Karuna-Shechen removes stigmas and breaks taboos about what rural women can and cannot do. As the Dalai Lama often points out, we need empathy, altruism and compassion more than ever, so it’s time to enter the ‟age of the woman.”
-Matthieu Ricard,
Founder of Karuna-Shechen
Women and girls make up the majority of the people we serve in India and Nepal, where lack of basic knowledge about health and hygiene leads to many tragedies.
Breaking gender barriers and overcoming taboos, women become respected members of their community and serve as role models for girls in their village.
A Unicef study revealed that 10% of girls in India believe that menstruation is a disease, and in rural Nepal, many families observe the tradition of “chhaupadi” where menstruating women and girls are isolated into separate huts or cowsheds. In addition, it is estimated that approximately 70% of all reproductive diseases in India are caused by poor menstrual hygiene. Limited access to information, as well as cultural taboos and social stigmas have a negative impact on the lives and health of millions of girls and women.
Our projects work with the needs and aspirations of women to increase access to information and services. Please help us save lives and improve well-being for women in India and Nepal. A gift of $60 provides physician visits for 20 people. $200 allows us to distribute 4,000 sanitary napkins to remote schools and villages, and $500 sponsors a health & hygiene awareness session for an entire village.
Here are some of the ways we are improving the health and well-being of women:
Girls and women receive menstrual and personal health education. In many parts of India and Nepal, particularly remote and isolated villages, women’s health issues are still taboo and too often ignored. Karuna-Shechen creates advocacy campaigns to reduce stigmas surrounding personal hygiene as well as reproductive and menstrual health.
Thousands of subsidized, low cost sanitary napkins are distributed in remote villages and schools, along with information about the importance of healthy menstrual practices. Karuna-Shechen helps break taboos and provides access to affordable and hygienic sanitary material to improve the health and lives of thousands of women and girls who are economically challenged.
In remote areas of Nepal, one in ten mothers suffer from pelvic organ prolapse (POP). This painful condition has a serious impact on women’s health. We go into remote villages to inform women about prevention, and we provide access to screening and appropriate care, when necessary.
Through our women’s health and hygiene programs, Karuna-Shechen empowers women with information and support, and offers women who often suffer in silence the opportunity to heal.
Your generous contributions help improve the lives of thousands of women in isolated villages, where women’s health issues are still taboo and too often ignored.
January 14 2019
Karuna-Shechen's co-founders, Matthieu Ricard and Rabjam Rinpoche, recently visited our new home for the elderly in Nepal, which had to be re-built after earthquakes hit the country in 2015. "There...
December 27 2018
In 2018, your commitment and support had a tremendous impact and allowed us to reach 250,000 people in need and give them the opportunity to better their lives. Imagine a world in which we can cont...
December 19 2018
"Dear friends of Karuna-Shechen, I wish you the happiest of holidays and a very good New Year! It is thanks to you that we can make a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in remo...
December 6 2018
"Now is the time to extend the circle of compassion to a greater number of our fellow human beings." —Matthieu Ricard Give Villagers in the Himalayas a Chance to Create a Better Toda...
December 4 2018
Small Changes, Big Impact A small change in a remote village can make a world of difference. In this interview, Sanjeev Pradhan, our director in Nepal, explains our strategy and the impact of our eff...
