Bonita Sharma at an event in 2019

Bonita Sharma (English: बोनिता शर्मा) is a Nepali health and nutrition activist. She runs Social Changemakers and Innovators (SOCHAI) and in 2019 was listed as one of the BBC's 100 Women.

Early life

Sharma was born in Nepal. She studied for a BA in Public Health at Purbanchal University and took a master's degree in Nutrition from Tribhuvan University.[1]

Career

Bonita Sharma founded Social Changemakers and Innovators (SOCHAI) in 2017.[2] It is a non-profit organization which aims to eradicate malnutrition and to encourage good health, particularly for women and children.[3] In order to reduce child deaths from malnutrition, she introduced a bracelet called Nutribeads (Poshan Maala) which helps mothers to plan meals for their children.[4] In 2016, Nutribeads won the Asia Pacific Youth Innovation Challenge.[1] With the profits raised from selling the bracelets, SOCHAI was able to provide aid to mothers and children affected by disaster in the Morang district of eastern Nepal.[1]

SOCHAI is also producing Red Cycle bracelets with 28 beads so that women can plan their menstrual cycle using different colours.[5] Sharma writes on issues affecting women such as nutrition, abortion and COVID-19.[6][7] Sharma's name was announced on the BBC's 100 Women list in 2019 and she is a UNESCO Female Champion as part of the Malala Fund for Girls’ Right to Education.[4][2] She also won the Zero Hunger category award of the Lead 2030 Challenge presented by One Young World, which gave her $50,000.[1] Bonita is also awarded the Goalkeeper Global Goals Progress Award 2020 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.[8][9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Rijal, Ajita. "The Rising Nepal: Bonita, latest inspiration to Nepali youth". The Rising Nepal. Archived from the original on 8 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Bonita, a young change-maker inspires girls and women in Nepal through education". UNESCO. 23 January 2019. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  3. ↑ "Bonita Sharma in 'BBC 100 women 2019' list". My City. 16 October 2019. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  4. 1 2 "BBC 100 Women 2019: Who is on the list?". BBC News. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2020. In a bid to tackle child deaths to malnutrition, she designed Nutribeads, a bracelet for new mums with different coloured beads to remind them what to feed their babies.
  5. ↑ "Accelerating mission nutrition, Bonita Sharma". TNM. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  6. ↑ Sharma, Bonita. "How about stepping into our shoes? – September 28 Campaign". September 28. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  7. ↑ Sharma, Bonita (18 March 2020). "Stop the spread of fake news". Kathmandu Post. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  8. ↑ "We Are Goalkeepers". www.gatesfoundation.org. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  9. ↑ "2 OYW Ambassadors named Goalkeepers Award Winners". www.oneyoungworld.com. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
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