The Temporary Basic Programme has brought much-needed relief to those hit hardest by the COVID-19 crisis

Tula Pandit lives in a small hut in Sudurpaschim Province’s Bajura, one of Nepal’s most remote and malnourished districts. Both of her parents are hearing-impaired. They are also too old to walk or work. Life for the 20-year-old has been grim.

One place that Tula loved was her school, Malika Higher Secondary, in Martadi, an hour and a half walk away. Despite the distance, she made sure to attend school every day. A student of rural development, Tula believes that only education will help improve her situation.

After school, Tula had to take care of her household chores. Then, she headed out to look for work—when she did find one, it usually involved carrying construction material, such as bricks and cement. She was paid two hundred rupees daily. By the time she retired for the day, it was usually midnight.

Tula was compelled to take up difficult jobs to make ends meet and pay her tuition fees. When she could not find work, she would collect and sell firewood. Once, while carrying a load of wood, she fell and injured her leg. To this day, she walks with a limp.

As difficult as it was, Tula had been getting by until the COVID-19 pandemic brought everything to a halt. Her school shut down, and she could not find work because of the lockdown.

"Life was already hard" says Tula. "But the pandemic made it unbearable."

But then, she received help through an unexpected channel.

Tula was visited by government officials and workers from UNDP’s ‘Prayash: Temporary Basic Income (TBI) for Marginalized and Excluded Women in Nepal’ project. The programme aimed to rescue people who had lost their means of survival during the lockdown.

After observing her difficulties, Tura was enlisted as a beneficiary. A bank account was opened for her, where NPR 13,500 was deposited as basic income.

“It proved to be a great relief for people hit by the COVID-19 crisis,” said Janak Khadka, a social mobilizer from Prayas initiative, UNDP’s local TBI implementation partner in Bajura. “It allowed them to meet their immediate survival needs.”

Tula was amongst 250 TBI beneficiaries in Bajura. After receiving the funds in an account opened by UNDP in collaboration with Rastriya Banijya Bank, the government-owned bank of Nepal, some started raising rabbits and chickens, and others began cultivating vegetables. As for Tula, she bought food, paid her school fees, and planted vegetables. Tula is now happy as she has been able to continue her studies and feed her parents.

"I was devastated at that time," said Tula. "But the help I received has brightened up our lives.”

The Prayash programme is a joint intervention of UNDP, UN Women and Rastriya Banijya Bank. In 2021, the project supported over 2,350 women from marginalized communities obtain and sustain new livelihoods.