Suzanne Bader sends us this picture of some of the children enjoying the warm weather, and studying outside with their new umbrellas, and says: “How is the weather [there]?  We know that some turbulence is coming???? Hope not!!!  I am here for 3 months and so happy to be back after a year [away]. Next time I will send you some more new pictures (if the computer is not too slow like today..).!”

All these colorful umbrellas were provided with contributions from Soma and Vijal, some friends of Suzanne’s in Mumbai.  Thanks Soma and Vijal!  Enjoy your non-turbulent, sunshiny weather, Gatsal kids!

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At last the sun is shining at Jhamtse Gatsal. The children are studying in the sunshine. They have discovered that their new umbrellas, provided by volunteer Suzanne Bader, from Switzerland, are helpful in sunshine as well as rain. Exams start tomorrow.

The road is being repaired. The Tata Sumo can now make it to the nearest town, Tawang, normally about 2-3 hours away, to buy food. We were down to little more than rice, flour for chappatis, and lentils for dal, plus the vegetables grown on campus.

Two carpenters have just arrived, who will be here for about two months. They will build much needed shelves for classrooms, library and office, desks and benches for more children, and shelving for staff and visitor accommodations. All construction is done on-site, using hand tools. Casement windows and 5-panel doors are made by hand. There is one skilled carpenter in the entire region, and he is usually booked a year out. We are lucky to get him. Eventually, we hope that one or more of the children will become carpenters. They will be able to make a very good living!

I really like the new hot water system for the recently completed toilet and bath house. It’s a stone and mud oven enclosing a copper tank. Three sticks of (expensive!) wood provide enough hot water in 20 minutes to shower 30 children. A useful trade in this area will be to build such water heaters for local villages, and doing basic plumbing to get the hot water to where it’s needed, and coming out of a faucet. Any village that has such a water heater can easily have boiled water for drinking, providing a tremendous improvement in public health in this area where so many people die of water-borne diseases.

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This summer Suzanne Bader, from Switzerland, brought umbrellas for the kids in Jhamtse Gatsal.  The kids were so happy to have their own umbrellas!! Suzanne is going to stay for the next three months and she will be teaching dance, and other extra-curricular activities. The children are really excited, as always, to attend her class. Whenever she is late for class, the children can’t seem to stay quiet, and keep on asking “where is Suzanne madam? where is she??”

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We are going to tell about how we made a solar cooker by class 7. Catie Madam and Sandy Madam taught us. We learned in chapter 4 about conduction, convection and radiation. Conduction means the way heat move through solids. Some materials are good conductors. Some materials are not good conductors. They are called insulators. Convection means the way heat is transferred in liquids and gases: hot air or water rises, and cooler air/water rushes into fill the space below. Radiation means: transfer of heat that does not need a medium. It gives off heat energy. It is science.

First we took two boxes to make the solar cooker and we went outside to make the solar cooker for three days. Gen Lobsang came to take photographs. We took some strong glue, celotape, black paint, a stapler, a ruler, pen and tinfoil. Tinfoil is good for material. We cut the lid of the small box and we covered inside with tinfoil. We did the same things to the bigger box. We kept space between the boxes to have air, so heat will not go outside. We cut a square of another box and painted it black and kept it inside the small box to trap more sunlight and to not let heat go easily. We cut a square of the small box lid and we put a big plastic on the square hole. The plastic was a special plastic that does not melt. The bigger box of the lid we covered with tinfoil, making the cooker.

The next day Ma’am Catie at break went to the kitchen and made some dough. She made two kinds of them. She mixed some sugar, egg, water, flour and rose water. The other one was sugar, egg, water, flour, rose water and baking soda. We made balls from the two cookie doughs and put them on a plate in the solar cooker. Then after class was finished at 3:30 we went near the solar cooker and saw the cookies. They were hard. The cookies that we put baking soda in were a little puffed, whiter than the other, and soft. The ones without baking soda were a little hard and not puffed and a little darker than the other. And we all took one and some we gave to our teachers and small children.

It was very interesting and so, so fun. We also liked to do it because we had good and tasty cookies. We learned good things about conductors, convection and radiation.

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On the night of 15 August a beloved member of the Jhamtse Gatsal family died in a tragic accident in the town of Tawang.  Neema Lama was the 17 year old son of our driver, Dorjee Bhaiya and his wife Maya Didi.  Neema had been living with his uncle in Tawang, who was teaching him to be a driver.

Vasudha Wanchoo, who is now back in the US, says “I feel like I lost a brother today. Neema and I used to joke around a lot when we met at Dorjee Bhaiya’s brother’s place in Tawang or when he “rarely” visited Gatsal—the main subject of our bantering :)  I can’t believe he’ll never come to Gatsal again.”

