labor or services, including forced prostitution, domestic servitude, debt 

bondage or other slavery like practices (USAID 1999). 

The effort to abolish trafficking in Nepal intensified after the restoration of democracy in 

1990. Since then, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and community based 

organizations have started initiating programs to address and combat trafficking of girls.  

1.2 Background 

Aamaa Milan Kendra (AMK) is a national level nongovernmental organization 

established in 1975. The prime concern of AMK is the empowerment of women in all 

aspects of life: social, economic and health. It has implemented programs in areas such as 

population and health, adolescent health, youth development, income generation, 

education, gender sensitisation by mobilizing its mothers group and through networking 

with other local line agencies and organizations at the district level. AMK has an 

extensive network of 59 local branches spread out in the 19 districts of the country and a 

huge resource of 5,000 volunteers. Since 1999 it has also shifted its focus to adolescent 

girls through its reproductive health and other programs to empower their lives in 

preparation for adulthood. 

AMK implemented the  

A

dolescent 

G

irls 

I

nitiate 

f

or 

T

heir (A GIFT) for Reproductive 

Health (RH) Project  in nine village development committees (VDCs) of Baglung district 

from 1999 to 2001 under the 

Better Life Option Program

 and in 2002 continued for six 

months with ENABLE funding. Under this project one adolescent girls group (AGG) was 

created in each ward forming a total of nine AGGs in one VDC (each VDC in Nepal is 

comprised of nine wards).  The project supports a total of 891 adolescent girls between 

the ages of 10 19 to increase their ability to make and act upon informed decisions 

regarding their social, economic and health needs and rights.  A baseline survey of the 

project was conducted by CREHPA towards the end of 1999 to examine the existing 

knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding sexual and reproductive health of the 

illiterate and out of school adolescent girls to be enrolled in the groups.  

Building upon the  A GIFT for RH Project,  AMK then launched

the Adolescent Girls 

Groups Anti Trafficking Project (AGGATP) supported by CEDPA/Nepal.  This program 

aims to increase the ability of the 891 members of AGGs to resist trafficking attempts 

and to be able to help other girls and women protect themselves against traffickers.   

This project goal falls within the purview of CEDPA/Nepal s anti trafficking strategic 

framework that is designed to support the strategies and goals of His Majesty s 

Government s (HMG) National Plan of Action against Trafficking of Children under the 

Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MWCSW). Activities under this 

framework focus primarily on prevention, one of the three specific areas targeted by 

USAID Asia's Regional Anti Trafficking Initiative. 

3