Standing up for their rights: Nisha Sapkota’s story of claiming basic amenities

As a community leader from a small settlement in Nepal, Nisha Sapkota’s boldest move was to take a glass of dirty water to the drinking water office in her district, demanding to know if the officials there would drink it.

This was a far cry from how Nisha used to be. Timid and soft-spoken, Nisha was once apprehensive about speaking up in public. As a home-based worker, it all changed when Nisha joined Saathi’s training under the Power Up project facilitated by HNSA and WIEGO and supported by Comic Relief. She and her peers received various kinds of training under this – from developing their skills to undertaking empowerment and personal development sessions.

This nurtured her confidence and eventually empowered Nisha to evolve into a strong, influential leader in her community. She went on to start important initiatives – like forming a savings and credit group for women home-based workers. She also joined the cooperative steering committee as well as a government committee that worked to eliminate violence against children. As a leader today, Nisha conducts training for the women in her community on topics like violence, climate change and on their rights.

Her skills and confidence came in handy when the water source of their settlement was compromised, and they started receiving dirty water from the tap. They complained to the drinking water office – but were initially dismissed. The officials told them that the water was coming from a natural source and that there was nothing they could do about it.

With the issue persisting, Nisha and her group eventually marched into the office with a glass of the dirty water for the officials to drink if they thought it was really potable. Seeing the quality of the water, they refused to drink it themselves – and finally gave in to the demands of Nisha and her community.

The water tank was immediately cleaned, and clean water provided to every house. What’s more – earlier, all the 30 households in the community had to source their water from one common tap. After this incident, individual taps were installed in every house.

Nisha’s story goes to show how without knowledge and empowerment, entire communities suffer. However, with the right support, determined individuals like Nisha can stand up and demand the basic amenities that are their right.