A way to bring the women of Nepal opportunity

Moun­tain Mad­ness, and our gen­er­ous climbers and trekkers, have been rais­ing funds to sup­port the Chang­ing Lives Nepal (CLN) Women’s Safe House since 2021. The Safe House is pro­vid­ing safe shel­ter, coun­sel­ing, access to legal resources, and eco­nom­ic skills train­ing to women vic­tims of vio­lence in a region where no such ser­vices exist­ed before. With edu­ca­tion­al out­reach to edu­cate men and women about women’s rights and to begin to shift soci­etal per­spec­tives on vio­lence against women, the Safe House stands as a mod­el of com­mu­ni­ty development.

The con­tin­ued suc­cess of the project has brought rea­son for hope — such is Mina’s sto­ry below.

The project is near com­ple­tion, but a few more goals need to be reached. We also encour­age you to read the update below from Chang­ing Lives Nepal and con­sid­er donat­ing so oth­er young women like *Mina get the resources they need to become the strong and inde­pen­dent women they have the right to be.

Mina’s Jour­ney from Vic­tim to Self-Reliance: Empow­er­ing Women, Restor­ing Hope

In May 2022, the Safe House opened its doors to women in rur­al Nepal who need­ed a life­line — a refuge from vio­lence, soci­etal stig­ma, and iso­la­tion. Among the many women who have found sup­port with­in its walls is Mina*, whose sto­ry is both heart­break­ing and inspiring.

A Life Shat­tered by Violence

At just 15 years old, Mina became a vic­tim of rape. For six months, she car­ried the trau­ma — and the result­ing preg­nan­cy — alone, hid­ing the truth from her fam­i­ly. But as her preg­nan­cy became vis­i­ble, so too did the weight of soci­etal judg­ment. Shamed by her fam­i­ly and ostra­cized by her neigh­bors, Mina had no choice but to leave her village.

It was then that she found her way to the Safe House.

Find­ing Safe­ty and Support

At the Safe House, Mina received the care and coun­sel­ing she des­per­ate­ly need­ed. Dur­ing her year-long stay, she gave birth to her baby in a sup­port­ive envi­ron­ment. The Safe House not only pro­vid­ed shel­ter but also pur­sued jus­tice by fil­ing a case against her per­pe­tra­tor, though he ulti­mate­ly fled to India.

This year, the Safe House took a sig­nif­i­cant step toward empow­er­ment by intro­duc­ing voca­tion­al train­ing. With the sup­port of the local gov­ern­ment, four sewing machines and a train­er were pro­vid­ed to help the women devel­op income-gen­er­at­ing skills. Mina, along with anoth­er res­i­dent, embraced this oppor­tu­ni­ty and learned to sew with skill and confidence.

A New Beginning

When it was time for Mina to leave the Safe House, she was giv­en her own sewing machine — a tool that would change her life. With her new­found skills, she began work­ing as a seam­stress, earn­ing over $100 a month — an aver­age income in Nepal.

Per­haps most remark­ably, the Safe House­’s efforts extend­ed beyond Mina, offer­ing coun­sel­ing to her fam­i­ly. These ses­sions helped repair their frac­tured rela­tion­ship. Her father, once dis­tant, decid­ed to sup­port her by help­ing her estab­lish her business.

Today, Mina is not just sur­viv­ing but thriving.

The Safe House is mak­ing a pro­found dif­fer­ence in women’s lives — such as Mina’s sto­ry below. The project is near com­ple­tion, and you can help the new Safe House to open on sched­ule in March 2025

To make your tax-deductible donation Click Here

Why the Safe House Matters

Mina’s sto­ry under­scores the vital role the Safe House plays in rur­al Nepal. For many women who face vio­lence, soci­etal stig­ma com­pounds their suf­fer­ing, leav­ing them iso­lat­ed and with­out resources. The Safe House pro­vides a haven where they can heal, rebuild, and learn to stand on their own.

But there is still so much work to be done and we wel­come you to help us fin­ish the work.

Team­work is at the core of the suc­cess of the Safe House project. CLN’s part­ner­ship with Moun­tain Mad­ness and the gen­er­ous dona­tions from our guests, All the Sky Foun­da­tion , and Anoth­er Brick in Nepal have all paved the way for the Safe House to go from vision to real­i­ty, with the com­ple­tion of a 16-room per­ma­nent home in 3 years. Start­ed in a rent­ed house, women of this region began to have a safe place in their com­mu­ni­ty and bet­ter access to legal resources. The con­struc­tion of a per­ma­nent Safe House, and the signed agree­ments with local gov­ern­ment for future man­age­ment, mean that this project will con­tin­ue to grow and sup­port women across the dis­trict for decades to come.

Look­ing Ahead: A Vision for 2025

Future goals for the Safe House include:

• Ful­ly fur­nish­ing the build­ing to cre­ate a com­fort­able and dig­ni­fied liv­ing space.
• Com­plet­ing the com­pound fenc­ing to enhance secu­ri­ty for the women and their children.
• Expand­ing skills-train­ing pro­grams to empow­er more women with tools for independence.
• Ded­i­ca­tion in March 2025 and the local com­mu­ni­ty tak­ing over both fund­ing and operations

With your sup­port, we can con­tin­ue trans­form­ing sto­ries like Mina’s from tales of tragedy to tri­umph. Togeth­er, we can build a future where every woman has the oppor­tu­ni­ty to reclaim her life and her dignity.

*Name changed to pro­tect privacy.