Lobsang and most of the staff are with the family in Tawang.  After hearing the sad news from Lobsang, and chanting prayers for Neema’s soul to have a good transition to the next life, the children spent the day with volunteers Suzanne Bader and me, and a few staff members, in active or quiet play, taking a walk, and doing crafts.

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“7/12/2011: We’re at Jhamtse!!! We arrived yesterday, mid-afternoon, to find ourselves surprised by a receiving line of all the children who excitedly greeted us with the most amazing smiles, flowers, hugs, shouts, and just an overwhelming display of true, pure joy unlike anything I’ve experienced before…. As far as location, Lobsang chose the best spot in all of India…. Before I went to breakfast this morning I walked around the house I’m in and looked out over the mountains and just laughed at the sheer absurdity of the beauty.”

This is an excerpt from the first journal entry I wrote after arriving at Jhamtse Gatsal. The first two things that made their way through my travel-induced haze to plant themselves squarely in the front of my mind were how amazing the children are and how absolutely stunning the area is. Throughout the rest of my time here, I would find myself realizing these two facts over and over again—but the one that has imprinted itself upon my mind the most is that of the special nature of the children.

Being an American teenager who grew up in America, going to American schools I’ve had at times the classic attitude of taking everything that I’ve been given, and all the amazing opportunities I’ve had, completely for granted. I’ve been lucky enough to have a loving family who can and want to take care of me. Because of my parents I’ve been able to go to an amazing private high school and receive a top rate education and soon I will be going to Bard College, where again, thanks to my parents, I will be able to receive a great education. Over the past few years I’ve been able to see these privileges and blessings not as what I’m ‘entitled’ to or just what everybody gets but as what they truly are: privileges. Before this revelation, however, I gave little thought to these matters. Coming to Jhamtse Gatsal and getting to know the children here, then going into the nearby villages and seeing and meeting a few children there, I can see such an outstanding difference between the children here, at Jhamtse, the children in the villages, and myself as a child. The children I saw in the villages seemed deeply impoverished, the local schools I have seen are subpar at best, and their manners are not so outstanding: when we brought candy for the local kids, I found myself in an overwhelming mob of children grabbing candy out of my hands and pushing and yelling at me and one another. This is a little saddening and disconcerting for me to see. Then I remind myself what the Jhamtse children are like: when it is snack time, they line up and wait their turn; when I saw one of the first graders fall and start crying, immediately two other children ran up to her and consoled her until she felt better; they offer to help carry your water bottle to your room, help to wash your clothes, or are just happy to hold your hand as you walk from the classrooms back to your room.

Jhamtse Gatsal translated to English means, The Garden of Love and Compassion and as so many people and places often do, Jhamtse has embraced its name to the very core. In a conversation that Gen Lobsang, Catie, and I had, Lobsang talked about how each one of his staff members he chose specially not because they were the smartest or the best, but because he saw that, with nurturing and support, they could become so. Lobsang also talked about an instance in which he was faced with the choice between firing a member of the community and giving them a second chance to grow. Despite what many people thought he should do, Lobsang let the member of the community stay because he said, “otherwise, what separates Jhamtse Gatsal from any other place? Why should I call Jhamtse Gatsal Jhamtse Gatsal if it is not indeed a place of love and compassion?” This is an ideal that the kids have quite apparently embraced. In another story Lobsang told us, he spoke of a young boy who came to join the community who would hit the other students either in play or anger. Rather than become angry at the newcomer, the other students simply told him that they don’t like it when he hits them. They did not ostracize him from the group, they did not exclude him in games or in the classroom, and they did not make him feel bad about his poor habit, they just told him that that is not how they behave here. The boy learned this and adapted and now I see him flourishing so well that I was surprised when Lobsang told me who the boy is. I’ve come to find that people here at Jhamtse, both adults and the children, lead by example in every way. By seeing such honest acts of kindness and displays of thoughtfulness every day, one feels compelled to step up to the plate and reciprocate in the same manner. I have found myself striving to be more open to others, trying to match the enthusiasm in which every child I pass in the morning says “Good morning Sir!!” and trying to fully embrace the namesake of this community. Lobsang has really cultivated a garden of love and compassion in each one of his saplings, as the children, and his staff members too, that with a little continued care will serve them well throughout the rest of their lives.

