What We Do
Our Work on the Ground
The Bajura Library is TAPAS Nepal's most active fundraising initiative right now. A school of nearly 2,000 students. One library with almost no books.
Shree Malika Secondary School, Bajura
Bajura Community Library
Shree Malika Secondary School is the center of education in Bajura district, deep in Nepal's Far-Western Province. Nearly 1,942 students come through its doors, many from Dalit and Janajati families, in a district where over 63% of households live below the poverty line.
The school has a library, the Basanta Shree Library, founded in 2015 by the community. But years without support have left its shelves nearly empty, books warped by damp, and no one managing it. TAPAS Nepal is raising funds to change that: new books, proper shelving, a cataloging system, and a trained librarian to run it.
The evidence on school libraries is consistent: access to books improves student performance, and the benefit is largest in communities with the least resources. This is that community.
1,942
Students served
63.6%
Families below poverty line
51%
Dalit or Janajati students
49
Teachers & staff
What your support funds
- • Diverse books for all academic programs (ECD–Grade 12 + CTEVT technical)
- • Metal shelving and furniture to protect materials
- • Cataloging and borrowing system for fair access
- • Trained library manager for daily operations
- • Inclusive space open to the wider Bajura community
WASHFIT Program
The WASHFIT Program takes Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) education directly to households and community institutions across wards in Lumbini Province.
Our team runs on-site sessions, distributes hygiene materials, and works alongside local health workers on the basics: handwashing, safe water storage, waste management. The things that stop disease before it starts.
We work at the ward level, with families who don't always have easy access to health information. Local ward offices, schools, and community health volunteers are all part of how we get there.
Focus Areas
- • Water safety and safe storage practices
- • Handwashing and personal hygiene
- • Sanitation and waste management
- • Infection Prevention & Control (IPC) awareness
Partners: UNICEF Nepal, Chay Ya Nepal, Health Environment and Climate Action Foundation (HECAF), local ward offices, and community volunteers.
Smoke-Free Municipality Campaign
Working with Tilottama Municipality, TAPAS Nepal launched the Smoke-Free Municipality campaign to take on tobacco use at the community level. The campaign runs across all 17 wards of Tilottama Municipality, combining awareness, advocacy, and research.
TAPAS trained 15 public health students as Tobacco Control Advocates through a three-day leadership program covering tobacco policy, cessation strategies, and field implementation. From there, advocates ran flashmob performances, placed smoke-free stickers in public spaces, and held events for children at Banbatika Park.
The campaign runs under a formal MoU with Tilottama Municipality. Internationally, we work with King Hussein Cancer Center in Jordan on training for brief advice and tobacco dependence treatment. Local TV and The Rising Nepal have both covered the campaign.
Program Highlights
- • MoU signed with Tilottama Municipality
- • 15 trained Tobacco Control Advocates across 17 wards
- • Smoke-free stickers placed in parks, schools, markets & bus stops
- • Compliance research & observation running concurrently
- • International partnership with King Hussein Cancer Center, Jordan
Partners: Tilottama Municipality, King Hussein Cancer Center (Jordan), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (online training).
More Initiatives in Progress
We're always working on something new. More programs are in development across community health, education, and youth leadership. Follow our work to stay updated.
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