It is our pleasure to present the Annual Progress Report for the FY 2070- 71 B.S. (2013-14). During this year CECI projects focused on governance, livelihoods improvement, economic development, gender and social inclusion, and institutional development of partner NGOs.
A consortium involving CECI recently began a new Skills Development Project (SDP) funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Nepal government. The consortium is led by World University Service of Canada (WUSC) and includes Colleges and Institutes Canada (CiCan) formally known as Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) and Industrial Enterprise Development Institute (IEDI). The project provides technical assistance to the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) and the Ministry of Education (MoE). The impact of the project will be the increased employability of the Nepalese workforce. Its outcome will be the establishment of a market-responsive and social and gender-inclusive TVET system.
The Uniterra Volunteer Cooperation Program, funded by DFATD has supported agro food, community sustainable forest management user groups and developing NTFP enterprises. Similarly, Uniterra Volunteers have been active in encouraging private sector development by supporting the selected partners in enhancing institutional capacity building, marketing and publicity on an international level. CECI also manages Australian volunteers for International Development (AVID), an Australian Government program implemented by Scope Global Australia in Nepal. Volunteers are placed in various government and nongovernment organizations within the country.
CECI in partnership with national NGOs led by IDS and including HIMWANTI Nepal and Ashmita Nepal with funding from DFID/SDC/FINNIDA is implementing the MSFP Lot VI project. This project covers five mid and far west hill districts aimed at promoting private sector engagement in forestry, increased access to forest resources for the poor and disadvantaged, improved climate resilience capacity to vulnerable communities and strengthen forest sector enabling environment. MSFP works in close collaboration with the government’s District Forest Offices and local communities. To date, 800 forest based enterprises have been developed.
In governance, CECI is implementing the Program for Accountability in Nepal (PRAN) with the funding support of World Bank. In this project, grants are provided to CSOs to practice and utilize social accountability approaches and tools. PRAN is operating with the firm belief that to empower citizens and to ensure service providers’ accountability they must constructively engage with one another.
CECI has a strong focus on gender and social inclusion. It works closely with partners in developing approaches and strategies for improving the participation and representation of women and disadvantaged communities in development initiatives.
The details for each project and program for this fiscal year can be found in their respective sections of this report. CECI has been supported by DFATD, ADB, World Bank, AusAid, DFID, SDC and FINNIDA in undertaking these programs and I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to our donors for their support. Similarly, we are thankful to our implementing partners both GON and NGOs in successfully accomplishing these activities. Finally, I would like to acknowledge my appreciation of the leadership role taken on by our Communications Officer Ms. Mallika Bhattarai, in preparing this annual report.. As well, my sincere thanks to CECI staff and volunteers, Mr. Karl Brown and Ms. Amal Mohamed for their effort and contribution to this report.
Keshava Koirala, Country Representative
CECI-Nepal, October 2014
