of the UN.
Nirupama Sharma, Mentor, Human Rights Officer, OHCHR
Pg. 13 | 2012 | www.un.org.np
New Horizon
Joint UN Traineeship Program; a Gate Way of Career Options
We feel proud of saying Nepal is a
common place of diverse groups of
people—be it either in ethnicity,
religion, languages or geographical
structures. We are rich in cultural and
historical heritages and these have
become the identities to glorify our
nation over the world. Simultaneously,
some bad cultures and their impacts
have drawn far back our nation from
the pace of world development. Some
of the communities; women, dalits,
adibashis/ janajatis and some
minorities were historically and
traditionally pushed back from the
mainstream of nation. The Government
of Nepal has been implementing new
policies addressing those groups of
people. However, they are not properly
utilizing those policies and
opportunities due to the problems of
poverty, illiteracy, haphazard
settlement, and low access in
communication/media. During the
course of transformation from old
Nepal to new Nepal, UN announced its
first Joint Traineeship Program for the
socially marginalized communities of
Nepal.
On the day of induction ceremony of
the traineeship program most of the
participants had laughed while Mr. Kul
Nepali, one of UN Joint Traineeship
Program trainees had said, "Before this
time, I was a teacher. I know how
water is formed and I teach students
that two times hydrogen and one time
oxygen constitute to form water but I
don't know the UN System though I am
entering in to it." Nevertheless, this was
the representative expression for all
the trainees then, at least for me.
I had known the name of United
Nations, names of development
agencies/ sector but not their working
systems. I had known the importance
of trainings but not about the
importance of internship or the
traineeship programs. For me, it was
difficult to say even a quick ‗yes!' to Mr.
Bhupadas Rajbhandari of Foundation
for Development Management (FDM)
when he had asked me to take a final
decision entering in to this traineeship
program. However, I was finally been
placed in UN Field Coordination Office
in Dadeldhura. And this traineeship
opportunity became a gate way for my
career growth and even more I prefer
to say it 'career options'.
During the period of nine months in the
Joint UN Traineeship program, I was
able to widen my sphere of the
knowledge in various sectors;
development sectors i. e. I/NGOs and
government sectors. I became aware
of socio-cultural aspects of the people
of Far Western Rigion as well.
Similarly, I also improved my personal
as well as professional competencies
and skills. I conducted some
interviews, prepared case studies, and
reports while in the training. As a
result, I could be able to enhance my
documentation, coordination and
communication skills. In the same way,
I am now able to face interviews and
exams of various vacancies
confidently. Consequently, I am now
District Officer for Community and
Youth Empowerment Program of
Restless Development Nepal co-
partnership with Rural Environment
Development Centre (REDC), a local
NGO in Dadeldhura.
Finally, I am indebted to United Nations
Nepal family, UN RCHCO, UN FCO
DDL, all the trainee colleagues and
FDM for their direct and indirect
support of shaping my career. My
mentor 'Guru', Prem Singh Nayak
deserves my great respect since he
had carefully identified my weaknesses
as well as strengths and encouraged
and supported me for improvements.
Likewise, I would like to thank Marlies
Bull, Suresh Pandit and Rajaram
Chaudhary, staff of UN FCO DDL, for
their productive contributions to me
during my training. Similarly, I would
like to thank Rachana Rasaily of UN
RCHCO, Giri Panthi of UNFPA DDL
and Bishowraj Bhatt of UNICEF DDL
for their encouragement and support.
I wish for the continuation of these
types of traineeship programs by UN in
the days to come.
Dal Bahadur Sunar Trainee, RCHCO, Dadeldhura
New Horizon
Pg. 14 | 2012 | www.un.org.np
Internship as a Learning Process: My Expectations and Benefits
As an intern
with United
Nations
Population
Fund
(UNFPA), I was working in the Gender
unit under the supervision of Ms.
Sudha Pant who is the senior program
officer in Gender unit. I began my
internship program on 28th May, 2011
with UNFPA which was to last for the
next eleven months. While the works I
had to carry out during this period was
particularly ‗glamorous and thrilling‘, I
felt that this internship period exposed
me to experiences which have
significantly altered my perception on
Gender related issues of Nepalese
situation in a relation with a more
global holistic approach.
