I deeply care about civic engagement. Growing up through the Nepalese Civil War, I was imprinted with a deep appreciation of the value of democracy. Furthermore, living in one of the poorest countries in the world, I was fortunate to have been educated. This inspired me to work towards creating an engaged and aware citizenry so that the children of tomorrow may never relive the horrors of yesterday.
My journey began as a volunteer at 15, but I got my calling during my first ‘job’ as a volunteer leader during the worst earthquake in Nepal’s modern history. Since then, I have worked on issues of information credibility, community campaigns, transparent mechanisms, government responsiveness, and a host of other civic issues in Nepal. In my most recent endeavor, I founded Nepal’s first digital civic engagement platform, Shaasan, to ensure that civic engagement remains as sustainable and as impactful as possible. We have directly impacted over 20,000 people in 2020 alone through various community engagements, civic workshops, awareness campaigns, and public talks. We have distributed COVID-19 relief to 150+ families and with various community partnerships, provided 100,000 masks to 10,000 families as well.