Staff Spotlight: Anjita Parajuli

When Anjita Parajuli first considered joining Nepal Youth Foundation (NYF), she was living in Pokhara with her husband and two children and had just received an offer for a full-time teaching position at Pokhara University. Around the same time, her sister Anubha, who worked as a counselor at NYF’s Ankur Counseling Center, encouraged her to apply for an opening at NYF.

It was a difficult decision. University positions are highly prestigious in Nepal, and Anjita had already been teaching there part time. But she ultimately chose NYF because she wanted to be directly involved in work that creates meaningful social change.

“I saw NYF as an opportunity to build a career aligned with my values and my aspirations for social justice,” she says.

That decision, made in 2009, became the foundation of a career rooted in purpose.

Anjita’s Important Role at NYF Today

Today, Anjita plays an important role connecting NYF’s programs in Nepal with supporters around the world. Her work spans preparing reports and proposals, tracking program progress, coordinating closely with program teams, and responding to donor and partner inquiries. As a key point of contact for NYF’s global fundraising teams, she helps ensure that the realities, challenges, and progress from the field are clearly communicated. In many ways, she serves as a bridge between the work happening on the ground in Nepal and the community of supporters who make it possible.

Early Visits to Saptari

One project especially close to Anjita’s heart is NYF’s Caste Equality Project in Saptari District, which supports highly marginalized Madhesi Dalit communities, particularly the Musahar community. During early visits while the program was being developed, she witnessed firsthand the realities many girls face.

“We would see girls who appeared to be 14 or 15 carrying babies,” she recalls. “But when we asked their ages, they would say they were over 20.” It quickly became clear that many were concealing their real ages, as the legal age of marriage in Nepal is 20.

At the Nutritional Rehabilitation Home in Saptari, she met a 13-year-old girl caring for a severely malnourished child and a 15-year-old with two malnourished children. These encounters were just a glimpse into a much larger reality—one shaped by deep poverty, early marriage, and limited access to education.

Nearly all of the families in these communities are landless and live in extremely difficult conditions. Girls and women face compounded challenges, from early marriage and lack of education to limited access to basic sanitation and healthcare.

Despite these challenges, Anjita also witnessed remarkable determination.

During her interactions with girls in grades eight and nine, she saw how deeply they wanted to stay in school. Many woke before dawn to cook, clean, and care for their families before walking long distances to school. After classes, they worked in the fields and returned home to more responsibilities. Some even woke as early as three in the morning during exam periods to find time to study.

“They understood that education was their only path to a different future,” Anjita says.

But the path is fragile. For many girls, a single failed exam or financial setback can mean leaving school and being married off.

Change is Beginning to Take Root

Through NYF’s programs, change is beginning to take root. Girls are stepping forward as peer counselors and leading street dramas that speak out against early marriage. Education support is helping ease the financial burden on families, making it possible for more children to remain in school. Women who never had the opportunity to study are enrolling in adult literacy classes and forming savings groups to support one another.

At first, gaining trust in these communities was not easy. Families were hesitant to allow their daughters to participate in programs. But through consistent engagement with both communities and local government, that trust is growing. Families are beginning to recognize the value of education and are increasingly supporting their daughters’ futures.

Anjita has seen villages that once felt defined by hardship slowly begin to shift, with more hope, activity, and possibility taking root.

One of her favorite parts of her work is witnessing and documenting these transformations—not only in individual lives, but across entire communities.

Anjita’s Commitment

Anjita’s commitment to this work began long before she joined NYF.

She grew up in Pokhara in a family of educators. Her father was a professor, and her mother was a teacher and community volunteer who organized women’s groups to help families earn income and save for their children’s education. Watching her mother support other women left a lasting impression.

At home, Anjita and her siblings were treated equally. But outside their home, she saw how deeply gender discrimination shaped everyday life.

Girls were often sent to less expensive schools while their brothers attended better ones. Men and boys were prioritized in nearly every aspect of life. These experiences stayed with her and shaped her understanding that inequality was not inevitable—it could be challenged and changed.

To Our Supporters

“I feel fortunate to work in this sector through NYF,” she says. “Together we are improving access to education, nutrition, leadership development, and economic opportunity for women, girls, and marginalized communities across Nepal.”

She also wants supporters to know how meaningful their generosity is.

“When you support a girl’s education,” Anjita says,“you are not only helping her attend school. You are reducing the likelihood of early marriage, breaking cycles of poverty and vulnerability, and giving her the opportunity to live with dignity and independence.“