The Jhamtse children are not just special in their love and compassion for others but also, and I think most special, for their incredible desire to learn. As I said before, I have experienced the all too common attitude of taking my education for granted and most of the time seeing it as more of a burden than something I should be excited about. The children here are the exact opposite and are SO excited to learn. No matter what material we were teaching, be it the most exciting topic or the most boring, they had an inspiringly high level of commitment, passion, and joy towards their learning. I found this to be one of the most amazing qualities about the children especially in its stark contrast to the general atmosphere I’ve experienced among students in America.

When I was asked to write this, the topic was supposed to be a reflection on my time here. Rereading it, I thought at first that I was just singing the children’s praises. Then I realized that the children are my experience here. They are the flowers in the garden that without, is just a boring plot of land. They are the beauty here, and what I will remember about Jhamtse for the rest of my life until I return back to the Himalayas. Everywhere I turn here I find another amazing story, another act of extraordinary kindness, of love, of compassion and I am struck each time by the beauty of what has been created among the mountains. Jhamtse Gatsal is a place that firmly grabs a hold of your heart and mind and won’t let go for all it’s worth. It is a place that is truly special and, despite my attempt here, cannot be described by any words that I know of. It is a place of beauty, a place of love, a place of compassion, a place to grow, and a place to learn. I am beyond lucky to have been able to spend even a brief time here with Gen Lobsang, the rest of the staff, and the children, and feel that I have learned more from them all than I can ever hope to have taught in all of my classes.

Tashi Delek,

Max

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Gen Lobsang is teaching us “Eight Verses of Training the Mind.” Every Friday he teaches to class seven, six and amalas and other staff. Sometime he tells story that is related with this topic. It is very interesting and funny. We are laughing a lot.

One thing we have learned is we should think others are more important than me because they are living things like us so they also need happiness like us. When we have one thing like a paper or pen and it makes us happy, that happiness is from many, many other people because there are many people to plant the paper trees and many people are harvesting the trees and taking them to the factory and many people work in  the factories to make the paper and it takes many people to sell the papers. That is why one minute’s happiness depends on many people. Also we think about our clothes and how many people work so hard to make them. We feel grateful to other people and we think “others make our happiness so we care for them and we want to make their happiness.” That is why we think all animals and peoples are more precious like gold, silver, and copper than us.

Even if we are rich when we die we take only two things: our virtue and non-virtue. If we hit animals and don’t take care of them then they feel very unhappy so we have non-virtue because they are also living things like us so they can feel and they can feel pain. If we take care of people and animals and do kindness and don’t tell lie and share with others then we have virtue. If we have non-virtue when we die we are going to hell and we have much suffering to do in hell. Then our rebirth is a bad rebirth like maybe an animal or insect. When we die if we have virtue then our rebirth will be good and we have chance to do kindness and make others happy.

We teach other people kindness so other people’s life is not suffering. For example some people say “you are like a pig” then we don’t say “you are like a cow.” Instead, we don’t get angry and tomorrow we kindly teach how to do kindness. If we are angry we control our anger. And we think “If we don’t teach kindness then other people life will be suffering because if they are not kind then they have non-virtue.” So, we are kind and teach kindness for other people.

Every day we do good things we have virtue and other person feels happy and doesn’t suffer and also we feel happy, because god gives us happiness and we think “how I am lucky to have chance to do kind for other.”

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Now that we are leaving tomorrow morning, I am finally forced to come in from playing with the children and being in the fresh mountain air, and to sit down in front of the computer and try and put some of Jhamtse Gatsal into typed words. I can’t do it. So first, while I think of something that could possibly describe what I am trying to say, I will give a brief update of what I have been meaning to share with everyone for the last couple of weeks.

The first thing is Mira, a little baby deer who was rescued from wild dogs, and brought to Jhamtse Gatsal. We don’t know where her mother is, but the assumption is that she is no longer living. Little Mira cried for her mother for the whole first day and refused to eat, so I tried to comfort her and get her to drink milk from a small cup. She ended up in my bed that night and my poor roommate Max got very little sleep due to her crying for milk and small little nocturnal explorations of our room. Needless to say, Max was a little grumpy the next morning and when Jessie expressed interest in sharing a room with a baby deer, well…anyway, Jessie and I became roommates. Mira soon got use to the cow’s milk, and every day, we went outside together and explored. She learned to run, and what tasted good outside, and what didn’t taste so good (a dead beetle, a dried leaf, my scarf, etc). The kitchen got use to Jessie or I coming in at odd times with our request “Milk for deer?” and we both got use to her strange feeding times. When she was less shy and accepting more varieties of food, we extended our walks to visit the children. They loved her and requested to see her every day, and would often ask me during class how she was doing. A couple of days ago, she moved out of our house and into a little cage house of her own. She is getting lots of attention from all the staff and children, and is very brave when the dogs come and bark at her cage door. We have hopes that maybe some day she can be free to walk around Jhamtse during the day, and have a safe home at night. Being raised from so little by humans though, she can never fully return back to the wild.

