New leadership, young village development cadres, and mobilised women’s groups strengthened community self-governance

The past year witnessed generational changes in the leadership of Village Development Committees (VDCs) and enhanced participation of young men, women and children in village development activities. Youth inclusion brought new perspectives on development needs while capacity building enhanced transparency and technology adoption by the VDCs. Thousand-plus women got trained in organisation management, with half of the women rising to leadership in the VDCs. Villages prepared poverty reduction plans, charting their development needs, preparing plans, and mobilising resources from the line departments to implement them. We established and mobilised specialised cadres of Village Institution Service Providers to support the VDCs in various development tasks.