This story is from November 21, 2016

Walking the path to self reliance

​ At 19, Bela Rawat had been out of her village Kabiltha in Rudraprayag only once. “That was for a school trip to Haridwar. It seemed so far away,” she says with a smile, pushing back her brown hair from a thin face.
Walking the path to self reliance
(Representative image)
At 19, Bela Rawat had been out of her village Kabiltha in Rudraprayag only once. “That was for a school trip to Haridwar. It seemed so far away,” she says with a smile, pushing back her brown hair from a thin face.
So when the BA student in her first year of college got an opportunity to participate in a 16-day programme on 'trek leader course' she was nervous and excited.

“I’ve got a younger sister and brother. My father is a farmer and my mother helps him in the fields. It’s simple life for us back home. So when this opportunity came along, my father was a bit apprehensive. After all I’d never really lived away from home. There were only two girls in the 14-member team but when he saw my enthusiasm, he finally agreed,” Bela said.
It would not be wrong to say that when youngsters have credence and resilience, they are better able to tackle arduous situations. Keeping this in mind, IDIPT (Infrastructure Development Investment Program for Tourism) Uttrakhand Tourism Development Board with support from Hanifl centre, Woodstock school, Mussoorie organised a 16-day ‘trek leader course’.
The course was organised to promote confidence, opportunity for livelihood and community participation among youngsters. The icing on the cake for the youngsters besides the course being fully sponsored were two international certificates valid for two years.
“I am a changed person now. I feel so confident. Here I was, a girl from a village where I’d barely interacted with men outside the family and now I not just learn skills with them but also compete with them. I am seriously beginning to think of a career in adventure,” Bela said.

The course commenced at Hanifl centre and then moved on to different locations, training the young participants from seven different villages of Rudraprayg, Uttarkashi and Chamoli districts on various skills.
“This course has been introduced to give youngsters required skills for the wilderness. We have given them the skills, now they have to put it into practice and gain experience,” Akshay Shah, head of operations and programmes, Hanifl centre, Woodstock school said.
And though the course is a short one, the crispness of it has certainly filtered into the young minds. “We got to learn a lot of interesting things. For example how plastic bags are detrimental to the environment, how when we go for treks, we should leave no signs behind. Our area gets many trekking enthusiasts. In fact, I have also doubled up as a guide for some but now that I have learnt so much professionally I am sure I will do a better job,” Ravi Dogra, a final year college student from Bagori, Harsil said.
Umesh Chand from Sari Rudraprayag with a neatly trimmed beard, dressed in an ink blue shirt and jeans easily displayed the confidence that he had gained in the past few days when he spoke in front of R K Joshi, director, infrastructure, Uttrakhand Tourism Development Board and officials from Hanifl centre. “We learnt so much in such few days. From confidence to small skills that will come handy to things about the environment, we learnt it all. What helped of course, was the fact that we were taught all this in Hindi and our instructors taught us with immense patience, like elder brothers in the village would.”
“With all the talk of migration and not enough work, skills like these can go a long way in helping these youngsters,” Joshi added.
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA