My candidacy for NRNA ICC General Secretary: Bishnu Maya Pariyar

Written by Bishnu Maya Pariyar

Wednesday, 31 August 2011 22:00

Exclusive: Boston, USA- In the past, NRN ICC had played key role to advocate our rights but we still have many critical issues to be resolved that affect our lives i.e. dual citizenship, giving back to Nepal whether trough investment or charity, security and dignity of our fellow brothers and sisters in the middle-east and elsewhere. And I know I can play an instrumental role as the General Secretary of NRNA ICC to advocate and advance these issues and pay vigil where we stand to achieve these goals.

Bishnu Maya Pariyar who has announced her candidacy for General Secretary of NRNA ICC. Photo: eEyeCam.com

Dear all,

Namaste & Teej greetings.

First, let me send you my warm greetings of Teej, Nepalese women’s own festival.

I have already communicated with you about my intention of running for the General Secretary position of NRN ICC and have received your positive and invaluable suggestions. Now, after the positive feedback, finally, I have decided and committed to stay on this race.

As I mentioned in my previous email that my candidacy for ICC is not my sole decision but the choice of several North American NRN leaders as well as many well wisher Nepalese Diaspora activists from around the world. And I am so happy to share with you that, this is, indeed, a good moment for me to stand for what I believe as non-resident Nepali and social activist. After analyzing the need of my candidacy very carefully, I came to believe that I uniquely qualified for this position to further strengthen the NRN rights.

As you may know that, currently, I am a Board of Director of NRN USA. But I have been involved in NRN issues well before even NRN USA was formally established in 2010 and since 2007 when I was appointed as Regional Director of Nepalis Association Council (NAC) which was working as the national representative body of NRN NCC of USA.

My Agenda

I want to assure you that my candidacy is not for my personal benefit or growth but for the NRN issues that have to be addressed in effective manner nationally and internationally in order to achieve our rights, dignity and recognition.

In the past, NRN ICC had played key role to advocate our rights but we still have many critical issues to be resolved that affect our lives i.e. dual citizenship, giving back to Nepal whether trough investment or charity, security and dignity of our fellow brothers and sisters in the middle-east and elsewhere. And I know I can play an instrumental role as the General Secretary of NRNA ICC to advocate and advance these issues and pay vigil where we stand to achieve these goals.

My Social involvement

As a member of Dalit community and as a woman, I have had to overcome many obstacles since my childhood. That is why I deeply got involved in grass root change movement in Nepal since 1996 when I co-founded Association of Dalit Women’s Advancement of Nepal (ADWAN).

I also founded Empower Dalit Women of Nepal (EDWON) in Boston, Massachusetts in 2003. Since then EDWON has successfully raised more than half a million dollars in donations in the USA to help the underprivileged and marginalized, basically, the dalit women and children in Nepal through my organization ADWAN in Nepal. Until now, more than 2,500 women have been empowered and more than 3,000 students have been benefited in Nepal through EDWON/ADWAN’s joint efforts.

Recognition

Due to my work in the fields of human rights of women and Dalits as well as in bringing social change through development, my contributions have not gone unnoticed. Recently, I was honoured Nepal Samman 2068 by Sagarmatha Pratisthan in Kathmandu. Prior to that I was awarded The Bridge Builder Award 2006 from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Perdita Hudson Human Rights Award 2007 by United Nations Association of USA; Dr. Ambedkar Award 2003 by Association of International Dalit Organizations, Canada; Margaret McNamara Memorial Award 2007 by World Bank Family Network, Washington D.C.; Women's Leadership Award and President Cup Award from Pine Manor College, and Social change Fellow from Clark University.

Work

In addition to being the founding president of ADWAN and founder of EDWON, I work as a Domestic Violence and Family Advocate at both the Neponset Health Center and the Asian Task Force in Massachusetts. In this role, I communicate directly with victims of domestic violence and guide them to stabilization and empowerment through various levels of support and training.

Education

I have completed my bachelor’s from Pine Manor College and master’s degree from Clark University (USA) in International Development and Social Change in 2007.

I am looking forward to having your full support and guidance in the future.

I would like to thank you in advance for your kind cooperation.

I can be reached at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

August 29, 2011

With best regards

Bishnu Maya Pariyar

Board of Director, NRN USA
Founder, Empower Dalit Women of Nepal (EDWON), USA
President, Association of Dalit Women’s Advancement of Nepal (ADWAN), Kathmandu

ww.adwannepal.org & www.edwon.org