Youth – the future of the nation. This correlation has existed virtually forever, with children being told this from as far as their education stretches back.. However, this does create a sort of confusion as most of them don’t seem to understand what it means to be “the future”. Yuwa is an organization that has not only worked for the youth, but also advocated the aforementioned adage.

Yuwa was established in 2009, and has been run by youths ever since as a non-profit organisation. As the word “yuwa” means “youth” in Nepalese, the executive body of this organization fully comprises people ageing from 16 to 29 only. Yuwa works in promoting the youth of the nation to participate at all levels, from local to international.

“Ages 16 to 29 is when a person is most creative,” says Abarta Pandey, the program manager at Yuwa. “Everyone must try to capitalize on their thoughts and ideas as far as possible during this time. This is how Yuwa functions and creates a platform for the younger people of society to present their thoughts, views and plans into action.”

Over the course of time, Yuwa has had several thematic areas. These are areas where the organization focuses on the holistic development of the youth, and so have several projects under each of them. At present, Yuwa has three thematic areas – Active Citizenship, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), and Research Unit.