The Eastern Himalayan region, encompassing districts such as Darjeeling and Kalimpong, remains one of India’s least researched and underserved geographies. Structural constraints—including political instability, limited higher education infrastructure, restricted career exposure, and socio-economic marginalization contribute to persistent opportunity gaps. In response, the Eastern Himalayan Foundation (EHF) set up in early 2022 has developed a set of intervention models designed to address these systemic barriers. The Trailblazer Fellowship, a ten-month leadership program, aims to cultivate 21st-century competencies—critical thinking,problem solving, digital literacy, and socio-emotional resilience—while fostering civic engagement through community-based projects. Complementing this approach, EmpowerED operates at the meso-level, establishing structured career-readiness ecosystems within colleges contributing to improved higher-education placement rates and the emergence of localized peer-support infrastructures. This talk will present an account of the socio-economic and educational challenges faced by youth in the Eastern Himalayas, detail the design principles underlying EHF’s interventions, and discuss early-stage impact data. Further, it will explore implications for scalable models of youth capacity building in geographically isolated regions, emphasizing the intersection of research, field implementation, and ecosystem collaboration
Mashqura Fareedi, Founder & CEO, Eastern Himalayan Foundation is based in Darjeeling, and brings over two decades of deep experience in development and civic engagement across India. A Master’s graduate in Social Work from the University of Mumbai (2004), she has served with leading organisations such as Kalpavriksh Environmental Action Group, Association for Democratic Reforms, Amnesty International, and Azim Premji Foundation—where she focused on electoral reform, environmental legislation, and last-mile delivery of welfare schemes. in 2021, driven by a calling to impact youth-led change in her home region, Mashqura founded the Eastern Himalayan Foundation (EHF). EHF empowers young people in the Darjeeling and Kalimpong hills through immersive fellowships that nurture leadership, community engagement, self-efficacy, and social innovation. Under her leadership, in 3 years EHF has trained 40 youth leaders who led over 20 social action projects ranging from water contamination to access to higher education. EHF works with 14 Colleges in 2 districts and has been able to place 50+ students in higher education institutions and social sector organisations. With a strong team and a growing support base, EHF plans to establish scalable models of youth-led development for mountain areas in the coming years.