Monthly Newsletter

July 2009

Vol. 09-7

JICA Bhutan Office

JICA schemes

� Grant Aid

� Loan

� Technical Cooperation

Projects

� Training Programmes

� Development Studies

� Emergency Disaster Relief

� Follow-up Cooperation

JICA members in Bhutan

as of June 2009

� JICA office staff: 16

(7 internatonals; 9 nationals)

� Experts: 8

� Senior Volunteers: 8

� JOCVs: 35

JICA target areas in Bhutan

� Agriculture and rural develop-

ment

� Infrastructure development

� Local governance

� Social services development

(health, education and IT)

(

Deed of Donation and Priority Issue Solving Activity

Training for DOE and BPC through T/C project

Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) Course at Royal

Institute of Management

Director General, Department of

Energy (DOE) and JICA Resident

Representative visited Bhutan

Power Co. Ltd. (BPC) Begana

Training Center on 14th of July

2009 to handover the equipments

which were donated to DOE and

BPC under the JICA Technical Co-

operation Project on Improvement

of Efficiency for Rural Power Supply. The signing ceremony for the deed of donation was suc-

cessfully conducted on the same day as the Priority Issue Solving Activity Training in Begana.

This management training had been conducted for twenty BPC officials since December 2008.

Finally, they presented their improvements on their routine works to share their works with other

colleagues. Four officials who showed outstanding performances presented their works at Taj Tashi

Hotel on 16th of July 2009 to senior officials; Secretary of Ministry of Economic Affairs, Director

General of DOE and General Managers of BPC. Top ten officials will be dispatched for further

training in Japan soon.

Mr. Shuichi Hirayama was fielded as JICA Short Term Expert for the Local Governance & Decentrali-

zation Project Phase II from 14th June to 24th July 2009. His final presentation on findings from

Trashiyangtse, Facilitation skills, Training tools and techniques was done on 20 July. Officials

from Gross National Happiness Commission (GNHC), Department of Local Governance (DLG),

Ministry of Home & Cultural Affairs (MOHCA), JICA and Royal Institutue of Management (RIM)

attended the presentation. It was evident that the Integrated Capacity Building Plan (ICBP) training

was quite effective in implementation of pilot projects at the Gewog level. His presentation on the

facilitation skills, training tools and techniques was well received by RIM trainers. Findings from his

final report will be of immense value to the project.

Training for Trainers on ICBP for Local Governance and

Decentralization Project IIwill be launched

The second batch of training in Red Hat Certified Engineer Course

for Bhutanese ICT personnel began on 13th July 2009 at the Royal

Institute of Management, Thimphu. The Institute has already com-

pleted the training for the first batch of 22 candidates and the third

batch of training will be conducted in October 2009. A total of 63

Bhutanese ICT personnel will be trained under this scheme. Top 5

candidates will be selected from each batch to sit for the certifica-

tion exams. The project is supported by a JICA follow-up project

with the Department of Information Technology, MoIC.

JICA Bhutan Newsletter is a monthly newsletter published by the JICA Bhutan Office and updated electronically on the JICA Bhutan website. It serves to

better link all JICA Bhutan partners by offering briefs and current news on different sectors of JICA and the RGoB. It is for information purposes only and

is not an official document. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of JICA. To join our e-mail based subscription, please contact at

<jicabt@jica.org.bt>. Your comments and feedback are welcome.

Japan International Coopperation Agency

Newsletter Team

Emi Doyle, Project Formulation Advisor

Kinley Dorji, Senior Programme Officer

Zangpo, Technical Officer (General Affairs)

Yeshey W. Tamang, Techical Officer

For more information

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

P.O. Box 217, Doy-bum Lam, Above Memorial Chorten, Thimphu, Bhutan

News in Brief

“Big Bakery” - a bakery with difference in Thimphu

� Beginning first July 2009, JICA Bhutan Office has been designated as the new contact point for the purpose of any notice or

request under the Loan Agreement BT-P1, Rural Electrification in Bhutan. The Loan Project till then was handled by JICA India

Office soon after the merger of JICA and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

� Mr. Jiro Komori, Expert for Glacial Lake Research and Ms. Akemi Yoda, Field Coordinator are assigned to Bhutan for the project

Study of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods in Bhutan Himalays.

� Mr. Seiji Takashima , Senior Volunteer, Environment Engineering, completed his assignment in Bhutan and left for Japan. He

worked in the College of Science and Technology, Phuentsholing.

� Mr. Naoki Ito, Minister-Councellor of the Embassy of Japan, New Delhi visited Bhutan from July 9 to July 11, 2009 to discuss

with the officials of the Royal Government about bilateral cooperation and also monitoring of the multi-bilateral project with

UNDP for support to election process in 2008. He met with Foreign Secretary Daw Penjo, Cabinet Secretary Dasho Tashi

Phuntsog and GNHC Secretary Karma Tshiteem during his short visit. He was also able to observe the National Assembly

which was in session at the time.

For all those who love baked goodies such as raisin breads, croissants, dough-

nuts, cheese rolls, cookies etc..., now there is a new bakery in town! “Big Bakery”

officially opened on 30th July, 2009. it is located in Kawajansa (below Ministry of

Health). Aside from the scrumptious baked goods, there is something special

about this bakery; most of the bakery staffs are hearing and speaking impaired

and are intellectually challenged. The bakery was started by the Drak-Tsho Vo-

cational Training Center for Disabled to provide “sheltered employment for per-

sons with disabilities”. It is a brilliant concept because there are limited opportu-

nities for disabled people to find employment and lead productive lives. All the

large baking equipments such as the baking oven, temperature controller, and

mixers were provided by JICA.

Senior Volunteer, Mr. Satoshi Seike, who has been working with Drak-Tsho Vo-

cational Training Center for Disabled in Thimphu since January 2008 played an integral role in setting up the Big Bakery. He had the

responsibility of training the bakery staff for 7 months. His staff includes 7 graduates of Drak-Tsho and 3 other youngsters. Mr. Seki

instructs them and checks on them everyday to ensure all the day-to-day baking activities are carried out properly. He speaks proudly

about his staff, “my staff is very enthusiastic and dedicated and willing to learn and happy to be working in the bakery.” He adds that

they make sure to use good quality ingredients, make fresh products everyday, and maintain a clean and sanitary work environment.

In his efforts to promote the bakery, Mr. Seki has conceived the idea of delivering boxed lunches to offices. Therefore, people can call

and ask for boxed lunches and they will be delivered to their offices.

This service will be available to the customers in the near future.

Other senior volunteers have also contributed their services to the Big

Bakery. Former senior volunteer, Mr. Yukio Ueno designed the interior

and exterior of the bakery premises. Also, another former senior vol-

unteer, Mr. Kenichi Shimokawa created the logo and the signboard of

the bakery. Furthermore, short-term JOCV Ms. Izumi Miyazaki recently

joined Drak-Tsho and she has already made non-plastic paper bags

for food packaging. She also plans to teach the Drak Tsho students

how to make aprons and caps for the bakery staff. Big Bakery will be

open Mondays-Fridays from 9am-8pm and Saturdays from 10am-5pm.

Tel: (975) 2-322030, 323218, 328074, 324571,324463

Fax: (975) 2-323089

E-mail: <jicabtr@jica.org.bt>

Website: <http://www.jica.go.jp/bhutan/index.html>