Annual Report 2022

DEAR READERS
We are delighted to present the Usthi Annual Report 2022. Personal exchange and co-operation were our focus last year – at last a full year without major Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.

We worked tirelessly with our partners in India and Nepal, because no child should be forced to live on the streets or have to work, making them miss the opportunity of a good education.

We can measure the impact of this work not only with numbers, but also through personal encounters and conversations. In this year’s annual report we therefore let the children and people from the projects tell their stories. They tell of their personal successes and dreams and what it means to them to be part of Usthi.

Close co-operation also existed between our indispensable volunteers, our dedicated Board of Trustees and the Head Office. The Board of Trustees’ project visit in India further allowed the strategic management and the team to streghten their bond. The impressions and experiences gathered on site contributed to a lively exchange of ideas, leading to further development of the projects. Mutual understanding and trust enable us to tackle existing activities with enthusiasm and to work together efficiently.

We have also been able to maintain the personal contact, which we value so highly, with donors and stakeholders. In autumn 2022, we revived the tradition of the Usthi Event. Thanks to enormous positive feedback, we are already planning the 2023 Event. We look forward to seeing you there.

To all those who have supported Usthi in 2022, each in their own way, we should like to extend a big and heartfelt thank you. We are grateful that you are part of the Usthi community.

Success through practical experience and teamwork

The demand for skilled workers is great in India. However, the quantity and quality of many work related training institutions is insufficient to meet the demands of the labour market. A vocational education, as found in Switzerland, combining practice and theory, is rare in India. How can young people be best prepared for the job market?

One of the success stories from Usthi’s professional skills training project shows how crucial practical experience is for the young people in the project:

Rani and Sahasra* live in the megacity of Hyderabad. Without education, it was impossible for them to find a job. They heard about Usthi’s professional skills training and met on the beautician course. Having successfully completed the training, they both found jobs in a well-known beauty salon. However, the long working days did not leave Rani and Sahasra enough time to look after their children. They had always dreamt of starting their own business to support their families but, at the same time, they also had a certain reticence towards the responsibility this would entail. Their conversations about the challenges kindled an idea. The assurance of mutual support emboldened Rani and Sahasra recently to open their own parlour together.

“Today, the business permits us not only to have flexible working hours, but also our income allows us to send our children to school.”

Rani, graduate of a professional skills training

The practical experience gives the young people self-confidence and increases their chances of being able to enter the job market. Employment with fair working conditions allows young women like Rani and Sahasra to become financially independent. In the long term, the project contributes to reducing youth unemployment and poverty and also has a positive effect not only on the graduates but also their families.

*Names have been changed for privacy reasons.