The HEAL Programme in Nepal is intended to integrate training in literacy with health education, and is built round the participation of a community health volunteer, who is a local woman. The programme has 3 distinct phases:
(i) Basic 6-month literacy course supplemented by health lessons.
(ii) Three-month post-literacy course, to discuss a specific health text.
(iii) 12-month continuing education programme (without facilitator), to study a set of booklets written by the learners.
This model was drawn on, and adopted, in order to empower rural women through financial services. In this approach, supplementary exercises are provided for the 6month basic literacy course, with a short illustrated discussion of aspects relating to gender, women's empowerment, and group formation.
At the end of the course, the (neo-literate) women continue with a 3-month post-literacy course ("Thalani"), in which they use their new literacy skills and knowledge to learn more about group formation, rules about savings and credit, maintaining accounts and family budgets, calculating interest rates and awareness of women's assets. In the final (third) phase, the women use a five-book continuing education series that provides information on group decision-making, using group savings' funds to provide credit to members and those outside the group, access to outside credit, and practice mathematical problems to help maintain group accounts. Once the five-month programme has been completed, the women form savings groups or go on to use credit to form micro-enterprises. In 2 districts of western Nepal, 77 savings and credit groups, each with a membership of 7 -12 women, were formed over a period of 2 years.

SOURCE: World Education - Nepal (1996)