Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Prepared by;
Submitted to:
Kathmandu
LETTER OF ACCOMPLISHMENT
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Acknowledgment
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to KUSOM for providing us with this opportunity
to work on this Social Experience Project.
We would also like to acknowledge with much appreciation to the principal of Kanya mandir
higher School, who permitted us to use all required equipment and the necessary materials to
complete the task for our Social Experience Project. We would always be grateful to the teachers
and staff of Kanya Mandir for helping us and guiding us throughout the project. The support and
trust we received from everyone at the school shall always be appreciated by us. The SEP project
would be forever remembered and cherished by us throughout our lifetime. Furthermore, many
thanks go to the enthusiastic and energetic students of Kanya mandir higher secondary school for
being so cooperative and making our experience wonderful.
Last but not least, many thanks to the Godavari Alumni Association for their support which helped
us raise funds for the project.
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Abbreviation
Executive Summary
In order to conduct our social experience project, we took help of Godawari Alumni Association
to assist us in providing us guidance and donations. The organization we selected to serve through
our project was Kanya Mandir secondary school located in Chhatrapati, Kathmandu. Kanya
Mandir School is one of the oldest and the 1st all-girl community schools, established about 75
years ago. As a government and all-girls school, we observed that the school lacked one important
facility; proper menstrual hygiene knowledge, disposal facility, and menstrual comfort for the girls
in the school.
Therefore, we decided to install a vending machine for sanitary pads and conduct an awareness
program regarding menstruation and menstrual hygiene for the students from and above grade 6
to grade 10. The vending machine was provided to us by Pad2go. We planned a 3-day event for
each class. The first day was the introduction day where we tried to break the ice between us and
the students so that they would feel comfortable talking to us about the topic. We taught them the
basis etiquette about washing the hands, correct way of disposing the sanitary napkins and made
them aware about the factors that are to be maintained during the menstrual cycle like on how
frequently they should take a shower , how long should they be wearing a pad and many more .
On the second day, we conducted a poster making activity where we asked the students to portray
them though on the topic “ Mensuration ” and also share their opinion on the facility that the school
provided them in regards to the hygiene factors in the school on a chart and we also let students
talk about their creation in front of the whole class. On the third day, we oriented the students
about the proper usage and the purpose of the vending machine and donated sanitary pads to the
students as well. After the completion of the 3-day workshop in every grade from 6 to 10 the
machine was handed over to the school and was installed. The fund for all these activities was
collected through the help of GAA as well as from the contribution from the group members family
and friends.
Besides the main activity, we also assisted the school in conducting its different events carried out
on the occasion of the school’s diamond jubilee. The program lasted more than a week. Varieties
of events such as sports competition, science exhibition, prize distribution, blood donation etc.
were conducted. We assisted the school as volunteers in the smooth running of all these programs.
Similarly, we also assisted the students in performing their given tasks easily; dance competition
and science exhibition.
As students, we got to learn a lot of things from this project. This was our first service to someone
in need in the society. This project made us realize the power we hold even as students to bring
changes in the society, to help someone make their life easy and to bring smiles on the faces of
young students. This project also gave us the confidence to believe that if we intend to help
someone we can. We are also very glad to be able to apply our academic business knowledge
gained from the college in carrying out this project.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgment ........................................................................................................................ 2
Abbreviation .............................................................................................................................. 3
Executive Summary .................................................................................................................... 4
Table of Contents........................................................................................................................ 5
CHAPTER 1............................................................................................................................... 6
1.1 Introduction to the organization(school) ............................................................................ 6
1.2 Why we chose this organization .......................................................................................... 7
1.3 Objective of our SEP .......................................................................................................... 7
CHAPTER 2............................................................................................................................... 8
Activities performed during SEP ................................................................................................. 8
2.1 Introduction of activities .................................................................................................... 8
2.2 The procedure of activities of task performed ..................................................................... 8
2.3 Contribution made to the organization ..............................................................................13
CHAPTER 3..............................................................................................................................14
LEARNING, CHALLENGES, AND OUTCOME .......................................................................14
3.1 Learning ...........................................................................................................................14
3.2 Challenges faced ...............................................................................................................16
3.3 OUTCOMES: ...................................................................................................................17
APPENDIX ...............................................................................................................................18
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CHAPTER 1
Keeping that in mind, for our Social Experience Project (SEP), among the several government
schools that are there in Nepal, we decided to put forward our helping hand to Nepal's first-ever
all girls' school i.e. Kanya Mandir Higher Secondary School that is located the heart of one of the
busy streets of Kathmandu city, Nyokha Chhatrapati. Kanya Mandir Secondary School was
founded on March 27, 1947 AD, and has completed its 75th year of service in providing education
to girls this year, with the tragic destruction of its lone historical structure due to the great
earthquake of 2072 BS. The school was recently rebuilt with the help of financial grants and aid
from USAID as a three-story, earthquake-resilient building with more than 3,000-square meters
of learning space with 24 classrooms, three laboratories, and a library. The school contains a small
ground where most of the programs are conducted, especially the morning assembly and their
sports event. With the development of the new building the school has adopted Smart-classes with
advanced methods and technology in teaching and learning . It is anticipated that after the new
school building is completed, the school will become a wholly new and model school with unique
policies and programs aimed at improving educational quality . The school has launched a five-
year educational reform and development plan that is currently being implemented, with the
completion of which it is predicted that the school would achieve its highest academic standard.