I had originally intended to join UNFPA
as a way to participate directly in
different programs to see how the
program or policy are formulated and
implemented at the ground level as
well as at nation level and how different
partner organizations work in
collaboration with UN agencies.
Unfortunately though, a lot of my work
within the office had to do with a
particular project i.e. Elimination of
Violence Against Women (EVAW)
issues which I can proudly now say
that I learned a lot form it. This allowed
me to listen to people with ideas and
opinions that I had never before
considered, and helped me to develop
new ways of thinking about the same
problems I had previously been
thinking about.
Being in UNFPA, I realized that I didn‘t
knew much about a process or a topic
and then there was no reason to
forsake. I didn‘t know much about
Gender issues and I‘m still not a
professional, but now I‘m able to
understand the general coherences
and bring them contently together. It
was particularly interesting for me to
see how a development process is
realized, what kind of project
management is necessary and the
procedure of dealing with different
stakeholders.
In retrospective, I can say that I
benefited from the internship program
that I thought in a number of ways as it
gave me chance not only to work with
UNFPA but also a chance to learn from
the best Gender experts who in turn
provided me chance to working with
people from different parts of the world
and at the same time it enriched my
Curriculum Vitae (CV). To conclude, I
can state that my internship at the
UNFPA was a rewarding experience
and provided me with some new
perspective that I did not come across
during my studies. I also have to stress
that my colleagues at the UNFPA
contributed greatly to making my stay
here a very memorable one.
Anchala Chaudhary Trainee, UNFPA
Oops! Where have I landed?
When I applied for traineeship with UN
Agencies, I had wanted to be involved
in Human Resources Management
(HRM). I ‗knew‘ that HRM was about
managing human resources in rural
areas, and that it had something to do
with rural development. That was why
when the interview panel asked me
about my field of interest, my quick
reply was ‗HRM‘.
Luckily, I got selected. I was excited as
I was about to do something I was
interested in. But to my surprise, I was
assigned to the HR unit of UNICEF and
found myself doing something
completely different. HRM was different
from what I had thought it to be. It was
not about rural development. I was
totally wrong! I thought ―Oops! Where
have I landed?‖
Because of my pre-conceived wrong
notion of HRM, I was now doing
something different from my
expectation and interest. So for the first
month of the traineeship, I was not very
happy with what I was doing. However,
things changed.
Thankfully, I got Jens Broll, the HR
Specialist of UNICEF, as my mentor.
He was very thoughtful about my
growth and development, and it was
very nice to be working under him. The
entire HR team also supported me.
They helped me with all my queries
and issues related to the work, and
even my studies. They gave me their
precious time despite being very busy
with their own work. They treated me
like one of them and included me in all
relevant meetings and events.
So, as time passed, I started to enjoy
learning about HR and being part of a
wonderful team. Now, I am happy that I
got this opportunity of learning every
single day, and of enhancing my
knowledge and skills. Today I feel
more confident than before.
I am grateful to all the UNICEF staff
members for being warm and friendly
and to the HR team for mentoring and
supporting me throughout my time as
trainee.
Chungik L. Sherpa, Trainee, HR Unit, UNICEF
Pg. 15 | 2012 | www.un.org.np
New Horizon
335 days with UN
‗Wow! I am
selected for
UN Joint Traineeship Program!‘ This
was my expression when I received a
call from Foundation for Development
Management (FDM) and found out for
the first time that I had been selected. I
was assigned to UNICEF field office in
Nepalgunj. Initially, I was sad for being
sent away from Kathmandu, the city of
opportunities. But the sadness soon
turned into happiness when, upon
arriving in the field office, I saw so
many opportunities for learning and
working.
The field office that I worked in does
not have an IT staff. So, the entire
responsibility of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT)
support was on my shoulders. It was a
challenging job for me to perform all
the work without any technical support
most of the time. This made me excited
and happy. I had got the opportunity to
implement the skills I had gained from
my studies and to enhance them. I was
working for the first time in a ‗real‘
working environment – it was for me
like sharpening the saw – in the field of
ICT. The office gave me opportunity to
learn and work even in the weekends
and from morning to late evening,
sometimes even up to 8:00 PM.
