Târâyana staff

Chime joined Tarayana as Director General of the Foundation in July 2005. Prior to it, she was the head of Policy and Planning Division (PPD) in the Ministry of Agriculture, the Royal Government of Bhutan. She had also been a core working-committee member of the Foundation from the day Tarayana was established. She has recently been promoted as the Secretary General of the Foundation.

Chime has dedicated herself to the cause of poverty alleviation in Bhutan for the last 18 years in various capacities including that of Programme Coordinator for the Integrated Horticulture Development Programme, seeking out interventions that bring in cash income as well as improved household nutrition. She brings to the Foundation her experiences and expertise of having served at National Policy as a member of the Planning Commission, Renewable Natural Resources’ sectoral policy as head of PPD, MOA, and as member in many Governmental committees and boards. She was a former member of the Policy Analysts Network, South Asia (PANSA) and continues to serve as one of two National Commissioners for the Independent South Asia Commission on Poverty Alleviation (ISACPA), and works closely with other national as well as regional poverty alleviation projects and programmes. She has a masters degree from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. She was born in the year of Dragon.

Tshering Yandzon is one of the original staff of the Foundation. Currently, she is doing her masters degree in "Applied Community change and Conservation" in West Virginia. She graduated from Sherubtse College in 2001 with a degree in Bachelor of Commerce. After graduating, she helped her family with their business and also worked in Bhutan Broad Casting Service as a T.V news presenter.

She joined Tarayana Foundation in 2003 when it was first founded and has been dedicated to its cause since then. She loves working with the rurall communities and strives to help them in everyway possible. She is a social worker at heart and is a member of several social committees like RSPCA and U.N V. She was born in the year of Dragon.

A graduate of Sherubtse College in Bhutan, Sonam Pem served as a fulltime volunteer for seven months before joining as a permenant staff in 2006. Sonam looks after several rural projects, liaise with international organizations, such as UNDP, the Scholarship Endownment Program and Tarayana School Clubs supported by Save the Children US. She travels to the rural areas even if it takes one-day- or two-day hike to inspect projects and monitoring.

Sonam says she finds it fulfilling to work to help people. She is happy with her career as a social worker. In the future, she would like to pursue her masters degree in social work at a university outside the country. She is a soft-spoken and quiet girl who rarely goes out. She was born in the year of pig. She is originally from Paro. Sonam Pem is based in the Tarayana office in Thimphu.

Joined the Foundation from its beginning, Sonam Yangden is one of the oldest staff who know everything about the Foundation. As an accountant, she looks after all the money-matter, wire money for field officers in remote areas, and processes applications from people who wish to become beneficiaries. Sonam appears to be shy but she is an outgoing and she loves to socialize. She was born in the year of dog.

Dawa joined Tarayana in 2004 and he is one of the first field officers. He enjoys being with people and gets great satisfaction and joy from helping people. He once carried an 85-year-old, blind and deaf man down to a nearby village and helped him find proper shelter.

He says he strives to be a good role model in the community where he serves. "Trust is very important," Dawa says. "If people think you are not a good person, they don't trust you. I am representing Tarayana everywhere I go and people are watching, so I must be very careful and be a good role model." Therefore, he does not drink and does not smoke. No matter how late he goes to bed, he gets up early, just like other village people.

He is yet to find his wife and has no children. He was born in the year of horse. Dawa is usually stationed in the village of Langthel in Trongsa.

Namgay says he loves to live in a place where there is no electricity. He takes pride in serving people in the rural communities. In rural area, people's relationship is much tighter than that of people in the cities like Thimphu, and he likes that aspect of life in rural area.

"In rural areas, people look after each other and share whatever they have," Namgay says. Therefore, it is very important not to destroy that traditional network and support systems that they have when intervening with development activities in the rural communities, he explains. "You have to be very careful."

Prior to joining Tarayana, he had worked as a sanitation inspector for the government. He is a father of a boy and was born in the year of lamb. Namgay is usually stationed in the village of Endocholing in Trongsa.

The youngest field officer, Passang has many responsibilities. He looks after several rural community projects on site. He also assists with the overall scholarship endowment program and is in chage of the Zhemgang comonent.

He is usually stationed in Zhemgang but is currently helping out in the Olep community in Rukha, Wangdi.

He is the newest member of the Tarayana Field Staff and is in charge of the Foundation's activities in Silambi geog, Werelingla Dungkhag, Mongar. This is one of the most difficult amongst the Tarayana sites. It take three full days trek from the nearest road head at Thingkarbi which in turn is two days drive from Thimphu.

Before joining the Foundation, Sonam worked as an instructor for Non Formal Education and was posted in the remote village of Broksar, Mongar. He is a capable and deligent staff.