Projects: Prevent trafficking with education and Help tiny babies survive
Locations: Nepal and Uganda
Adara gives young Nepali girls at risk of trafficking a better start in life. In all their target schools they provide quality education, raise awareness of child trafficking and implement strong child protection practices. The Adara Group also works to end preventable newborn deaths in Uganda by improving the quality and capacity of health systems by working in partnership with local champions of newborn health.
On the 26th of July 2023, we welcomed Adara Development to discuss the unfolding crisis of pre-term birth in Uganda and how human trafficking threatens children’s lives in Nepal every day. Our CEO & Founder, Jeremy Meltzer, spoke with Adara Group CEO, Madeline Vaughan, and Nepal Country Director, Pralhad Kumar Dhakal.
Human trafficking threatens children’s lives in Nepal every day. Women and children are often sold, especially in remote areas. In Uganda, 12,500 babies die every year because of pre-term complications.
Key insights
What does Adara Development do?Â
Madeline Vaughan:
Adara Development, part of the Adara Group, is an international organisation with expertise in maternal newborn child health and remote community development. In our 25 years of operation, we’ve developed impactful service models in these areas, focusing on delivering quality healthcare services to women, newborns, and children in various settings, including homes and communities.
Where does your passion for empowering women and children come from?Â
Pralhad Dhakal:
My background and community shaped my perspective. In my family, my father had four wives, and I’m open about it. Unfortunately, many girls of my age, including my friends and siblings, remain illiterate, often due to early marriages. I, too, married at 15. Witnessing this injustice still troubles me and makes me feel angry and agitated.
What are the impacts of the funds raised for Adara Development through the i=Change platform?Â
Madeline Vaughan:
Ghyangfedi is a hotspot for child trafficking, rooted in long-standing customs that have limited girls’ rights. Adara aims to empower children in this community by educating them about their rights and providing opportunities for learning and change through our Child Clubs program. In one instance, Child Club members intervened to prevent a child marriage involving a girl named Lila. They confronted Lila’s parents during the ceremony and persuaded them to stop the marriage, ultimately allowing Lila to return to school.
Every $16 pays a teacher for another day and every $3 trains a midwife for a day, to perform lifesaving work.
Be the change today.Â