Most of the time during my assignment,
I worked inside the office in the
Operations department. There, I also
learned a lot about administrative work.
The office staffs were very professional
and supportive, and they contributed a
lot in enhancing my learning and skills.
I got to participate in different
programs, workshops, trainings,
functions and meetings. These
participations have boosted my
confidence, and now I feel that I can
work in any kind of environment and
organization.
It did strike me that an office with so
many staffs does not have any IT staff.
The staffs in the field office use IT in
their everyday work. So, I think that
there is a strong need of an IT staff in
the office in order to support staffs in
their day-to-day use of IT services.
Jalauddin Mansur Trainee, Operations Department
UNICEF, Nepalgunj
Importance of Interview Clinic
‗Interview
Clinic‘ was a
program that
was organized for the trainees in
different UN agencies. It was jointly
organized by the Foundation for
Development Management (FDM) and
UN focal points. As a UN trainee, I also
participated in the programme, and
found it to be very helpful in preparing
me for facing interviews.
I learned that punctuality, which is very
important in daily life, is important for
interviews as well. Nobody wants to
select a candidate that reaches late to
the interview. I also learned about
important tactics, such as asking
questions to the interview panel, which
can be followed during the interview for
positive impact.
The Interview Clinic also taught me
about the activities that I should do
before the interview. I learned that it is
never too early to start preparation. We
ought to use mediums such as
websites and reports to keep ourselves
updated about the organization and job
we are applying to. We must regularly
practice to enhance our communication
and presentation skills, and to avoid
getting nervous, anxious and stressed
during the interview.
Another important aspect that I learned
about was preparing Curriculum Vitae
(CV). I learned about the ideal length of
a CV, about what should and what
should not be included in a CV, and
about what kind of words are most
suitable for different sections in the CV.
I learned that a short and concise
synopsis of the person, limited to 2 or 3
sentences, is always advantageous.
Also, a CV should match our talents
with the job description. So, any
previous work experience, publication,
and achievement that are not relevant
to the job being applied for should be
omitted.
These types of preparatory sessions,
or Interview Clinics, are very helpful to
young people who are in the early
stage of career development. I am glad
to have got the opportunity to
participate in one of these clinics and I
hope that others get the opportunity
too.
Jhabindra Gaire Trainee, HIV/AIDS (UNICEF)
New Horizon
Pg. 16 | 2012 | www.un.org.np
Enter like a mouse, nurture like an elephant
At the very
beginning of
the
Traineeship
program,
during our
induction, we got to know the most
eminent personalities of the United
Nations in Nepal. Their welcoming and
motivating nature really influenced us
very much. Everything they said
encouraged us to grow and enhance
our potential and groom ourselves.
One UN personality said ―Enter like a
mouse and nurture yourself like an
elephant‖. When we enter into an
organization, we should start from zero
and during our stay, we should grow
ourselves a lot by grabbing as much
knowledge and experience as we can.
We received some valuable tips and
indispensable thoughts for reaching
our career goals and objectives. These
were:
Being successful is not just about
making money and getting
appraisals; it is about setting a
career goal, planning to reach the
goal and working on the plan.
Knowledge is power. So, we must
continuously increase our
knowledge by interacting with our
co-workers and other people,
joining appropriate courses, doing
researches and studying journals
and newspapers.
We must fulfill all our assigned
responsibilities and present
ourselves as dedicated people
earnest to meet our obligations.
Optimism and passion are two key
ingredients for success. Optimism
is at the heart of a successful
human being. We must maintain a
positive outlook on life and never
give in to the destruction of defeat.
We must be able to constantly see
the cup as half full, to never be
blind to that silver lining.
The traineeship was all about these
traits which we need to build, develop
and improvise. It was about driving and
pushing ourselves forward and keeping
our momentum focused to acquire the
end result. It helped us to develop a
road map that could make an impact
on our prosperous future. It did help us
to open the doors of opportunity, but it
is our own responsibility to take the
wheel and embrace the essential
attitude that will help to open the gate
Babita Yadav Trainee, UNFPA
Blurred Access of Badi Community
Access is an
opportunity or
a right of
people to use
available
resources or
to exercise authority over something. It
has been found that in the Hindu
Nepalese society, the higher caste
people have had more access to
resources. Putting the spirit of equal
access in mist, these people with
higher access have held control over
better positions in the decision-making
process and thereby accumulated
property, and then used the same
property to expand their access to
different sectors. Thus, those who had
access continued to increase it and
those who lacked access continue to
be denied of it. Badi is one of those in
the latter category.
