Social Network for Justice and Development (SNJD), with the support of LWF Nepal, successfully organized a one-day advocacy event titled “Community Speaks: A Dialogue Between Group Members and Rural Municipality Leaders” at Gaurigunj Rural Municipality, Jhapa.
The program aimed to create an inclusive platform where grassroots women, Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), cooperatives, and Disaster Management Teams (DMTs) representatives could engage directly with local government representatives. This initiative was part of SNJD’s broader commitment to promoting inclusive governance and ensuring the meaningful participation of marginalized communities in decision-making processes.
The event featured a range of participatory activities, including personal experience sharing, thematic group discussions, and a plenary presentation of recommendations. Women participants from across Gaurigunj openly shared their lived realities, highlighting issues such as child marriage, flooding, lack of clean drinking water, unreliable electricity supply, and discriminatory service delivery practices. Participants were divided into groups to discuss key development themes—such as education, health, gender-based violence, water and sanitation, access to government services, and community involvement in budgeting—and presented practical recommendations for each.
One of the most impactful segments of the event was the interactive session, where participants directly questioned the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the rural municipality on pressing community concerns. These included inquiries about ongoing efforts to prevent child marriage, improve service access, address seasonal flooding, support women-led organizations, and create economic opportunities.
Rural Municipality leaders responded constructively, acknowledged the issues raised, and made verbal commitments to address them through future plans and budgets. They also emphasized the importance of equitable service delivery and committed to organizing mobile registration camps to ensure wider access to national ID cards.
The event outcomes reflected significant progress in civic awareness and community empowerment. Women reported increased confidence in participating in public forums, while community groups recognized the value of collective voice in influencing governance.
Key recommendations from the event included organizing similar dialogues regularly across all wards, ensuring the inclusion of marginalized women such as Dalit, Indigenous, single, and differently-abled women and strengthening women’s leadership through capacity-building and follow-up support.
SNJD expresses sincere gratitude to all participants, stakeholders, and supporters for their active engagement. The organization remains committed to continuing such initiatives that promote transparency, inclusiveness, and people-centered governance.
