Empowering the Youth of the Rising Sun Land

Nabam's village school had no electricity until 2020. When Salaam Arunachal installed a solar-powered computer lab, Nabam spent every afternoon there. Within a year he had completed three free online coding courses. He recently built a simple inventory app for his uncle's shop in Ziro — his first real project.

Yanung learned traditional Adi weaving from her grandmother. But the market was a world away. After joining the Salaam Arunachal vocational programme, she learned packaging, pricing, and how to sell on Instagram. In her first month online she earned ₹14,000 — more than her father made in two months farming.

Tenzin's parents are daily wage labourers. After Class 10, continuing school meant a 40 km bus ride. When Salaam Arunachal provided hostel sponsorship and monthly ₹500 stipend, everything changed. He scored 87% in Class 12 and secured admission to NIT Silchar with a merit scholarship. He is now in his second year of Civil Engineering.

In Yomge's community, girls are traditionally expected to stay home after Class 8. She fought the norm quietly — studying by candlelight when the grid failed, walking 6 km to catch the school bus. With scholarship support she completed school. She is now pursuing a nursing degree in Itanagar and plans to return and serve her community.

After the vocational training programme, Likha realised that Ziro's famous paddy fields were sitting on tourism gold. He converted two rooms of his home into a guesthouse and now hosts trekkers visiting the Ziro Valley Music Festival. Last season he earned enough to fund his younger sister's school fees — entirely on his own.

Hage was told computers were for boys. She disagreed. She attended every session of Salaam Arunachal's digital literacy camp, stayed back to practice, and eventually became a volunteer instructor herself — teaching the next batch of students. She was accepted into a BSc Computer Science programme in Dibrugarh in 2024.