Yontan La
(For Knowledge!)

Yontan La was a programme of introducing various career options to parents from 30 villages in Ladakh during a period spanning June till November 2016. Participants (conductors) of this programme were common citizens from the rest of India, who conducted workshops for the parents. The communication and discussions introduced parents with options available for their child’s future, various courses and educational institutions providing it. The formal and informal interactions helped parents to think about their child’s brighter future

Although, the lack of knowledge about various career opportunities is not an unusual problem throughout India the scale of the same is even larger for remote Border areas like Ladakh and Kargil. To add to that, the previous generations of the locals lack sufficient formal education and hence do not have clearer picture of possibilities for their children. And hence these children can not get the support they could receive right at their home in spite of the parents being an important link in the decision making process about the future of the younger generations. It becomes important to provide these parents (and through them the children) the exposure and a platform to discuss the various possibilities for their young ones. Aseem's Yontan La (In Ladakhi-For knowledge) plans to build this foundation thorough a series of workshops. Through Yontan La, a link will be created that provides the much needed exposure to the parents and through them to their children.

Interactions were carried out in three stages in June to August 2016.
We reached to more than 500 parents, from various regions in Ladakh. Various topics, including future career options available to their children, and the steps to climb the education ladder, were discussed with them. We hope that our quest for spreading education awareness will result in increased awareness amongst students and parents.

In order to create better learning opportunities for students from Leh region, Aseem has decided to build a Science Park in the region. This will be inaugurated in June 2019, and remain operational throughout the year except snowy days.