There are some powerful examples of civil servants going way beyond the call of duty in our newest group of Integrity Icons in Nepal. This year, rather than calling for a public vote, we are encouraging you to show your support and encouragement for these public servants by sharing their stories and helping us change the face of the public service through their incredible contributions. Read more about them below and let us know how their work inspires you to do greater good in your own sphere of influence.
Aarati Tharu Public Health Inspector, Nepalgunj Health Post
Aarati is a young and dynamic government official who has vowed to not disappoint service seekers. The commitment she showed towards pregnant women in Pyuthan’s remote areas while she was posted there is remarkable. Despite being from a paramedic background, she has looked after the outpatients department, administration and birthing center during staff shortages, ensuring the smooth functioning of the health post. After saving the lives of pregnant women in critical conditions on numerous occasions, she played a leadership role in making safe birthing accessible to all. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her courage and passion for her service in quarantine and home isolation in Nepalgunj has been highly appreciated by her colleagues and service-seekers. She was appointed as a focal person for COVID due to the dedication she had shown in her work. Watch her video here.
Dipak Jnawali, Division Head, Ministry of Tourism, Industry, Forest and Environment, Lumbini Province, Butwal
Dipak ensures that government offices where he is posted are owned by the public to get excellent results from his work. He creates a mechanism of trust where the government officers go door-to-door to listen to the concerns of the public [with regard to forestry] and solve it as far as possible. He has set examples among youth to plant trees that are suitable to the environment, helping them generate additional income and refraining them from migrating for foreign employment. He has taken risks to get back the encroached land from privileged communities and also mobilized the communities [especially women] for sustainable forest protection. As he believes in team efforts and dividing responsibilities, the offices in his leadership have shown excellent performances. Watch his video here.
Hem Bahadur Ale Magar, Crop Protection Officer, Agriculture Resource Centre, Okhaldhunga:
Hem has played a remarkable role in providing long-term rigorous training for farmers through farm-schools on commercial farming. So far, he has run 12 farm schools in Sindhupalchowk and Okhaldhunga that have trained around 300 farmers. In Sindhupalchowk, he has played an important role in expanding tunnel mushroom cultivation along with the commercialization of mushroom farming. This has helped farmers understand the farming techniques in detail helping them generate more income. He also holds regular meetings with the farmers’ groups to listen to their challenges and goes to the fields directly to solve their problems when required, providing satisfaction to his service-seekers. Watch his video here
Manju Mahat, Officer 6th Level, Women, Children and Senior Citizen Section, Mangalsen Municipality, Achham:
Manju has played a significant role in decreasing domestic violence, eliminating Chhaupadi (menstrual taboo), and enhancing children’s leadership in Achham. In order to decrease Chhaupadi, she brought adolescent and mother’s groups together by forming action implementation groups. Her way of understanding the context, making practical yardsticks, and then implementing them has helped the section reach its goals (Mangalsen Municipality has been declared as Chhaupadi free municipality). Today, 10 local units of the district have requested the implementation of her framework. She has also been focusing on children’s capacity development training to make them understand the contemporary issues of our society. Watch her video here
Dr Nawin Bandhu Pahadi, Teacher, Neelakantha School/Campus, Dhading:
Nawin started his career as a lower secondary level teacher in the year 2050 BS. After joining this sector, he has ensured education for Dalit and marginalized communities in Dhading by playing a leadership role in building schools and also upgrading them with national and international collaborations. Further, to ensure orphan children are not deprived of their education due to lack of resources, he established an orphanage. He has been running a campaign that helps pay the admission fees of students who are forced to drop out of school due to financial constraints. Nawin also established a Readers Group to inculcate reading habits in children and initiated Better Dhading Campaign to pass on the knowledge of what to study, why to study, and how to study from one generation to another. Watch his video here.