Monsoon food relief packages were provided to 21 migrant labour families living in precariously built shelters by the fast flowing river by Sheela Village in lower Dharamshala. With rag picking and labouring work hard to come by during the rains we were happy to work with Reena Ginwala to provide enough food to last them several weeks.

Great feedback from the girls who joined the 5 Wenlido workshops led by Ravindra, Deepa and Neelam! Not only had they learned important safety techniques and safe decision making strategies but they had also learned about their own personal strength building confidence and trust in themselves.

A big thank you to Renu Verma who came to us for her 4 week internship from Amity University. She quickly fitted in with our team helping collecting plastic waste from the locality, working on our organic farm, assisting with the children’s program and inputting data to relieve our admin team. She was also a great help during our outreach clinics even talking to the village women about health issues and the importance of a healthy diet and exercise!

During the school holidays Nishtha is offering interesting activities for the children from our village in the Community Center. The children are able to develop their skills in our computer room, read in the library, play games, do crafts and have fun. Nishtha also provides lunch and healthy snacks during the day.

The long awaited new play centre for Nag Mandir area was not only delivered but also, through the hard work of our team installed! An inauguration was held by the children of Rakkar and Nag Mandir area who gave an energetic demonstration of how to climb, slide and swing!. They all enjoyed singing and sweet snacks . Thank you so much to Jenny from the UK who so kindly made this possible.

Dr. Deepanjali held a special health training class for the single women activists to enhance their understanding of holistic health. Her aim was to enable them to explain this approach to dealing with medical problems better during their meetings with women in the villages. She also talked about the role of diet and exercise, sleep and drinking enough water in achieving a healthy lifestyle. The women enthusiastically participated in the class, sharing their personal experiences and discussing how to approach topics normally considered taboo among the village people.

From practicing yoga, dancing in rivers, exploring the farm and catching up with homework to painting rocks, and being involved in environmental clean-up, children from the local primary school are enjoying a rich variety of activities while the school is on holiday this month.

International Yoga Day was celebrated at Nishtha by our staff who took part in a special session with Shivani Saadho. They were particularly pleased to learn asanas which help with back pain by strengthening the lumbar region and they enjoyed the breathing exercises and chanting meditation. Shivani said: “I have taught yoga to a lot of groups but what I experienced today was very beautiful, your depth of silence was very intense and I think that by working in the Nishtha atmosphere you have reached a space that a great many people aspire to”.

Nishtha farm team are testing the soil from different plots to see what nutrients may be lacking or in excess. Niklas, our Austrian Volunteer who is a keen student of permaculture will look up what needs to be done to correct the deficiencies and what crops will grow best in this soil type.

Wenlido training – developing confidence and strength! Ravindra and Deepa were reunited again in running a Wenlido program for 14 village girls. Neelam, our enthusiastic trainer trainee assisted, in making it a very lively and beneficial three days. The staff all worked together to provide snacks and meals for the girls each day.