One Heart Worldwide

 Stories from the field

From Nepal

FROM THE FIELD

The moments behind our work in Nepal.

Stories
Change Begins When Support Reaches Mothers
Change Begins When Support Reaches Mothers

When community awareness programs brought information and support closer to home, a mother named Ranju in Madhesh Province found the confidence to seek the care she and her baby needed.

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Quality Care Does Not End When the Baby Arrives
Quality Care Does Not End When the Baby Arrives

When a late-night complication threatened a mother's life at a rural health post, nurse Sapna Shah already knew exactly what to do.

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The Visit That Changed Everything
The Visit That Changed Everything

A community mobilizer in Mahottari kept showing up at Radha's door, month after month, until something changed.

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A Safe Place to Wait: A New Maternity Waiting Home in Dolpa
A Safe Place to Wait: A New Maternity Waiting Home in Dolpa

A new maternity waiting home in Dolpa gives mothers who travel long distances a safe, warm place to stay near the hospital as they prepare to welcome their babies.

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Supporting Flood-Affected Mothers and Newborns in Nepal’s Hardest-Hit Districts
Supporting Flood-Affected Mothers and Newborns in Nepal’s Hardest-Hit Districts

After severe flooding struck Nepal's Madhesh and Bagmati provinces, One Heart Worldwide worked with local partners to reach pregnant women and new mothers with dignity kits, shelter, and safe spaces to give birth.

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A model health system: Jwalamukhi’s success in sustainability
A model health system: Jwalamukhi’s success in sustainability

What happens after a program ends? In Jwalamukhi, the answer is zero maternal deaths in three years and a community that has made safe motherhood its own.

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Mahottari mothers: building a safe motherhood system
Mahottari mothers: building a safe motherhood system

"I never give up." For community health volunteer Kiran Kumari Thakur, reaching every pregnant woman in her corner of Mahottari is a daily act of persistence, and it is beginning to shift how families think about safe motherhood.

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Rebuilding Lives: OHW’s ongoing Relief Efforts in earthquake-affected Rukum West
Rebuilding Lives: OHW’s ongoing Relief Efforts in earthquake-affected Rukum West

When a powerful earthquake struck Karnali Province, One Heart Worldwide's team was on the ground within hours, setting up medical tents and safe birthing spaces so mothers and newborns in Rukum West could still reach care.

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A Life-Changing Decision: Paljum’s Journey to Motherhood
A Life-Changing Decision: Paljum’s Journey to Motherhood

After years of loss and a lifetime far from any health facility, a community awareness program helped Paljum, a mother in a remote mountain village of Dolpa, choose to seek care for herself and her baby.

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Progress Reports

What we are working on and where we are headed.

Stories
From Relief To Recovery
From Relief To Recovery

Three weeks after catastrophic floods struck central Nepal, One Heart Worldwide is working across Nuwakot, Rasuwa, and Dhading, alongside the Government of Nepal, to help families as the response turns from relief toward recovery.

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Standing with Nepal: An Update on Our Flood Response
Standing with Nepal: An Update on Our Flood Response

In the wake of catastrophic floods in central Nepal, our team is reaching families in Rasuwa and Nuwakot, alongside the Government of Nepal, as the response moves from rescue toward relief and recovery.

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Q1 2026: Four Districts Graduate, One Mission Keeps Moving
Q1 2026: Four Districts Graduate, One Mission Keeps Moving

Four districts reach a major milestone, simulation labs open across Nepal, and the Care Companion Program scales to 27 hospitals. Here is what our team accomplished in the first quarter of 2026.

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When a Community Decides Enough is Enough
When a Community Decides Enough is Enough

After years of cramped conditions and inadequate care, Bagchaur Municipality invested in a new birthing center. 104 mothers have delivered there since.

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A Tale of Two Births: Transforming Maternal and Newborn Health in Nepal
A Tale of Two Births: Transforming Maternal and Newborn Health in Nepal

A look back at how childbirth in Nepal has changed since 2010, from a time of scarce care in remote regions to communities with birthing centers, skilled attendants, and mothers who can seek care close to home.

