Manisha Bhattarai is our in-house expert on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E). She was a part of the Green Circuit Marathon, organized by CREASION from June 29 to July 4, playing a pivotal role in addressing the safeguarding issue. Our publication team sat down with her for a small interview.
Excerpts from the conversation:
1. Tell us about Green Circuit Marathon (GCM)?
The Green Circuit Marathon (GCM), organized by the CREASION and led by CAP team, completed a diverse set of crucial project activities within just five days, including river cleanup, Waste Smart School Kit handover, e-Library setup, monitoring of PRF (Pet Recycling Facility) at Bharatpur , scoping of vulnerable (Majhi and Dhobi) communities from Golanjor and Bharatpur, baseline survey of Waste Smart School members, official formalization of waste smart club across six different municipalities.
It was an ambitious and productive event that helped us achieve some of the major project goals in a short period.
2. How was your experience as a participant?
The GCM was exciting and wholesome—an experience I will probably remember all my life. However, I have to admit that it was a time-bound experience. It was exciting because we completed 7 activities back to back, which wouldn't have been possible without the team's outstanding support system.
We visited all six project sites within the 'Green Circuit' loop in the given period.
However, it was challenging to work without a break, moving from Kathmandu on the weekend without a break, and participating in river cleanup early every morning, followed by school activities and travel to new project sites, which left little time for proper rest. Fortunately, no one faced any health issues, and the weather was favorable despite the monsoon season, thanks to the team lead and weather expert Mr. Ujjwal Upadhyay and armed police force and Nepal army who actively participated in river cleanup campaign and ensured safety of the river clean up participants.
3. What are its outcomes?
The key outcomes of the GCM include:
The completion of river cleanup campaigns at 6 different locations from 7 different municipalities involving 425 participants (160 females, 38%, and 265 males, 62%) was achieved with diverse ethnic representation.
Meeting with Focal teachers and Waste Smart School principals, e-library set up, Waste Smart kit handover, base line survey among waste smart club members, official formalization of waste smart club with badges distribution to 121 Waste Smart School members. All these activities were done at ten government schools from six different municipalities.
4. What could have been improved?
Although the GCM was a huge success in executing the project activities, the planning could have been slightly improved by allocating sufficient time for each location. Proper planning between stakeholders and team members, travel time on the first day, and implementation of the activities on the next day could have made the schedule more convenient.
5. Was your component adequately addressed during the activities? If yes, please explain why. If not, what are the reasons?
My core responsibility was to ensure participant-safety during the river cleanup activity and conduct scoping of Majhi from Golanjor, Ichhakamana, and Dhobi from Bharatpur. Scoping with the Majhi community from Golanjor was an amazing experience, as I could spend a good three hours with the Majhi vulnerable community. Although we spent less time with vulnerable Dhobi community in Bharatpur, we still managed to get the job done.
6. What could be done to address the lapses?
There is a room to reflect on time-management. But other than that, I would say we were quite efficient and productive. I personally am extremely satisfied with the success of the Green Circuit Marathon because to achieve seven major outputs in five days' time is no small feat.
