Tarayana Programs
1) Support vulnerable individuals to achieve greater socio-economic security
Tarayana Foundation provides lifelong security for many individuals, giving them a sense of dignity in life. The Foundation supported 210 individuals in Bhutan through monthly maintenance allowance of Nu. 500. The identification of the beneficiaries was done through rural needs assessment visits and selection is done by the Management Committee upon verification by local institutions. As of 2009, this list has been merged successfully with that of His Majesty’s Welfare Program. Tarayana still provides hands on and action oriented needs based support to destitute disadvantaged individuals beyond that of monetary needs. In addition, entire villages have been empowered through housing skills training and every household has new and improved homes built in traditional Bhutanese style selected by the community themselves. Many families have been helped with roofing of their houses, starting new initiatives and rebuilding lives after disasters.
2) Sponsor students in disadvantaged circumstances: endowment fund for education
The endowment fund has been set up through grants from Save the Children-USA, Lotus Outreach, Elysium Foundation and generous personal donors, such as Mrs. Serena Chopra.
The fund is deposited into Tarayana account at the Bhutan National Bank for a fixed period of one year and thereafter the deposit is renewed for the next year after withdrawing the interest. The interest generated from the fixed deposit is utilized to provide maintenance grants for school going students hailing from less privileged background. The maintenance grants provide for the students' school fees, uniforms, supplementary meal contributions and other associated expenses.
As of February 2009, the Foundation supported 1200 students —from primary level up to the 10th standard — from economically disadvantaged families and communities all over Bhutan to continue their education. The interest earned was not sufficient and additional fund had to be raised in order meet the expenses. The beneficiaries are identified in collaboration with the Geog and Dzongkhag officials. Tarayana Field Staff also help identify needy students based on verifications from respective community schools. The members of the Tarayana School Clubs also help identify student beneficiaries.
This programme has now been successfully merged with that of His Majesty’s Welfare Program. Tarayana however, supports the mid-day meals being provided to the schools in our core communities. Tarayana supports students in high schools and also facilitates deserving students to avail secondary and tertiary education. The provision of beds, mattresses, pillows, bed-sheets and blankets are being taken up for some of the Community Primary Schools. However, owing to the lack of sufficient fund, the foundation regrets the inability to support the large number of informal boarders in remote communities around the country. Tarayana therefore invites and highly appreciates donations in both cash and kind, grants, and funds from individuals as well as organizations to support this program to achieve its objective of educating disadvantaged children in Bhutan, which is in consonance with the United Nations' Millennium Development Goal of achieving universal primary education.
3) Support needy patients to receive medical care: facilitate access to medical
services
The successful collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Duangkeow Foundation in Thailand, the Foundation organized treatment of 69 people with cleft lips and cleft palates in May 2004 within a year of its establishment. Since then, Tarayana with support from the Ministry of Health and in partnership with the volunteers from Surgicorp, a volunteer organization of plastic surgeons, doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, and volunteers, have conducted an annual Restorative Surgical Camp at the Paro. At the last two camps burn victims were also included as well cases of bear maul victims needing restorative surgeries.
In addition, Tarayana has also been sponsoring poor patients avail medical care by providing travel and sustenance allowance so that the patients can receive appropriate care at the regional as well as national referral hospitals. Tarayana is currently working towards putting in place a 20 bedded extension so that the camp can be continued annually at the Paro District Hospital without overcrowding it. The next camp is scheduled for April-May 2010. The Ministry of Health provides logistical support and the use of the Paro Hospital for the camp along with the provision of one batch of the final year trainees from RIHS to help with the increased postoperative care.
4) Promote relevant artisan skills to enhance rural income: promotion of artisan
skills and crafts
Construction of Craft Worksheds
Community work sheds have been constructed in almost all the communities that Tarayana is currently working with. These work sheds provide the community with common facilities and a gathering place for them to come together to work on their craft and to learn new skills. These sheds are also used as venues for local meeting and training. The community owns and utilizes the work shed according to the demands of the community. These worsteds are provided with solar lights so that the community members can work for a few hours each night. The added income that the community earns contributes to poverty alleviation in some small measures. A dozen such centres have been built by the different communities with support from some of our development partners like Helvetas, UNDP and SDS. We believe that these common facilities bring about improved participation in seeking out suitable socio-economic activities for the whole communities. These are also proving to be the centres of rejuvenation and community growth as a whole. It costs roughly about US$ 5000/- to set up one such Community Workshed and there is need to replicate this model to other rural communities based on the level of community development and growth that has been achieved.