Badi is a caste that is at the bottom of
the caste hierarchy. According to
Muluki Ain (civil code) 1854, it is at the
bottom of even the Dalits, the lowest of
all castes.
To enhance access of the Badi
Community and to empower them, the
social protection concept of giving
grant or assistance such as housing or
child grant was introduced. However, in
practice, the Badi community has
minimum access to such assistance,
the reason being weak implementation
mechanisms and insufficient pro-
activeness. As a UNICEF trainee I did
an assessment of the Child Protection
Grant launched by the Government of
Nepal in 2009/10, and found that
although this program was targeted to
poor Dalits that includes the Badi
community, access of Badi children to
the grant is only 45 percent. Lack of
proper communication between the
community and local government
agencies, difficult claiming procedures
and administrative hassles and
complex policies to identify eligible
children are among the reasons for
this.
It is not just enough to launch
programs – we need strong
mechanisms and pro-active methods
that take the grant or social protection
to where they are needed, instead of
waiting for the people to come to the
grant provider. The involvement of non-
governmental sectors, especially for
monitoring, is also important. The
reasons for lack of access must be
properly identified and addressed. Only
then will access of the Badi community
be ensured.
Gopal Nepali (Badi) Trainee, UNICEF/SPD
Pg. 17 | 2012 | www.un.org.np
New Horizon
First Impression
When I
entered into
the office of
UNHCR,
where I was
assigned for
my traineeship, I witnessed something
very pleasant – there were many
women staff, and they were actively
dealing with different cases in different
units.
UNHCR is a humanitarian organization
that looks after problems of refugees.
Its main priority is to safeguard the
rights and well being of refugees. The
issues it deals with are very sensitive,
and it is necessary that the people
dealing with these issues are careful
and responsible. The women staffs in
the office were exactly this – careful
and responsible. They understood the
sensitivity of the issues that they were
dealing with and executed their job
impressively.
As I talk about the women in UNHCR, I
remember my childhood. I grew up in a
traditional society that was completely
against educating girls. They said that
it was meaningless and a waste of
money to educate daughters. But my
father believed that education is the
greatest asset of all, and that
daughters also deserve to be
educated. He enrolled me in a primary
school. The traditional society always
criticized him for sending me to school.
But he did not give in.
My father encouraged me for my
formal education, which has led
towards the betterment of my life.
Unfortunately, I lost my father when I
was fourteen. But I still feel proud of
him. To see so many women working
in UNHCR is reinforcement of the
belief my father had – that daughters
are worthy of an education too.
UNHCR is a very good example of
women participation and gender
equality in the office, and the first
impression I got of it made me feel
proud.
I had a bitter childhood experience of
having to stand up against the society
for education. What my father and I
had faced was the result of gender
inequality. Here I am going to put
forward a song written for gender
equality in Nepalese context.
Nilmaya Pun Trainee, UNHCR
I am not your slave Neither I am your slave nor am I your
cook
A woman of the age I am, all confidence
in the look.
We have also eyes to see all around
Legs can walk round and round
Cut and see the blood all red
Touch and feel my heat in your head.
Neither I am your doll nor am I your
cook
A woman of the age I am, all confidence
in the look.
Sons and daughters are from the same
womb
Then, why is this discrimination?
If sons inherit parental name,
why are we for intimidation?
We know you have honey in word
But up the sleeve have a sword.
Neither I am your subordinate nor am I
your cook
A woman of the Era I am, all confidence
in the look.
On 26th Dec 2011, we (UN Trainee)
organized a picnic programme. Many
of us participated while those placed
outside the valley could not make it. At first we didn‘t realize
the importance of the picnic but when we gathered at the
venue at Tribhuwan Park, it turned into a kind of informal
experience sharing programme.
Before we did not know much detail about each other as we
were placed in different agencies and we hardly
communicated. Thus, the picnic became a platform to
know each other. We had our introductory session
during breakfast.
