Grassroots Resilient Organizations Empowering Women, Youth, and Marginalized (GROW)

USAID-CSM is a five-year program (2022-2027) to support ongoing and emerging civic engagement in areas that advance the interests of sub-national communities, particularly those with a history of challenges in engaging women, youth, and marginalized sections of their populations. The Fact-finding mission (FFM) was conducted during 2023 in the Madhesh and Lumbini Provinces under the Civil Society and Media (CSM) project. CSM, funded by USAID through the Civil Society and Media – Standing Together and in New Directions (CSM-STAND) Leader with Associates Award, is led by The Asia Foundation in partnership with Pact. On the basis of the study report and conclusions of FFM, this project GROW has been designed to promote public interest, fundamental freedoms, and accountability among women, youth and marginalized (WYM) communities in Madhesh and Lumbini provinces, by empowering independent civil society and media.

Through the GROW project, FORUM-ASIA together with Community Self Reliance Centre (CSRC) aims to strengthen the resilience of 16 grassroot level human rights organizations (8 in Madhesh and 8 in Lumbini Provinces) through capacity, resources, and skills to promote human rights, civic space, and democracy. Likewise, the project aims to promote the network and collaboration among human rights organizations to ensure their long-term engagement in advancing human rights, civic space, and democracy.

As a result of the implementation of this project, human rights organizations will maintain operations and advocacy efforts to support, and take collective action to address issues and challenges faced by marginalized groups. Likewise, human rights organization will establish effective partnerships and networks with women, youth and marginalized groups, stakeholders and local government for mutual support, policy advocacy, and resource mobilization.