Education India Project #362

Educating Tibetan Bon Children and Youth

by Creating Hope International (CHI)

Project Report | May 27, 2010
Update from Dolanji

By Sondra Johnson | Project writer

Creating Hope International’s executive director visited the community in Dolanji February 2010. There have been a lot of improvements completed since a prior mudslide destroyed all the play area for the children. The new grounds for the boys include a basketball court and a paved play yard. The community leaders have completed new bathrooms, extended the size of the meeting hall, modernized the kitchen, added more space in the dining hall, and added lockers for the boys in their dormitories.

The children have new schoolbags with the community logo. The boys’ dormitory has re-organized their sleeping arrangements- the smaller boys sleep together, and the older boys sleep in groups by school class. As before, the older boys care and support the younger ones in daily activities.

In late 2009, the 9th and 10th grade class went on a field trip to Varanasi. Sixteen boys spend eight days visiting museums, holy sites and had activities as the Benares University, where they were housed. All participants had a very good time. Also in 2009, eleven 11th grade students completed their Dolanji education, and are now either continuing their studies or are in training for a job.

To date, 34 Dolanji students are studying in various higher educational institutions. The number of students continuing on to higher education has risen as scholarships have been promised based on good grades and good behavior.

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Nov 10, 2009
A Special Giving Opportunity.....

By Sondra Johnson | Tibetan Refugee Children Thank You

Thank you for your support. Your desire to make a difference in this world has made a difference, and we are so thankful that Afghan people have had their lives changed with your help.

We wanted to share with you a very special opportunity to give more than 100% from November 10 through December 1st. Please share this with those you know who care. During this time, we are privileged to receive additional matching funds from your donation through Global Giving of at least 30%. The need is still great. Afghanistan struggles to become a country of strength and stability.

The Bon are a minority Tibetan ethnic group that fled to India when the Chinese invaded Tibet in 1959. In 1968, the Bon established a community in Dolanji, India on donated land. Today, 75 Tibetan Bon families (including 300 children) are settled there. Bon families in Tibet, Nepal, and other borderlands of India want security and education for their children. Many families are poor, many children are orphaned or semi-orphaned, and their relatives are unable to provide for them. They turn to Menri Monastery and Redna Menling Nunnery for the children's care and education. Relatives and paid guides make arduous journeys to Menri with groups of children whom they entrust to the care of His Holiness Menri Trizin. No child is turned away, yet beyond the generosity of Western donors, the monastery has few resources for these children. There are now more than 350 Bon girls and boys from Tibet, India and Nepal under the care of YBMC. They stay in dormitories and attend the Tibetan Bon School in Dolanji. Under the education system in India, after the students finish the 10 grade, they can go on to college. There are now 34 students that have graduated from the Tibetan Bon school in Dolanji who are attending college in various places in India. All of the students who graduated last year are attending college now and the YBMC is working to encourage more to attend college after they graduate from the Tibetan Bon school.

This last year, YBMC was able to raise funds to take the 9th and 10th graders on a trip to Varanasi for 8 days. They visited museums, holy places, palaces and other famous places. They stayed in a guest house provided by one of the teachers, who had come from Dolanji, and cooked their own food. As they recorded in the journals that they kept, it was a very excellent experience for all of the students.

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Feb 26, 2009
Update about Tibetan Bon Children

By Alison Hendry | Administrative Assistant

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