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Sarlahi: A Story of hope and change
Sarlahi: A Story of hope and change

When local governments in Sarlahi began investing in their own health facilities, the change reached mothers directly: better-equipped birthing centers, trained nurses, and care closer to home.

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From Disparities to Progress: Nepal's Journey in Maternal and Child Health
From Disparities to Progress: Nepal's Journey in Maternal and Child Health

Nepal has made remarkable strides in maternal and newborn health, but as experts discussed in a recent webinar, deep provincial disparities remain.

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Footprints for sustaining quality maternal and neonatal healthcare
Footprints for sustaining quality maternal and neonatal healthcare

When Ramuna reached her local health post in the throes of a dangerous delivery, the skilled nurses and renovated birthing center waiting for her were the lasting result of a partnership that has since put Sankhuwasabha's care in local hands.

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A new journey: OHW in the Madhesh Province
A new journey: OHW in the Madhesh Province

As One Heart Worldwide begins its work in Nepal's Madhesh Province, District Coordinator Amrendra Ray sees both hard challenges and real opportunity in partnering with local governments to make maternal care a priority.

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OHW Voices

Perspectives from the people who know this work best.

Stories
Dr. Usha Jha’s Vision: Bridging Socioeconomic Gaps & Advancing Maternal Health in Nepal
Dr. Usha Jha’s Vision: Bridging Socioeconomic Gaps & Advancing Maternal Health in Nepal

Dr. Usha Jha has spent decades championing women's empowerment in Nepal, and now brings that passion to maternal and newborn health as a member of One Heart Worldwide's Nepal Advisory Board.

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Niraj’s journey: Uplifting Maternal and Neonatal Health in Rural Nepal
Niraj’s journey: Uplifting Maternal and Neonatal Health in Rural Nepal

Across some of Nepal's most rural districts, Niraj Bhattarai has spent his career bringing care closer to mothers and newborns, and now helps local governments invest in birthing centers that will outlast any single program.

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From engineer to development leader: Mr. Achyut Luitel’s Journey
From engineer to development leader: Mr. Achyut Luitel’s Journey

Trained as an engineer, Mr. Achyut Luitel built a career on the belief that lasting change is community-owned, and now brings that conviction to One Heart Worldwide's Nepal Advisory Board.

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Meet the Chair: A Conversation with Dr. Kirsten Meisinger, the new Board Chair of One Heart
Meet the Chair: A Conversation with Dr. Kirsten Meisinger, the new Board Chair of One Heart

A family physician who has spent her career transforming how primary care works, Dr. Kirsten Meisinger brings a deep belief in team-based, person-centered medicine to her role as One Heart Worldwide's Board Chair.

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From One to One Million: The Story of One Heart’s First Birth in Nepal
From One to One Million: The Story of One Heart’s First Birth in Nepal

When a woman went into a difficult labor in a remote Baglung village, the men of the community carried her barefoot down a cliff to reach help, and Arlene Samen knew her work in Nepal was only beginning.

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Reaching underserved communities in Karnali through grassroots interventions
Reaching underserved communities in Karnali through grassroots interventions

Across the remote, mountainous districts of Karnali Province, One Heart Worldwide and its local partners are helping governments and communities build maternal care systems designed to last long after the program ends.

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Creating opportunities for strengthening maternal health in the Madhesh Province
Creating opportunities for strengthening maternal health in the Madhesh Province

For Nilesh Kumar Pravana, strengthening maternal care in Madhesh Province is personal, and it starts with a team drawn from the very communities it serves, fluent in their languages and rooted in their customs.

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Meet OHW Staff member: Nikita Chaudhary
Meet OHW Staff member: Nikita Chaudhary

As one of the youngest members of One Heart Worldwide's Nepal team, nurse and field supervisor Nikita Chaudhary spends her days helping government nurses in rural Sarlahi sharpen the skills that keep mothers and babies safe.

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Meet OHW staff member: Lok Mani Jiri
Meet OHW staff member: Lok Mani Jiri

Newly arrived as One Heart Worldwide's coordinator in Rukum West, Lok Mani Giri is finding that the surest path to trust runs through local partners who know the community as their own.

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