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Soap making training has been another successive vocational training program of NJSI. NJSI held yet another soap making training for three days on 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th of August at Jaretar, Kavre.  It was an advance soap making training provided to 30 women; most were from Danuwar community. The trainees didn’t only learn about easily accessible raw materials to make soap and their quality and quantity, but also were inspired by the trainer.

The whole crowd was impressed with the trainer, Rajiv Tamang who was visually impaired. He has been giving similar vocational training programs since 2015. He understood the raw materials and their quality with his fine touch. The trainees were mesmerized with his aspiration. His eleven years old daughter proudly stood beside him supporting throughout the training program. The trainees were motivated to enhance their capacity by utilizing the healthy body they were blessed with.

In his guidance, the trainees were able to produce 566 packets of soap each containing 3 spherical shaped soaps. They intend to sell each packet at hundred rupees to local people through their own women cooperation. They want to utilize the thus earned income on further production of soap. Now they need to learn marketing techniques so that they can promote such home made products in local and larger markets.

NJSI is thankful to Mr. Rajiv Tamang and Xavier Network for their contribution on this vocational and transformational program.

“The team of NJSI taught our students morale we were unable to pull together for last ten years. They have comprehensively addressed the importance of morality, personal development using practical, behavioral, environmental and skill developmental approach”, says Ram Narayan Shrestha, the principal of Azad Secondary School while sharing his feedback on the three days Personal Development Camp conducted at the school on 28th, 29th and 30th of July 2018.

Self-Development Camps has been one of the fruitful educational intervention showing immediate impact of the action on the students and school. Students responded that now they can identify their own strengths and interests, different career and scholarship options and critically think about their aspirations. A student of grade 10 Jayandra Prakash says that after learning about various career options, he now wants to become a Social Worker.

One of the interesting segment of the camp was formation of Eco Club and school cleaning campaign as the first project of the club. Students collected piles of plastic and other rubbish from around the vicinity of the school. Another Eco club was also established in Maha Laxmi Secondary School, Lalitpur on 3^rd August 2018. Students are given the responsibility to lead the club to preserve environment around their schools and community. A student of Azad School, Santosh Bhandari says, “I learnt to conserve rare plants and animals and will protect the environment from pollution and share the knowledge with other people as well”.

The facilitating team was awestruck with the enthusiastic participation of the students. With proper guidance and platform, they can convert their potential into meaningful impact.

General educational curriculum of Nepal, especially in government schools, emphasizes only on teaching facts and theories bounded in limited core subjects, required for a student to pass the national level, paper based examination. This does not ensure holistic development of the children but judge them on the basis of their memorizing and retaining capacity.

On 26^th and 27^th of July, NJSI hosted a training for trainers on Integrated Pedagogical Paradigm (IPP) whose objective was to train the teachers to aware their colleagues to adopt the teaching method that focuses on overall development of the students. The training was facilitated by the regional superior of Nepal Jesuit Society, Fr. Amrit Rai and attended by 15 teachers and staff from 4 schools, Navjyoti Center and NJSI office.

The training was concentrated around the notion that “Education is change of experience”. The participants were trained to motivate the students by understanding their individual contexts and experiences, teaching them to reflect, leading their action, and evaluating the transformation. They were made aware about 8 intelligence according to Multiple Intelligence Theory of Howard  Gardner (Logical, Linguistic, Spatial, Intra-personal, Interpersonal, Kinesthetic, Rhythmic and Naturalistic). Students may be good in few and not in others. It is important for the teachers to let students grow in their intelligence.

One of the teacher, Mr. Dinesh K.C said, “I had learnt many theories to improve the learning of the students but through this training, I have received practical techniques of applying them in the classroom.  We learnt how to create such environment where students can flourish from all angles. This way we can have behavioral transformation rather than having only knowledge based transformation”.

A beautiful multipurpose hall has been constructed and handed over to the Jal Devi Women’s Group of Suri, Dolakha on 19^th July 2018. It consists of a cozy office room, a big hall and a conventional washroom with a wide open space outside the building.

This hall has been a symbol of unity and generosity. Not just the members of the women’s group, but the entire community worked wholeheartedly since the beginning of the construction. Men, women, mothers, elderly ones, youngsters, everybody happily contributed on the construction. The construction team also worked effectively despite harsh monsoon and difficulty in transportation of the materials. The land was also a donation from two kind families. The NJSI team was touched by the humility of the people.

NJSI will be conducting various awareness programs and skill enhancement training at the hall. The hall will also be used to organize community events. NJSI is thankful to all individual supporters and Xavier Network for their contribution in establishing an emblem of compassion.

NJSI funded a skill training program, “Advanced Felt Training Program” to the members of Disabled Service Center located at norther corner of Kathmandu, Tarkeswor.

Disable Service center is a shelter home for differently-abled people . Altogether 22 differently-abled people from 16 yrs to 61 yrs age group reside in the center. The center has been working to empower differently-abled people through vocational and skill training programs. The chairperson, Chandra Bahadur Khatri who is a wheelchair person himself, says they initially learnt to make handicrafts of felt material from YouTube; however as the product finishing was not good, they had to hire a trainer for which they did not have sufficient fund.

NJSI funded the training program that started from 10^th of July to 16^th of July. Jamuna Thapa Magar trained 20 participants among which 13 were differently-abled and 7 were under privileged women. They prepared materials like bags, carpets, earrings, decorative items, caps etc.

The participants were happy to receive completion certificate on 16^th July.  The chairperson expressed his gratitude towards NJSI and said that they can now prepare other advanced felt items with the perfect finishing touch.

After the successful completion of the basic tailoring training last year in Jaretar Kavre, the recipients had requested NJSI for an advance one. Now, they feel proud to have completed the advance one as well.

On 15^th of July, they were awarded with course completion certificate. This training focused on making clothes like gown, blouse, kurtha suruwal, topi, daura suruwal etc.

Among all the  recipients, 11 were from Danuwar community and one was from Tamang.  Most of them came from poor family background. They were happy to have skill which will eventually help enhance their economic status.

Impressed with the work of these ladies, the trainer, Babita Danuwar says that she will help them in finding job.