We have good news about progress for the Village Ways Charitable Trust as it oversees the development of the Supi Community Centre in the Himalayas. Projects such as this need a variety of partners, offering funding and other support, and we are delighted that we are working with some exceptional organisations. The Trust has formed a partnership with , part of the HER network, which supports women's health, education and financial capability in several developing countries, including India. The HER projects are coordinated by BSR (), and funded by, among others, Ann Inc, the American clothing company with which the Trust has worked for several years. The Trust's aims for the Supi Centre – to increase women’s health awareness and access to health services through sustainable programmes – are very much shared by HERhealth, and this new partnership will be a massive boost to the project.
The Village Ways Charitable Trust has worked in Supi village since 2009 and we have observed the health difficulties people face in their everyday lives, with no proper access to health information and no adequate health facilities in their village, or within easy access. The Supi Centre will provide space for women to work, and, we hope, a small retail outlet, as well as providing access to health workers and health education. This will make a huge difference to women's lives in this remote, rural area.
The HERhealth project is set to cover the next 18 months and include:
Community preparation for awareness of the project in the village.

• Formation of a health committee at the village level to review the progress of the project.
• Networking with the Chief Medical Officer and other civic and medical authorities in the area for better access to health facilities and government schemes in the village.
• A detailed baseline survey to assess the critical health needs of the women in the village, and ascertain the topics for training.
• To conduct 4 training programmes (each of 2 months duration until the information reaches everyone in the village).
• Dissemination of Health information through Peer Health Educators (PHEs), making them stakeholders in the process.

In order for the project to be approved, the work of the Trust has been independently audited by Elevate, who came to Supi, and agreed that the Trusts's work passes the international standards of work ethics. The auditor interviewed home workers and other administrative personnel and produced a favourable report.
The other key funding partner for the project is Inntravel, our UK travel partners, and we thank them for their continued support which is underpinning the project.

To enable us to successfully execute our Community Centre project we have a team in place. Tanu Goel has joined as project manager for Supi, and looks after other administrative work for us as well. Tanu has a masters in Social work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and can be contacted at [email protected]
We will continue to keep you up to date with news of this project over the coming months.

Ratnamala Kapur and Tanu Goel, Village Ways Charitable Trust