Archived Projects

For more than 20 years, the Innovative Development Education Academy (IDEA) in Pokhara, Nepal has been running an intensive 18‑month midwifery education and training program for girls and women from remote Himalayan communities. This program has played a crucial role in improving maternal and child health in regions where access to skilled birth attendants is extremely limited.

Graduates return to their villages equipped with life‑saving skills, helping reduce preventable deaths among mothers and newborns and strengthening community health systems in places that need it most.

Between 2019 and 2021, TRAS provided funding for 10 students to complete the midwifery program and earn their Midwifery Certificate, directly contributing to safer births and healthier families across rural Nepal.

Read more about the IDEA Midwifery Project here.

The long‑running midwifery program at IDEA was discontinued after the Nepalese Ministry of Health mandated that only institutes with their own 100‑bed hospital could offer midwifery education. As a result, IDEA was compelled to find an alternative way to continue training urgently needed maternal‑health workers. In coordination with the Ministry of Health, IDEA successfully launched an intensive three‑month Skilled Birth Attendant (SBA) course.

This program provides two months of residential training followed by a one‑month internship and is offered to existing medical personnel so they can support midwives and intervene during complicated deliveries where the lives of mothers and newborns may be at risk.

IDEA now selects 15 students every three months for this advanced SBA training, with the requirement that graduates return to their rural communities to provide safe delivery services. The results have been highly encouraging, and the Ministry of Health has expressed its satisfaction with the program’s effectiveness.

IDEA’s Founder and Director, Mr. R.C. Devkota, wrote:

IDEA has a long history of development experience in rural Nepal since its establishment in 1984. One of our most successful programs has been the promotion and production of health personnel and the development of their professional capabilities through education and training. We have 25 years of experience producing midwives to support the Government of Nepal at the grassroots level, particularly Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs).

We are now focusing on Skilled Birth Attendant (SBA) training to reduce unwanted pregnancies and to lower mortality rates during delivery. SBAs are deployed to rural birthing centres to meet the needs of remote populations. We therefore need continued support from TRAS to train many more SBAs to meet Nepal’s growing demand for qualified health professionals.

The goal of the National Safe Motherhood Program is to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality and improve health outcomes through preventive and promotive activities, while addressing avoidable factors that cause death during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. Evidence shows that delays in seeking care, reaching care, and receiving care are key contributors to maternal and newborn mortality. SBA training is essential to overcoming these barriers.

From 2022 to 2026, TRAS has committed to supporting 15 SBA trainees yearly and currently requires $17,000 CAD to complete this commitment (approximately $1,134 CAD per student). A generous donor has already contributed toward this goal, and we hope others will join him in supporting this vital program.

Click here for ways to donate

Reports from IDEA

IDEA Report for 2025- 2026

IDEA Newsletter 2026

IDEA Newsletter 2025

SBA Training Report 2025

SBA Training Report 2024

Nirmala’s Story

SBA Training Report 2023

IDEA Report 2023

SBA Training Report 2022

Project # 348 – 2023

His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Central Tibetan Relief Committee sent an urgent appeal in September, 2023 to organizations such as TRAS for flood relief help in Tibetan Settlements in Himachal Pradesh.

Because of global climate changes, the Himalaya region has been adversely impacted by incessant rainfall, resulting in the destruction of houses and properties.

The cluster of Tibetan settlements in Kullu are located close to the banks of the flood prone river Beas rendering them particularly susceptible to various natura disasters, including floods, landslides, and cloud bursts. Such calamities have become a recurring problem due to the drastic change in climate conditions.

In the recent flooding event that occurred in July 2023, the Kullu Tibetan settlements situated along the riverbanks have experienced severe devastation. The existing flood protection walls at Kullu Yulokoe and 15-mile settlement were mostly swept away, leading to substantial damage and loss of houses. Unquestionably, residing in such locations poses a significant risk to human lives and property.

The cluster Tibetan settlement details are as follows:

• Kullu Dobhi Settlement accommodates 91 households with a population of 334 members.
• 15-mile Settlement is composed of 15 households with a total population of 60 members.
• Yulokoe Settlement accommodates 65 households with a population of 278 members.
• Manali Dickeyling Settlement accommodates 45 households with a population of 145 members.

The primary objective of the project is to construct retaining walls to prevent flooding in the future. This will provide the residents with a sense of security and relief during seasonal heavy rainfalls, as the retaining wall will help mitigate the risk of flood damage, property damage and loss of life.

