TRAS has worked with SHARE, a local NGO in Manali, north India, for 18 years. SHARE’s goal is to bring better health, educational and income generation opportunities to the impoverished villages in the hills above Manali. The TRAS successful latrine building project completed over 1,000 toilets. The Family Health Project saw all children immunized and 750 families joining a health plan which includes monthly visits and education. An environmental protection program was started in several schools. Each of these projects has had long-term benefits: by the end of 2011, every household will have a latrine, although funding of new latrines stopped several years ago. Mothers now routinely take their babies into Manali for vaccinations. The health plan has spread to hundreds more households than expected. Water sources are cleaner. The child mortality rate has decreased dramatically.
In 2010, TRAS and SHARE partnered on a new project to bring a vocational training program to the village youth, giving them their first chance to prepare for jobs in the growing tourist industry based in Manali. Classes are held in computer skills, English, general knowledge, and hospitality.
December, 2010: The first six-month report shows unexpected results: the students have quickly and adeptly picked up computer skills, and some have asked for an extension of the program to include accounting and typing in Hindi. Two students have branched out into higher education in math and science with the goal of attending university. English skills, however, are not as strong. The good news is that the English course will be extended, and SHARE is offering a refresher course in English language for local teachers. So far, 13 enthusiastic participants have enrolled, which bodes well for the future. TRAS is delighted with the early results of this three-year project.