Some of the skills taught and sharpened in the past seven (nearly) years include traditional paper making, traditional clay pot making, nettle weaving, soap and candle making, refining cane and bamboo crafts, organic farming, book keeping, wood turning, cotton weaving, seed production for exchange between villages and marketing skills. Most advocacy work in promoting personal health and hygiene, nutrition and sanitation, protection of the watershed and local ecosystems, HIV-AIDS awareness and the need for better management and utilization of local resources are all carried out within the premise of the worksheds. Many other stakeholders are also use the worksheds to conduct their meetings and training.
5) Improve socio-economic security of rural communities: housing improvement programme
The Lhop communities in South Western Bhutan are one of the most disadvantaged despite of the efforts made by the government. The Lhops made their livelihood by raising goats and shifting cultivation as was practiced in the old days. In recent years, both these activities have been curtailed with the enforcement of the Environmental polices restricting goat rearing as well as shrinking area under shifting cultivation. These families lack even basic shelter from the elements, as their dwellings are nothing more than thatched huts put up on bamboo stilts. The present shelters in use have higher associated health hazards brought on by exposure to the elements. Sanitation and hygiene are also of equal concern that needs to be addressed.
The project supported by Save the Children Fund-USA (Bhutan) constructed three demonstration houses one each in the village of Lotokuchu Jigme, Lotokuchu Singye and Lotokuchu Wangchuck. The construction of these houses in the villages provided skills learning opportunities for the local population. A total of 20 villagers (both men and women) have been trained in masonry and carpentry so that in future they do not have to look outside skills in building their houses.
As of October 2009, 90 houses have been completed in the Lhop villages and 18 are in various stages of completion. There are two identified households that so not have the capacity to take up this task and the Lhop community has agreed to work together to help these families to complete their houses.
Fifteen houses were constructed in Rukha during the year 2007. Two of the first houses were constructed as hands on training for carpenters, masons and traditional house building skills with technical support from the Construction Training Centre and financial support from UNDP and Helvetas. The remaining 13 houses were constructed using one master carpenter and several apprentices recruited from those who showed the best potential during the training phase. On popular demand for similar opportunities to the neighbouring villages of Lawa, Lamgang, Samthang, Migtena, Kashichego and Thaphu, Tarayana initiated a similar programme of wholistic rural development in these villages. Five of the apprentice carpenters were upgraded to Master carpenters and engaged in housing improvement in these villages. Similar housing improvement components of rural development is being undertaken in Silambi village in Mongar, Langdurbi, Digala and Kalamti villages in Zhemgang and the Monpa villages of Jangbi and Wangling in Trongsa. Acknowledging the fact that basic shelter seems to evade some of the poor people in rural communities Tarayana is committed to making it possible to put a roof over their heads.
6) Make Tarayana an organization of passionate professionals
Excellence of an organization is in the excellence of its people. The quality of institution is ultimately set by the quality of a team of top leaders as professionals and managers, and also as human beings with good values/ethics and emotional intelligence. Tarayana will take on the challenge to create an organization of passionate professionals, who can really see life through the eyes of the economically disadvantaged people, and really comprehend their dreams, without any prejudice or pre-conception whatsoever.
Tarayana's people will in turn take responsibility for making the most of the opportunities available to them, will know what is expected of them, and will perform where and when the Foundation needs them most.
Tarayana Institutional Capacity Building
The Foundation has grown within the nearly seven years of its existence and now has seven full time employees at the Secretariat, a 13 member Executive committee, seven field staff posted in the rural communities and seven employees who help with the product improvement, sales and marketing of the rural produce.
Tarayana has as of July 14th 2009, moved into the Tarayana Centre, Chubachu. A beautiful Centre that was gifted by the Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. as a turnkey project. All the furniture for the new Centre was sponsored by Mrs. Serena Chopra, Tarayana’s long time friend and sponsor. The formal inauguration of the Centre was held on the 9th of October 2009.
To ensure that the Foundation continues to meet the growing challenge of its mission, Tarayana will place special focus on the continuous improvement of its processes and how it carries out its services for the poor people. Tarayana will engage in an ongoing process of assessment and will strive to be a “learning organization.” The Foundation will be a goal-driven organization, with its attention firmly fixed on performance, strong financial management, and effective communication.
Fostering Volunteerism in Youth through Tarayana
Clubs
Tarayana clubs were established in sixteen high schools and few higher institutes in 2004, the current number of Clubs stand at 85 with a volunteer student membership of 4500, spread over the whole country. The main purpose of these clubs is to help the rural communities close to the schools and institutes locally and to foster the spirit of volunteerism in the club members. It is hoped that all the club members will learn to be more socially responsible and seeks ways and means to be useful to the community at large. Tarayana provides Nu. 10,000 to each club as a starting fund to support the activities of these clubs. The choice of activities depends on the club members based on their needs. This is also to encourage innovation. Through these clubs, compassion, serving those in need and social work skills are promoted. Advocacy campaigns are also taken up by the children to create awareness on several issues of importance to the local communities.
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