The long-term result will not only sustain the underneath soil for a longer period but also safeguard from structural damage as well contributing to a long-term environmental sustainability.

TRAS has been able to commit $5,000 to help pay for repairs and the strengthening of retaining walls.

News release from CTA News (tibet.net)News release from CTA News (tibet.net) – Flooding and Damage in Tibetan Residential Areas of Kullu District

CTA Project update February 2024 is available here

Project #347 – 2023

For more than 20 years, TRAS has supported the 500 students and staff at Munsel-ling School in the Spiti Valley in northern India. The Indian government requires that schools holding high school examinations have a separate examination hall. Until 2023, Munsel-ling students have written their exams sitting on the bare ground or on roofs exposed to the bitter winter cold.

To satisfy the government requirement, Munsel-ling School recently added a second story to the existing Cultural Hall. Now, the base floor of the Examination Hall is the roof of the Cultural Hall (which was built in 2002).

The roof of the Cultural Hall was made of sabeda bali timber beams because they were inexpensive and easily accessible at the time. The beams have suffered damage from years of snowfall and rain and have become brittle and may collapse under weight. So not only is it unsafe, but very uncomfortable for students to be sitting on the mud floor. The hall will also be used for seminars and workshops.

There were three choices presented to TRAS: concrete (too cold and too heavy), cheap wood planks (would rot quickly and be prey to insect infestation) and teak flooring (expensive but long lasting and rot and insect resistant).

TRAS decided to go with the longer-lasting choice and approved the budget of $19,250 CAD to cover the 80ft by 40ft hall with teak planks.

A wood floor will also provide more comfort for the students because it helps maintain constant room temperature and will hold heat on chilly days.

Click here for the progress report and photos November 2023

Project #341 – 2022

For more than 20 years, TRAS has supported the 500 students and staff at Munsel-ling School in the Spiti Valley in northern India. Residents of Spiti Valley experience harsh winter conditions, with temperatures often plunging to -30°C and below.

For the students at Munsel-ling, staying warm is a daily challenge for many months of the year. In mountain deserts like the Spiti Valley, firewood is expensive and hard to come by. Although the smoke-free, fuel-efficient rocket stoves have massively improved the living conditions at Munsel-ling School, the temperatures in the Spiti Valley are so frigid that polythene sheets were laid along the side of each

building each year to generate solar heat. Because new sheets needed to be purchased and installed each year, this was not a sustainable solution.

TRAS is fundraising to support the installation of a passive solar wall to heat the junior girls’ dormitory, which houses around 80 students. This fixture will create an 80×8 ft. buffer zone of stone, concrete, and very large windows, which will heat the interior of the building and provide a bulwark against harsh winter winds.

Being a desert, there is little precipitation during the coldest months, but lots of sunshine. When the dormitory was built, the long wall was positioned to face south; the new buffer will act as a conservatory to warm the actual dormitory building. A similar wall has already been built against the boys’ and senior girls’ dormitories with great success.

TRAS was able to send Munsel-ling $18,436 CAD to help with this project. Thank you to all of our donors that made this possible.

Project #338 – 2021

Dekyiling submitted a request for assistance in replacing their outdated office computers.

“Today, I am here to make a special request for the administration section that we are running our office works mostly from the desk of the Manager and the Accountant/Secretary for the daily administrative and welfare work of the Society. Dekyiling Tibetan Handicraft Society was established in the year 1982 in the northern Indian town of Dehradun with the aims and objective to promote Tibetan traditional Arts & Crafts and its preservation. The society has been successful to live up to the expectations of the people with very kind support from our donors/supporters without which it had not been at this stage now. So we express our sincere gratitude to all those who have extended their valuable support for children’s education, grannies, welfare and projects at the time of need.

Coming to the proposal, the administrative working computer set (desktop) of both the Manager and the Accountant/Secretary are quite outdated models of 2012 which often creates problems causing loss of saved data/documents resulting in administrative obstacles and disturbances. Hence, we request you for funding of 2 desktop computers which are costing around Rs.46,100 X 2 sets= INRs.92,200 as of today if the cost does not fluctuate. We are sure that your good office will look into our proposal favourably and help us for a better working of our office.”

The CTA is no longer funding admin costs for the small settlements in India. As you can imagine handicraft sales are a way down due to the COVID pandemic so they did not have the available funds for this purchase.

TRAS was able to fund this project – $1,626

Dekyiling reported in December 2021 the successful installation of two computers.