Anu is a GPWLA graduate and current GPW intern from Nepal. Her journey with GPWLA has been one of self-reflection and self-discovery that helped her discover herself and her career path. “Before, I was trying to find a career path which matched my life’s values, goals, and philosophy. I needed some dynamism as before my work was too monotonous and I did not feel like it added any value.” GPWLA was a learning process that gave her the confidence to take ownership of herself and her dream to create a positive impact in society.
Anu’s GPWLA signature project is called ‘Parijat,’ Nepali for a night-blooming jasmine flower. The program was designed to provide life skills for survivors of human trafficking. Human trafficking is a major issue in Nepal. Anu took interest after a friend of hers was stopped at the Nepal-India border and questioned. After researching, Anu concluded that she could add value by providing life-skills training. “Most programs offer psycho-social counseling, but life-skills training is relatively new. Life skills are important for reintegration. Most of the time victims don’t know how to interact or give back. They can’t even look people in the eye, or communicate well.” She named her project after the beautiful flowers that bloom in the night and spread sweet perfume in the morning; the night symbolizing hardships and the perfume signifying the value that the women could offer in their future lives.
Despite facing many challenges in communication, coordination, and uncertainty, Anu commenced her project in February 2020. Unfortunately, it was put on hold after one month of implementation due to Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. Anu reflects, “These challenges have taught me patience and that there is uncertainty in things we do. I used to be a bit impatient but this experience has taught me that there are some things we have no control of and that everything has its own time. It has taught me the value of time and to be respectful of the time of others as well as mine.”
Since the start of her leadership journey at GPWLA, Anu has grown to appreciate and acknowledge herself and her leadership potential. She grew into teamwork and discovered her core strengths of being empathetic, organized and detail-oriented as a leader. She has determination, drive and passion to live for the greater good while taking ownership to dream big.
Summing up her GPWLA experience, Anu remarks, “I really appreciate that this entire experience has helped me know and discover myself. The learnings and discoveries from the GPWLA are going to remain with me for the rest of my life as GPWLA has been a very decisive moment in my life which has given me the direction that I want to go for my career. It has made me believe in myself and made me more confident.”
Anu Lama was a part of our GPWLA back in 2019 and has been with us since then. We are excited to see her grow and develop herself as a moral and innovative leader. GPWLA is our flagship leadership development program and with it, we aim to amplify women's leadership and potential. If you would like to enroll in GPWLA email your inquiry to info@globalpeacewomen.org.