Sankalpa: Restoring Hope

संकल्प: Restoring Hope, is a post-earthquake recovery project in the affected areas of Jajarkot and West Rukum, focusing on restoring damaged water and sanitation facilities and promoting improved hygiene practices through social behavior change communication. The project uses the Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) approach, which is central to its mission of addressing multiple needs and enhancing household-level food security for the most vulnerable households. Water and sanitation facilities will be restored through the CVA hybrid modalities approach utilizing multipurpose cash assistance, electronic vouchers, and cash-for-work. This will demonstrate a sectoral approach to CVA that meets WASH outcomes.

ZURICH

Through ZURICH FLOOD RESILIENCE, Mercy Corps leads advocacy in Nepal by working with local and sub-national governments to improve investment and policy for flood resilience. Mercy Corps works with other ZFRA partners – Practical Action and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, as well as Mercy Corps’ Managing Risks through Economic Development (M-RED) program.

By collecting learnings from Alliance partners, and aligning M-RED program, Mercy Corps Nepal conducts research and training to support systemic changes in governance systems. The team is integrating the Flood Resilience Measurement for Communities (FRMC) into existing work to ensure interventions enhance resilience building. In 2021 Mercy Corps is expanding work in Nepal in 14 communities.

We are working with sub-national and municipal governments in the Sudurpashchim Province to support budgeting and expenditure for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation activities.

HGSF

World Food Program (WFP) Nepal as a lead/prime organization in partnership with Mercy Corps and other partners is implementing a four-year School Feeding Program funded by USDA McGovern Dole Food for Education Programme (FFEP). Under the FFEP, Mercy Corps provides strategic leadership for program’s two of the sub-activities ‘Local Purchase of Food: Hybrid Food Basket’ and ‘Home Grown School Feeding: Technical Assistance Post-Hand Over’. The aim of the Mercy Corps’ interventions is to facilitate the development of a fully sustainable and locally managed food system for schools. This includes designing and implementing the strategy and detailed roadmap for schools to self-manage a cash-based program where they locally procure and manage relationships and contracts with local producers, cooperatives and suppliers to supply the appropriate and necessary school meal food items during relevant timeframes. The program activities links school feeding programs to smallholder farmers, farmer’s cooperatives, school management, community groups and local government to enhance the program’s long-term sustainability. The target area of the program covers five districts in the Sudurpachhim Province (Darchula, Bajhang, Doti, Achham, and Bajura) and one district in the Karnali Province (Jajarkot).