The village school: A hope for Tibetan refugee children
Started as a nursery for the Tibetan refugee children in May 1960, this children's village today is a self -contained integrated community, with family homes, schooling facilities, vocational training centres and teachers' training centre.
MYNKI KHANGSER knows nothing about his parents. He does not know whether they are dead, or alive somewhere in the Tibetan mainland. This five year old boy may have been abandoned by his Tibetan parents, dreaming of a better future for their child. He is one among many children at the Tibetan Children’s village in Dharamshala, which has many stories of orphanage and destitution behind it.
Started as a nursery for the Tibetan refugee children in May 1960, this children’s village today is a self –contained integrated community, with family homes, schooling facilities, vocational training centres and teachers’ training centre. Dalai Lama’s elder sister Tsering Dolma Talka directed the works of this children’s school at the initial stage. After her death in 1964, her younger sister Jetsun Pema, took over the directorship of the nursery.
By mid 1970s, it expanded its work to different parts of India to include three more children’s villages, five residential schools, eight day schools, ten day care centres, a technical school and two youth hostels. The children’s village school at Dharamshala has now nearly 1800 children from month old babies to senior secondary children.
The children live in group homes called Khimtsang – a typical Tibetan home with two foster parents. Each of these homes or Khimtsangs is a self contained family group with its own house, kitchen and the other facilities. “The children are raised as brothers and sisters and share household chores with their parents. What we intend to do is to impart the best modern education, along with an understanding of the culture and heritage of Tibet,” said Thupten Dorjee, the general secretary of the village.
The mothers at the Khimtsang are being given extensive training in growing and upholding children for one year. Counsellors are also appointed at school level for dealing with the various psychological problems of the students.
The institution has been honoured with many prestigious awards like the Citizenship award, Bharat Jyothi award, World’s Children Prize for the Rights of the Child (WCPRC), for its meritorious services in the educational sector. Realising the fact that what all achieved till now is not the end of the road, the village school is continuing its efforts for the realisation of creating better citizens for a future Tibet.
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