Vision Statement-“To provide quality education and develop KMSS as an excellent academic
hub in Nepal for the girls”
Mission
Kanya Mandir Higher Secondary School primarily provides low-cost education to females from
financially disadvantaged families. We chose this school to perform our SEP because we wanted
to broaden our horizons and contribute to the center that supports the female right to education in
a country where female literacy is just 59.72 percent in whatever manner we could. The main
reason we chose Kanya Mandir Higher Secondary School is to obtain new experiences and be
exposed to circumstances we were previously oblivious of. In Nepal, education about menstrual
hygiene has been a difficult field to grow in. Thousands of girl children in Nepal do not have access
to menstrual hygiene instruction. The regulations requiring government schools to operate
efficiently in the areas of health and cleanliness are not being fully applied. Basically, girl studying
in this school are forced to rush home if their menstrual cycle began during the school time due to
the unavailability of quality sanitary napkins and sanitization in the girl’s toilet. Every year, 20
girls die as a result of insufficient sanitation. Since our minds are naturally inquisitive, we wanted
to discover new things for which we chose this organization. Simply put, the main motivation for
choosing this organization was to do something original and novel for the Kanya Mandir pupils.
CHAPTER 2
the covid safety guidelines that the school made us follow. The activity was divided into 3 days
as:
Day 1: Introduction
We first introduced ourselves, i.e., where we came from and why we came. The motive of the first
day was just to break the ice between students and us so that they wouldn't feel uncomfortable with
us. We conducted the introductory session on different days for each class from 6 to 10. While we
were conducting introductory sessions, we discovered that students were aware of what
menstruation meant but they were unaware about the hygiene factor that is to be maintained in
regards to it, such as how to properly dispose of pads, how to wash hands after discarding pads,
and how to keep genital areas clean during menstruation, etc. so we taught them on how to properly
dispose the sanitary napkins after usage, how to properly wash the hands and the duration to which
a pad should be worn. We also talked about the stereotype that prevails in our country and
encouraged the girls to talk about the stereotype that they faced at their home . Overall, we
discussed mensuration, student experiences, and challenges they have encountered during
menstruation on day 1.
After completion of a 3-day menstrual hygiene program for each class from class 6 to 10, we
handed the vending machine over to the school. We also provided soap dispensers and dustbins to
the school after students expressed their dissatisfaction with the lack of soap and suitable dustbins
in the washroom during the day 2 program.
On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the school, the core committee had organized a week-
long event that covered various activities and competitions. We helped the core committee plan
out various events that were supposed to take place .We participated as volunteers to assist the
school and students in completion of the program. Following are the list of activities we
volunteered in;
1. Blood Donation
As part of the event, we helped the school organize a blood donation program that was
conducted in collaboration with the Chhatrapati Hospital. We assisted them in maintaining
a proper line, noting down donor’s information, arranging chairs for them, comforting them
as well as providing food for them post donation.
2. Sports Event
The school had organized various intra as well as inter school sports competitions
including sports like Kabaddi, Volleyball, Short Put, running race, musical chair etc. in all
of these sport events we arranged the seats for audiences and players. We also played roles
of referee in intra-school competitions while state level referees were invited in inter-
school competitions. We were given the role of scorekeeper and recorder as the matches
were happening.
3. Cleaning program
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During the conduction of the week-long program, the entire school has gotten quite full of
litter including the ground, classrooms and washrooms. Since the school had invited
various political leaders and the prime minister of our country, the school premises had to
be kept clean. So, in collaboration with the school, a cleaning program for a day was in
which we along with the students helped the cleaning staff to clean the school premises.
Similarly, the drinking water station was also in a very bad condition and we along with
the staff of kanya mandir also sanitized and cleaned the water station.
how to be present in a clear and precise manner. We also helped them set out their project
for the exhibition .
