Arlene Mahinay is the Country Director of Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) Nepal. Recently, Sujan Dhungana of The Corporate talked to Mahinay on some of the ongoing projects of VSO Nepal and its operational hurdles. Excerpts:

Could you shed light on the major working areas of (VSO) Nepal?
VSO Nepal is part of VSO International, a development organisation based in the United Kingdom working in 33 countries including Nepal. Most organizations that are involved in the sector do their work by providing funds to partner organisations and the projects. Instead of funds, we provide international volunteer-experts. We send our volunteers to different working areas. We have been working in Nepal since 1964 AD. Our focus areas are health, education and secured livelihood.

What about your ongoing projects?
We are into a number of projects. Most of our projects are aimed at alleviation of poverty through education, secure livelihoods and health services. We concentrate most of our resources in the Mid- and Far- West as these are the poorest areas and quite remote. But we also have volunteers in other parts of the country. We are involved in for example, training school teachers, and we are working on improving maternal health services at Mugu District Hospital, or helping train farmers on agriculture.

We also have projects to encourage girl’s education. Our volunteers are assigned in different communities and schools. As well as supporting in the improvement of the quality of formal education, we also encourage girl’s education. We are also working on sustainable livelihood projects including looking at the effects of climate change here in Nepal.

How has VSO rated Nepal’s march towards attaining its Millennium Development goals (MDGs)?
Attaining all of the MDGs would be quite difficult for any country. However, in the context of Nepal, the country has made good progress in health and education.

Although a plethora of anti-poverty programmes have been implemented in Nepal, majority of Nepalis are still poor. What is your view on this?
Well, alleviation of poverty is something that takes time. The poverty level in the country is on a decline. In addition to that, poverty is perceived in different ways by different people. I believe that trying to alleviate poverty through means of education, good health services and providing knowledge about secured living would be a best way out.

What about VSO Nepal’s operational challenges in Nepal?
Whenever we work through our volunteers, we sometimes witness challenges related to lack of understanding of the socio-cultural context. As our volunteers are foreigners, they find it difficult in the beginning to understand the Nepali context. To help them develop a better understanding of the context, therefore, we provide them with an in-country orientation as soon as they arrive in Nepal. This helps them to adapt, and as a result, enable them to provide relevant and important support to partner communities.

What are your expectations from the Nepali government for efficient and effective mobilisation of aid?
Well, we have very good relationship with the government of Nepal as we are working hand-in-hand with various ministries and some governmental bodies. The government treats our volunteers and the staffers as its own. Similarly, the good understanding and interaction among government staffers should continue.