The second thing that bears updating is the status of hair. Yes, hair. First of all, all the children got haircuts. We came to class one day and suddenly it was even more difficult to know their names because now we didn’t recognize them! It took a second longer of staring and intense thinking and mentally running through the long lists of Tenzins, Rinchens, Tserings and Sangeys, etc. But that wasn’t the only hair that changed… Poor Vasudha was set upon by the four ama-las, who decided that her decision to not dye her few gray hairs was unacceptable, and they tricked her into their room, telling her that they wanted to talk to her about some of the older students. If you were watching the room when she went to “meet about the older students”, you would have seen the door open very quickly and Vasudha run out as fast as possible and try and escape up the steps, with the ama-las running after her. A force-hair-dying. Vasudha’s hair was soon all black again. On her last day, to distract the ama-las from Vasudha’s hair and in honor of her hair-dying struggle, Jessie and I volunteered our hair for dying. Ama-la Tenzin came out with her little packets of dye and a very businesslike expression on her face, and 20 minutes later we both had black hair and we’re looking that much more Tibetan. We like our new hair very much.

I was going to update on so many more things, but this post is getting very long. I will let the children tell you about all the other exciting things that are happening here. There are dance classes, and a new music teacher, and just so much to write about! Catie and I did some art classes with the children, and there is some beautiful Jhamtse artwork coming soon! Oh, there is just so much…I think that it is dinnertime soon, and I am looking forward to yummy food. Catie and I have been trying to write down some of their recipes because the food is so good, but we could never replicate these. Exotic spices, albino pumpkins and the amazing kitchen team of Maya, Sonam, Babool, Kalu, and Rajib are not going to be easily found in America.

In conclusion, I havnt thought of anything to say yet. I still can’t adequately express Jhamtse Gatsal through writing so…here is something that I wrote a couple of days after I got here. Just journal musings…

“When I first got here, I was in awe of the untouched beauty and the sheer size and aura of the mountains that tower over Jhamtse Gatsal. They made me feel small, but not insignificant. Instead they made me feel like I was part of something bigger and greater, a small piece in an unfinished puzzle. I wonder how this little corner of the world, so hidden and small on a map, has made me think about such larger things. I think about the puzzle. I think about what it is, and how big it is, and what it will look like when it is finished. I wonder what it would look like if it was painted, or if it was drawn, and perhaps how quickly it gets changed…and how I can change it.”

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Madam Vasudha Wanchoo taught us computer class for class seven. She teaches us from one month ago. She teaches us from 4pm to 5pm on Monday and Thursday. She teaches us many time until till we understand and she also gives us homework.

It is very important because in our life it is very easier to know about other countries and what they do and it is easier to do work.

We learned how to work in Microsoft Word, we learned how to save and we learned how to search Google.

At first time we were very confused because it was very hard to work but she taught us very well and that way we can send email now. Nowadays we feel like it is easy and we feel confident.

Thank you so much.

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Hi everyone,

The students of classes VI and VII have been working hard both in class and outside of class (in whatever random, free moments we’ve been able to round up all the members of a group at one time!) to write articles about recent Gatsal goings-on for the blog. Jessie and I have been coaching them through the process of brainstorming and creating an outline before beginning to write, which has been a new process for many of them, but they’re great, enthusiastic learners and have been putting a lot of effort in to practice writing in this new way. I think it’s paid off in the success they’ve had so far including details and organizing their ideas.

Topics of the nine forthcoming articles range from recent dance classes to Tibetan debate to classes Lobsang has been giving the older students on Friday afternoons. Most of the groups are finishing writing and typing up their work (which they’ve been so excited and proud to do) today and tomorrow. We’re planning to post the articles every two or three days over the next month, so they can be appropriately spread out. We encourage you to check back often, for more updates on life in the community, and to see the results of their work.

(I’ll also take this chance to point out the new “subscribe” feature, in the right side bar, in case you would like a heads up about new postings sent right to your inbox!)

I also definitely encourage you to comment when you see their articles go up, as I’m sure they’ll be really excited to hear your feedback, and know their writing is reaching an audience. :)

Thanks for reading!

<3 sandy

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About Our Community
Jhamtse Gatsal, Tibetan for “Garden of Love and Compassion”, is a children’s community located in the Indian foothills of the Himalayas. Opened in 2006, it is currently school and home for 75 children from disadvantaged family situations in the nearby villages. Read More...



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