Community Outreach 1st Success

August 23, 2009 | Category: Events, Improvements | News by: Jerry Z. (board member)

On August 19th, a successful meeting of government teachers from many villages in this remote region was held at Jhamtse Gatsal, with the purpose of initiating a program of community outreach and support by Jhamtse Gatsal – a way to expand the incredible good that is being done here.

A group of teachers from Kharteng, the nearest village, did an amazing job of promoting this meeting, enthusiastically promising that 30 participants would show up from many of the outlying villages.  The day dawned with sheeting rain, making the roads treacherous.  Jhamtse Gatsal sent two cars out to collect the teachers and bring them here, each car having to make two, arduous trips.  These transport difficulties made for a late start, but surprisingly all of the promised 30 teachers did appear.

Lunch was served, nametags and signup sheets distributed and the formal meeting began with a discussion and presentation by venerable Lobsang Phuntsok.  He explained of the mission and vision of Jhamtse Gatsal, how the school had succeeded thus far without government assistance, and the progress of the children in only three years of operation.  Then ideas were suggested as to how Jhamtse Gatsal might help the village schools succeed by providing assistance, training and other support. One suggestion for this audience was a focus on the importance of early childhood.  Poverty and hunger in this region results in young children having to stay in the village caring for yet younger siblings while the parents are out in the fields or engaged in other work.  These young caretaker children are left supervision, often without adequate food for all of the daylight hours, fending for themselves and their charges.  This often means that school is out of the question.  Ven. Lobsang’s suggestion was that providing nursery facilities in each village would free the elder siblings of their duties to care for younger ones, enabling them to attend schools.  What was needed was space to do it, a responsible person to provide daycare and the means to enable such a program to start and sustain itself.

A significant theme of the ensuing discussion was that the teachers are under-trained and under-resourced.  To this problem, Lobsang responded that this was the situation they were in, but that it was futile to think that the government was going to solve this problem, and the teachers were going to have to take the initiative and improve their results without additional outside official support, at least in the intermediate term.

After sufficient discussion, Lobsang asked the assembled teachers if they would be willing to join in an organization, hosted by Jhamtse Gatsal, to provide simple, efficient solutions to the problems they faced.  The response was unanimous, all signed up, and a next meeting, in September, was suggested.


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  1. Ogden Ross
    on September 9th, 2009
    1

    The Chinese on the border is not a good sign.

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