As we managed our pre pack breakfast/lunch set, we
got more time to discuss on various matters regarding
traineeship program. Meanwhile, we also had
experience sharing session which became milestone to
know about the learning activities. We too had fun time
as all of us enjoyed dancing and singing.
Another important thing that came up from the meeting
is the concept of the newsletter. I would like to
recommend for the next group of trainee to organize
this type of picnic which will be helpful to share the
learnt activities.
I would like to thank Kul ji,Sanjaya ji,Sita ji for taking
lead to organize the picnic program . I would also like
to thank colleagues who took participation and made it
successful.
UN Trainee Picnic
Sarita B.K. Trainee, Office of the United Nations
Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator
New Horizon
Pg. 18 | 2012 | www.un.org.np
Traineeship with UNIRP
When I was
assigned to
UNIRP as a
trainee, I got
opportunity to
participate in a 7 days workshop
training at Nagarkot right at the start of
my traineeship in UNDP. I learned
various aspects related to workshop
arrangements, coordination and issues
and programs on rehabilitation of ex-
combatants in Nepal from that training
workshop .The workshop was
conducted on 22-27 May 2011.
In the training, different experts
presented different themes such as:
1. An overview of the IDDRS
facilitated by Hans Thorgren ,
DDR in Nepal facilitated by
Desmond Molly
2. Disarmament & Demobilization :
international Experiences
facilitated by Hans Thorgren
3. The Maoist Insurgency: Historical
Background presented by Prem
Singh Basnyat
4. About the DDR/SSR Nexus
facilitated by Bengt Ljunggren
5. Rehabilitation/Integration: Nepal
case- study presented by Prem
Singh Basnyat/ Trilochan Malla
6. Socioeconomic profiling and the
Labor market in the Context of
Rehab in Nepal presented by Ina
Pietschmann/ Richard Bowd
7. Post- Training Reintegration
support presented by Richard
Bowd
8. DDR and Transitional Justice
facilitated by Isabela Leao/
Glaucia Boyer, on GIZ
Experience : Vocational Training in
the Cantonments facilitated by
Heidi Gutsche
9. Do No Harm facilitated by Latif
Bashardost / Kevin Chang/ Michael
Brown , VMLRs Case- study
facilitated by Prem Singh Basnyat,
Gender responsive DDR facilitated
by Glaucia Boyer, Gender
Perspective : Nepal case- study
facilated by Latif Bashardost/ Bal
Krishna Sharma, health Packages :
Nepal case study presented by
Aruna Pant , Rehabilitation options:
Sierra Leone and Int. Experiences
presented by Bengt Ljunggren,
Presented on DDR and Natural
(NRM) by Glaucia Boyer, The
political Environment for the
Integration and rehab. In Nepal,
Youth and DDR, Options for
Rehabilitation Design in Nepal
facilitated by Dr. Abdul H. Omar/
Rajendra Shrestha , UNIRP's
Rehabilitation information system
(RIS), DDR: Human Security vs.
Vested Interest presented by
Desmond Molly . Documentary on
Silencing the Guns presented by
Khem thapa in the mentioning
Subject.
I benefited tremendously from the
above mentioned subjects. It gave me
a broader mind to understand the
integration of post conflict period like
Nepal and Sudan. In the Rehabilitation
process the experience shared by
national and international resource
persons was very much technical
which emphasized that every country
have to create its own need
identification, conflict must be
addressed according their geography,
cultural and address the conflict
reason. I was familiar with UN staffs,
international specialized trainer, and
national specialized trainers. This gave
me more confidence to understand the
Nepalese situation and international
situation on post conflict situation,
rehabilitation and reintegration
process.
In my observation, the training
workshop was very effective and
knowledgeable to my carrier
development, especially in the peace
building process, which was newly
introduced in Nepal during the 10
years of Maoist insurgency.
Sita Bishwakarma Trainee, UNIRP
Ram Babu Shah National Information Officer
UN Information Centre (UNIC)
Sangita Khadka
Development Communication Officer
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Kul Nepali UN Trainee
Sanjay Pariyar UN Trainee
Editorial Board
Rajendra Man Banepali Information Management Assistant
UN Information Centre (UNIC)
Tapa Dipti Sitaula Communications Analyst
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)