Noticing that several primary school children had very worn out shoes or were wearing sandals, our staff organised shoes and socks for the 39 children who really needed them. The children were very excited to have them as it is really very tough running around with holes in your shoes when there is snow on the ground!

On a cold Tuesday, Nishtha clinic team traveled to meet a gathering of over 50 women in village Sihampta in Chamba district.  We provided  basic health checks, detailed education about common illnesses and some private consultations. The clinic was much appreciated by these women who otherwise have few opportunities to learn about their health issues.

Concerned to improve our cycling proficiency program for he children we have created a special cycle track on Mohinders farm land using a specially made rollerand a great deal of dedicated man power! Looking forward to inaugurating it when it settles after the rain next week!

Great publicity for Sutra single women co-ordinator along with NISHTHA activists presenting their demands to Chief Minister Jairam Thakur during the winter session of the state parliament in Dharamsala last week.

On December 8th a full day sports program was held for of around 100 local children in Rakkar. They had a wonderful time playing badminton, volley ball, hula hoop, diablo, skipping and lots of running and jumping and tug of war! At 1.0 they all enjoyed home cooked black channa and banana before wanting more games and exhausting our staff.

Ravindra and Deepa held a 3 day Wenlido training with 9 women and girls. It was conducted with great passion and everyone felt energised realising how they can effectively protect themselves.

Nehru Youth Organisation in collaboration with NISHTHA environment team, organised a village clean up with our sponsored students and the trainee teachers from the local school. Mohinder gave a good speech about the problems of waste plastic and together they picked up 12 bags of waste from the water channels and village paths.

After a glorious ride along the hills from Kangra we stopped at Nayantara Mankotia, a NISHTHA Trustee’s house where we had delicious samosas in her lovely garden. Then began the grueling ascent through the tea gardens to Dharamsala and a final climb to arrive triumphant in McLeod Ganj!

Sixteen determained cyclists set off from Chateau Gurli on the first leg of their challenging ride covering 500 Kms of Himachal Pradesh. Arriving in Kangra they had a great visit to Kangra Fort with its views up to the snow class Dhauladhar mountain range.

In preparation for Diwali, the festival of light, Severin, our Austrian volunteer organised a clay workshop in which the schoolchildren had a wonderful time making “diyas”, clay lamps and many other objects which will be fired and painted for the festival.