6. Dog feeding
The school had a couple of dogs around the area that it raised. Those dogs mostly guard
the school premises. Since a lot of programs were conducted in the school premise itself,
there were a lot of guests coming in. With the motive of keeping the dogs calm and keeping
them out of the sports track, we did a dog feeding session. All the dogs were taken in
another small ground and were fed biscuits that we all bought ourselves.
teacher . Thus, we provided a bunch for the students to carry their sanitary pad . From our
workshop we came to know that the students did not have access to quality sanitary napkins. Thus,
we installed a sanitary napkin vending machine with a capacity of 25 pads .
Similarly , we were able to suggest to the school many beneficial ideas and techniques for
maintaining hygiene in the school washroom that would result in effective and productive results
for the children during this SEP project. We actually served as a voice for the students that studied
there , as the suggestions that we gave were based on the facts that we received from the students
from our workshop. And we will be eternally grateful to the Kanya Mandir staff for always
accepting our suggestions and putting them into action for the benefit of the students who study
there.
CHAPTER 3
3.1 Learning
We completed our SEP at one of government schools inside Kathmandu i.e., KMHSS . Prior to
our initiative, we believed that the quality of education provided by government schools was
inferior in comparison to that provided by private schools. However, when conducting our SEP
and engaging with personnel and witnessing the amenities offered to students, such as the
availability of drinking water, washrooms, and hygiene, we discovered that the government
school's situation is considerably worse than we had anticipated. Though the school building and
facilities were recently upgraded to enable outstanding education for girls, the school
administrators appear to have overlooked the most fundamental issues, such as hygiene.
We found great delight in assisting the students because it was a new experience for us. We've
discovered that it's sometimes beneficial to get out of our comfort zones and see what's going on
in the world around us. Interacting with Kanya Mandir Secondary School pupils revealed that the
majority of kids attend school after finishing their household chores. We learned to be better
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individuals as a result of the project by assisting others in need. While we only had a short amount
of time with the students, we valued every second we spent in the school during that time.
We held a workshop on menstrual hygiene in which we divided the kids into groups and asked
them to write and draw something on menstrual hygiene using stationary we provided. Kanya
Mandir pupils made the most of their limited resources and time by displaying their teamwork.
The school has students belonging from all religious backgrounds and despite the difference in
their religion the girls at kanya mandir worked together without showing any kind of disparity.
This showed that the students at kanya mandir have unity among each other and gave us a gist
that they are heading towards being a responsible citizen of our country .
We've heard that the chaupadi pratha is widespread in Nepal, particularly in the western and
eastern regions. We learned from the student's experience that some of the essence of this pratha
can also be found in Kathmandu. Some of the kids told us that while they are on their menstrual
cycle, they are not permitted to be near the kitchen or living area in their home. They also told how
they were given separate food and scolded if they touched anything in their house since it was
considered impure. One of the students even shared an instance where she accidentally touched
her house's dining table while on her period, and the food on the table was thrown out since it was
considered impure.
Being a student belonging to a business background, we are preoccupied with how to make more
money and be successful in the future. We are ignoring our duty as citizens of the country while
doing so. Social work is barely addressed. However, after accomplishing this project, we
recognized how fortunate we are to have had the opportunity to pursue private education and also
access to all of the perks that entails. Many females in our country do not have the same
opportunities as us. It would be extremely beneficial to the less fortunate if we could devote some
of our time to assisting them. Even a small contribution can make a huge difference in their lives.
It was a fantastic experience giving back to society and assisting others. The school's structure was
impressive, but the health and sanitation factor were lacking; however, the students studying there
appeared satisfied and happy. When speaking with Kanya Mandir students, some students stated
that they already considered themselves fortunate to have received an education and that they
wanted nothing else. We learned from this project that contributing to society is one of the most
satisfying things; fulfillment and happiness can be found not just in luxuries but also in helping
others in any way possible. We were able to learn, gain experience, and establish a network as a
result of the social experience project.
The experience that we gained during the project by volunteering in Kanya mandir secondary
school was one of the great experiences we have had during our time in KUSOM. It was a two-
way learning process as they also came to us with a lot of information. We learnt a lot from them,
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and they learned a lot from us. They taught us how to be a better person by showing care and
treating one another with respect.
Doing this SEP wasn't a piece of cake for us . We had to face a lot of challenges to make sure our
SEP would turn out to be successful and beneficial for the organization. Since Kanya mandir was
celebrating their 75th years of service during our time frame of SEP, managing the schedule and
gaining the approval for conducting the project took time . Other than this challenge we also faced
a lot of other hurdles which have been explained below.
