The Ambassador of Japan to Nepal Masashi Ogawa signed a grant contract today to install three mediation centers, one at the Patan High Court, and one each at Lalitpur District Court and Bhaktapur District Court, for improvement of legal services to socially and economically disadvantaged citizens.
The agreement was signed between the Embassy of Japan and Sher Bahadur K. C., President of the Nepal Bar Association.
The Project for the Establishment of Mediation Centers in the Urban Cities of Nepal is funded under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) of the Government of Japan. The grant assistance amounts to USD 38,388 (approximately NPR 3.9 million).
The grant will support the establishment of three mediation centers in the compounds of the Patan High Court, Lalitpur District Court, and Bhaktapur District Court. The mediation centers provide free mediation services to community people who cannot afford legal services.
Furthermore, these mediation centers will also improve the efficiency of legal assistance to the communities. In the increasingly populated urban cities in Nepal, sometimes people have to wait for several months to receive legal services from the courts. The mediation centers that will be established next to the courts will offer legal consultations by professional lawyers so that simple civil cases can be solved before going to court. In this way, both the courts and citizens can find efficient solutions for issues.
The Nepal Bar Association, established in 1956, has been offering trainings and education related to legal matters, and conducting activities to promote justice and human rights.
Japan Provides Medical Equipment to a Community Health Center in Bhotechaur
Similarly, the Ambassador of Japan to Nepal Masashi Ogawa, signed a grant contract today to provide various medical equipment to the Rural Community Health Service Center (RCHSC), located in Bhotechaur, Sindhupalchowk District.
The agreement was signed between the Embassy of Japan and Krishna Prasad Chaulagain, Chairman of the Health Center.
The Project for the Installation of Medical Equipment for the Community Health Center is funded under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) of the Government of Japan. The grant assistance amounts to USD 32,708 (approximately NPR 3.3 million).
The grant will support the installation of various medical devices such as a portable X-ray machine, CR laser imager, biochemistry analyzer, microscope, and centrifuge etc., as well as furniture for the health center.
The Rural Community Health Service Center is located in Bhotechaur, Sindhupalchowk District, and is the sole medical facility in the area. The health center was severely hit by the 2015 earthquake and, since then, its operation has been limited. Since the health center cannot provide medical services, patients have to go to Kathmandu, which is almost a three hour-drive from Bhotechaur.
After the installment of the medical equipment funded by the grant assistance, the health center, in close collaboration with the Melamchi Municipality, will increase the variety of medical services it provides.
As another supporter of the Rural Community Health Service Center, the Nepal AOTS Alumni Society (NAAS) has been contributing to enhance the medical services of the center through construction of a building after the earthquake so that the health center did not have to interrupt its operations. NAAS originally introduced the proposal of upgrading the health center by the GGP assistance, and the Government of Japan decided to grant the fund to strengthen the facility’s services in collaboration with NAAS.
The Embassy of Japan hopes that this project will contribute towards enhancing the mediation services to better serve socio-economically disadvantaged people, and also strengthen the bilateral relationship between Japan and Nepal.
Japan Provides Assistance for Post-Disaster Psychosocial Care in Kathmandu
Simialrly, The Ambassador of Japan to Nepal Masashi Ogawa signed a grant contract for the Project for Improvement of Community-Based Disaster Risk Management and Post-Disaster Psychosocial Care for Socially Vulnerable People in Nepal. The grant contract was signed between the Embassy of Japan and Mayumi Yoshida, the Representative Director of Japan IsraAID Support Program (JISP).
The Project for Improvement of Community-based Disaster Risk Management and Post-Disaster Psychosocial Care for Socially Vulnerable People in Nepal is funded under the Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects Scheme for FY2017. The total grant assistance is USD 267,745 (NPR 27 million).
JISP, an international NGO based in Japan, will work with Nepalese partner, Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO), to implement the project.
With a goal of improving the comprehensive community based disaster risk management, the following three activities will be provided to civil servants of Kathmandu city, local NGO relief organizations, specialized nurses, and public universities and schools who engage in supporting citizens during times of disaster:-
(1) Training on disaster risk management and psychosocial care for socially vulnerable people:
Intensive training courses for the improvement of disaster risk management and psychosocial care for socially vulnerable people will be provided to the Urban Health Department of Kathmandu city, local NGO relief organizations, Nepal Nursing Association, and others, in order to enhance the capacity of service providers.
(2) Improvement of disaster prevention systems at evacuation points for citizens:
Disaster prevention systems will be organized through the distribution of disaster prevention leadership kits to public schools (10), health posts (23), and others.
(3) Establishment of a network between the participants of the training program:
In order to encourage exchanges of information and cooperation, a mid-term plan will be established to secure sustainability of the efforts to improve the community based disaster risk management system.
“The Embassy of Japan in Nepal expects that the success of this project will contribute to improving the community based disaster risk management systems as well as the post-disaster psychosocial care for socially vulnerable people. It is also expected that the project will enhance the cordial friendship between the peoples of Japan and Nepal,” said a press release issued by Embassy of Japan.