Hope everyone is enjoying the start of the Summer!

As we start to lay the groundwork for our project, we have started to reach out to the community stakeholders – parents, teachers, and students. Continuing on from our last update, we are expanding our survey and interviewee pool to include more people from the community to structure the exact needs of the youth center and incorporate Bamboo Basket training plus inclusion of Child Care services within the Panchthar Youth Community Center (PYCC). Our preliminary results from expanded surveys and interviews continue to convey the same message about their needs to us. We will process all we have compiled in the next week to finalize our plan of action.

While we confirm a few key strategic components of our PYCC plan, we have already started working with our partners Nepal Tea Foundation (NTF) to collect information on procuring 4 laptops, 1 projector, and 1 sound system for the e-learning room at the PYCC. Likewise, we have started to collect quotes for musical instruments and other equipment for the recreational room at the PYCC. Our goal is to have a list of vendors and their quotes by end of June so that we can start finalizing purchases in July. Our next step is to start planning logistics and transportation for our team and equipment.

As you continue to read up on our progress this Summer, we also wanted to share a key lesson we have learned so far. Throughout all this planning phase, we have learned the power of being agile and planning strategically to create long-term impact in Phidim. We hope to embrace this learning and march ahead in the coming weeks!