Volunteers are Tewa's backbone; they are our ambassadors in the community. In 1997 Tewa began a fundraising training for volunteers. Providing actual and relevant skills, the trainings and the following four months mentoring period allows volunteers to understand Tewa's philosophy, comprehend women's status and development in Nepal, and have a better sense of why this work is important in the context of Nepal. Although Tewa raises relatively small amounts of money through this programme its value and significance is in reaching out to a broad diverse community and in the transformation of the volunteers who are thus engaged.

Throughout the year our volunteers participate and engage in several events and activities like:

• Fundraising events: Sampanna Campaign, Raffle, Deep Prajwolan and many more
• Awareness raising events like the Anti Rape Campaign
• Advocacy campaigns like One Billion Rising and Gender Monitoring
• Capacity Building Programmes
• Exposure visits and retreats

Up till the end of FY 2020 - 2021, 869 volunteers have been trained and mobilized. Collectively they have raised over 3.92 million Nepali rupees so far.

5 annual awards have been instituted for the volunteers who meet the award criteria, under each specific award.

Awards
Initially three awards were established in 1997 to honor and recognize Tewa's Volunteers. Later on two more awards were added in appreciation of the selfless work of volunteers.

1. The Dr. (Med.) Amir Thapa Award was established by former Tewa member Lily Thapa in memory of her late husband. This award is presented each year to the volunteer who raises the most amounts of funds for Tewa.
   
   
2. The Birendra Shrestha Award was established by Tewa's founding member and former Executive Director, Sadhana Shrestha in memory of her late husband. This award is presented each year to the volunteer who raises the most donations from the largest number of donors.
   
   
3. Tewa Outstanding Volunteer Award was instituted by Tewa itself. This award is awarded to the all-round outstanding volunteer of the year. This award is presented each year to the volunteer having excellent initiation and leadership skills, active in disseminating Tewa's philosophy and on-going fundraising activities.
   
   
4. The Master Adhya Prasad Award was established by Mrs. Narayan Devi Picton, in the year 2006 in loving memory of her late father Master (teacher) Adhya Prasad Pradhan. She is a Tewa donor and well-wisher who now lives in the UK. This award is presented every year to a volunteer who is most actively engaged in supporting Tewa activities. 
   
   
5. The Bhaimaya Gurung Volunteer Award was instituted in 2014 by Tewa Volunteer Nirmala Gurung and her husband Amrit Gurung in memory of his Grandmother Bhaimaya Gurung. It is awarded every year to a volunteer who contributes in preserving the environment, promotes environment issues, as well as shows exemplary leadership.

The Dr. (Med.) Amir Thapa Award, Birendra Shrestha Award, Master Adhya Prasad Award, Tewa Outstanding Volunteer Award and the Bhaimaya Gurung Volunteer Award were conceptualized by the Founder Rita Thapa and designed by Keshar Joshi.

The Volunteer's Newsletter - "Volunteer Voice"
Since 2005, Tewa Volunteers are actively engaged in publishing a newsletter named the "Volunteer Voice”. The objective of this quarterly newsletter is to provide volunteers the space to express their feelings and share experiences. Each year a new editorial team of volunteers step in to ensure the publication is materialized through their own efforts at local fund raising. The targeted endowment fund of five lakhs (NRs 500,000) was raised to give continuity to the publication of the Newsletter.

Download Volunteer Voice

For more information, please contact Nikiba Pradhan / Junior Program Officer, nikiba@tewa.org.np or 00977-1-5229054/5229045