His Majesty The King is in the east on a Royal Tour which began on May 26th. Today in Tashigang, His Majesty granted Audiences to the faculty and students of Sherubtse College in Kanglung, and to Tashigang Dzongkhag Officials.
During the Royal Tour, His Majesty visited Bumthang, Mongar and Tashigang, and met with the youth participants of various DeSuung initiatives spread across the east, as well as students at Gyalpozhing College of IT, Dzongkhag officials, and the Eastern COVID-19 Task Force.
The ongoing DeSuung initiatives in the East include the Desuung Skilling Programme (DSP), and DeSuung National Service Projects (DNS).
His Majesty met Desuups of the DSP Food Processing and Packaging, and DSP Woodworks and Carpentry in Bumthang on 26th May. His Majesty also met with Desuups of the DSP Hair and Makeup and DSP Culinary Arts in Gyalposhing, Mongar. DSP, which was initiated in 2021, recently completed 100 trainings in a variety of areas. 56 trainings are ongoing across the country. All DSP trainings are conducted by local and international experts, and offer foundational, intermediate, and advanced level courses.
The DeSuung National Service Programmes were initiated upon Royal Command that Bhutanese youth be given the opportunity to carry out important national services that would benefit Bhutan for generations. The first DNS was the highly successful Water Project. 26 Water Projects have already been completed, benefitting hundreds of thousands of people across Bhutan. There are 10 ongoing projects, bringing drinking and irrigation water to communities across Bhutan.
Other DNS programs are the Million Fruit Trees Plantation, the Dog Population Management Programme, a special Road Construction Project in Gyalpozhing, and DeSuung for Gyalsung Project. Desuups in the Road and Gyalsung Construction Projects are being trained by international experts for potential careers as General Services Contractors and in standards and quality control.
His Majesty met with the Desuups working in various DNS Projects in the east, including at the Bongderma Gyalsung Site, Minjey Water Project, Gyalpozhing Road Project, Million Fruit Trees Plantation and Dog Population Management Programmes in Mongar, Tashigang, and Lhuentse.
Since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic, DeSuung started accelerated training programmes, enabling more volunteers to be of service to the nation during this time. Thousands of youth who lost education or employment opportunities due to the pandemic chose to become Desuups, taking the number of Desuups to over 27,800. A large number of them have taken the opportunity to join the DNS or the DeSuung Skilling Programmes.
His Majesty also visited Gyalpozhing College of IT, where major initiatives are ongoing in line with the national vision for education reform.