Covid: As a result of the outbreak of COVID 19, life was challenging for the people in all parts of
the world. We were preparing for our Social Experience project in August 2021 by planning all
the activities, but the second outbreak of COVID 19 prevented us from finishing it. Schools were
closed, and doing any workshops through the online medium was not possible.so basically we had
to redesign the entire process and the workshop sessions. Similarly, in the school, they had certain
health protocols due to which the whole class couldn't be gathered at one time to conduct a
workshop and the workshop had to be conducted separately for each section of each grade which
was time-consuming and wearing a mask while explaining the facts was difficult.
Lack of coordination between school management teams : There was a lack of coordination
between the school teams. Consequently, our team had to explain the objective and project
rationale to the management and other teachers at the school every time we came across them. The
lack of communication among the school teams made our work tough because our workshop
schedule clashed with the normal class schedule of the school as the teachers were not well
informed about the schedule being changed by the management. At times the school management
didn't respond promptly to our messages or calls. They weren't sending materials (class routine,
inter school tournament schedule, and other program schedule ) that we required on time.
Similarly , due to the inadequate data about the number of girls studying there from grade 6 to 10
caused our team to face difficulties to estimate the budget for the workshop and sanitary pads for
the girls as a donation.
Poor attendance of the school children: before the start of the covid situation the school had
about less than 100 students that were studying there . When the new building of the school was
completed the student’s enrollment at kanya mandir had increased drastically .Even though the
number of children attending the school had improved, attendance at the school was still very poor.
Due to this reason many students were not able to attend the workshop fully as some students were
present for the day 1 while being absent for the day 2 of the workshop. Due to this reason some
students were not able to gain a full essence of our workshop .
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School facilities: The school's building and its classroom was in a very good shape but the toilets
that they had especially for the students were in a very bad state . the toilets were in a very
unhygienic condition that caused the vending machine and the soap dispenser installation to be
delayed. The dustbins in the toilet were full of used sanitary pads that were not disposed of. In
addition to this, soaps were not available in the washroom to wash hands and the drinking water
station was contaminated with bird excreta .Such unclean and inadequate facilities can lead to
sanitation/ health problems amongst the students .
3.3 OUTCOMES:
Being able to carry out our social project at Kanya Mandir provided us with an excellent
opportunity to contribute something unique to society in the context of women's menstrual hygiene
in an all-girl school. Our project's goal was not only to meet the grade criteria, but also to do
something significant for the benefit of others. However, our small contribution helped us achieve
a few goals at school and for ourselves:
1. Self-realization: Our service that we conducted there in Kanya mandir school had a great
deal in making us realize that our small efforts can make a huge difference in the lives of others.
The feedback that we received from the students made us realize that they were very grateful
towards us for our initiative. We realized that our service somehow had an impact on the life of
the students there for whom we helped and conducted the workshop for .
2. Benefit to the students: One major outcome of our service during the time frame of our SEP
at Kanya mandir had an immense benefit to the students studying there for sure. Our workshop
helped the girls studying at Kanya mandir understand the importance of hygiene that is to be
maintained during their menstruation. The students at kanya mandir usually rushed home in the
middle of the class if they got their period. But now with the availability of sanitary pads inside
their washrooms they don't need to go home or be hesitant to ask the teacher for a sanitary pad.
They wouldn't need to miss their class due to their periods and they can also carry their sanitary
napkins in the pouch that we gave . Similarly, we were able to be a voice for the students that
studied there because from the activity that we conducted on the day 2 of the workshop the students
expressed some factors that they were dissatisfied with. So, we were able to provide their point of
view as a suggestion towards the school from outside to improve the standard of health and
hygiene. Hence, we hope to have made some impact on the lives of the students.
3. Benefit to the teachers: One of the outcomes that we were able to see was that our small
effort somehow helped the teachers to complete a course on health and hygiene. We aided the
teacher by providing a practical class on how to maintain menstrual hygiene.
4. Benefit to the school: Our main goal was to assist everyone, from the children to the school
as a whole. The pad vending machine that we installed not only helped the students but the female
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teacher in the school as well. The availability of quality sanitary pads and hygiene related
equipment that we installed will act as an agent to show that the school cares about the sanitary
health of the student. As a result, we were able to achieve our goal because the school as a whole
benefited from our efforts.
Hence, these are the few outcomes that we were able to achieve through our work.
APPENDIX
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1LbvHlcnbZ8iwntwenHKIj_VrOEL0vUG9