No words can express the joy we felt when the 3rd batch of students from the Vocational Training Program in Carpentry received their certificates and new tool-kits last Wednesday. 
We saw them after 2 months, they completed their course in Sharana in end-June. They are all now working in wood work units all over Pondicherry and Tamilnadu; from rural drop-outs boys, we have seen them transform into independent and responsible young men. We could not be prouder. 
On this occasion, we were delighted to have local sponsors Srimoyee and Somkanti with us in our celebrations. 
They were happy to meet their sponsored young man, Madhankumar, who was also the best student of the last batch; he had not missed a single day of training in the whole year! Madhankumar was a little shy, but very happy and grateful to meet them both. 
The day started with the distributions of the certificates and the toolkits, and continued onto a a heartwarming session of sharing experiences.
The 3rd year boys spoke of why they did this training, how their experience was, and how it has changed their lives.
By the end of this session, we were looking for our handkerchiefs! 
We also asked them for suggestions that they had, to improve the VTC program, most of the boys wished the training could go on for 2 years, and that Sharana could start a simultaneous production unit along with the training program.
The 4th batch introduced themselves individually and felt extremely motivated by the 3rd batch’s experiences, they cannot wait to continue their training with renewed energies, and face the world at the end of it. All the boys kept telling how much they respected their master/trainer Mani and social worker Anbu. 
Thank you for joining us on this special day Srimoyee and Somkanti, we cannot wait to have you back with us again.
