Working with “Local Governance” in a Conflict Situation: The Experience of Save the Children Norway in Nepal

Abstract

This paper describes the education-focused work of Save the Children Norway and its local partners in a district of Nepal that has been seriously affected by the country's civil war. Schooling in rural Nepal, inadequate at the best of times, has been further challenged by the conflict, which has resulted in frequent closures and even lower attendance rates than usual. Schools are technically the responsibility of district education offices; in many parts of Nepal, however, local governance has become a contested domain. In the district described in this paper, the Maoist rebels have become the de facto local government, hostile to the facilities and services of the formal government structures. The paper describes the success of Save the Children Norway's staff in supporting local communities' efforts to bring rebels and district education officials together to improve educational opportunities for children in the area—an unusual and possibly unique development in this conflict-torn country.