Rita Thapa is widely recognized for her groundbreaking work in founding Tewa. She has over thirty years experience as a feminist educator and community activist, initiating and supporting institutions for women’s empowerment and for peace. Rita also founded and led (2001-2009) Nagarik Aawaz, an initiative for conflict transformation and peace-building in Nepal.

Tewa’s philosophy is to develop modern philanthropy, both in terms of minimizing social costs incurred in rapid transition, for self-reliant development that is not donor dependent, and for the empowerment of emerging groups of rural women in Nepal. With this philosophy in mind Tewa does local fund-raising, gives grants to women’s groups from all over Nepal, and strengthens the human resources of Nepal through various programmes.