Spring 2022 Newsletter
![](https://tras.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/image-1.png)
Our Spring 2022 Newsletter is now available:
- 60 years and Holding
- TRAS Accomplishments
- New Projects
- Scholarship Report
Our Spring 2022 Newsletter is now available:
Dr. Bob Walker of Victoria, BC passed away peacefully on the 30th of April, 2022.
Bob was born on the 15th of May, 1936, in Nottingham, England. He attended Lancaster Royal Grammar school, then Newcastle Medical School. After graduation, his first job was working in Bedford, England. In 1965 he emigrated to Canada, along with his wife Dorothy (nee Cowan) and two young children – Liz and Al. They settled in Thunder Bay, Ontario, where Bob practiced medicine for ten years at the Port Arthur clinic. During that time, a second son, Dave, was born. In 1974, Bob and his family moved to Vernon, BC, where he practiced as a GP. While they were living in Vernon, Dorothy passed away in 1977, and Bob became a widower.
Bob then met his future wife Janice (nee Mann), whom he married in 1980. They welcomed a new addition to the family, a daughter – Szu. After retirement, Bob and Janice moved to Vancouver, BC and later relocated to Victoria, BC.
Bob was a kind, gentle, compassionate and courageous man in his own humble way. He was an avid bird-watcher, enjoyed playing guitar and going for walks in the countryside, and loved British antique sports cars and car racing. He and Janice had the privilege of traveling to many parts of the world, such as East Africa, the Galapagos islands, and India. Bob was a practicing Buddhist and was ordained by Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh in 2012 with the Dharma name True Profound Achievement.
Bob and Janice sponsored the education of children in the Himalayas through the Trans-Himalayan Aid Society (TRAS) for many years. If you would like to make a donation to TRAS to honour and celebrate Bob’s life, you can do so by:
Thank you for honouring Bob’s memory.
The Fall 2021 newsletter is here!
Students and staff are delighted and grateful to have their broken or worn-out sports equipment replaced, thanks to a donation from the Ray Yee Memorial Fund.
Since 1962, TRAS has funded an array of projects in India, Nepal and Tibet. These range from a large ten-year integrated rural development project amounting to nearly $1million, to ongoing multi-year educational and health-related projects of $30,000 to $60,000 each, to smaller projects needing annual or one-time donations of $2,000 or $5,000. TRAS has funded just over 300 projects in the region.
The early thrust of TRAS’s work was directed to supporting Tibetan refugees. Later TRAS funds contributed to the creation of the Tibetan settlements in northern and southern India. In the 1980s, TRAS reached out to Indian villages near and beyond the Tibetan settlements, and gradually was able to take on larger integrated rural development projects in Nepal as well. Current TRAS-supported projects continue to support our belief that communities thrive when their children are healthy and educated.
TRAS works in partnership with local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in India, Nepal and Tibet. We send no westerners abroad to manage or to work on projects. We value the fact that we are able to assist local NGOs in their efforts to help their own people.
The benefits of working through local NGOs include:
The current projects are described below. (Click on the link for more information).
Support future nursing students through the Nurses Vocational Training Project
Support Indian village children’s health and education through the Voice of Children Projects
Support the education of Nepalese village children through the READI Nepal Humla Education Project
Support promising young students in post secondary education through the TRAS Scholarship Fund (TSF)
Midwifery training through the Innovative Development Education Academy (IDEA)
Voice of Children Covid-19 Emergency Response
Personal Protection Equipment for Tibetan Healthcare Workers in Nepal
To see the regions where TRAS-funded projects are located, please see the map of currently funded projects.