Here at Jhamtse Gatsal I prepare lesson plans, write things on the blackboard, and am called Madam; I have my subjects, my students, and my chalk. All these mysterious clues seem to suggest that I’m supposed to be the teacher.

But the truth is, the children have much, much more to teach me than I have to teach them. From the first moment we arrived at Jhamtse, greeted by a line of smiling faces, beautiful blossoms and exuberant “hellos,” they have led me through one big lesson on openness, usefulness, generosity, and positive energy. Each wonderful student of Jhamtse Gatsal is a model of the kind of person I try to be.

Innumerable mirrors like these are held up every single day, and each time they lovingly remind me of my own reflection:

Streaming to and from mealtime, prayer, bathing, or anywhere at anytime, each student yells a full-bellied, lively, genuine “GOOD MOOOOORNING (or afternoon or evening) MAAAAAADAAAAAAM!” With each greeting of theirs I ask myself, “How can I now be more excited, positive, and inclusive of the people around me?”

If I’m carrying something from one place to another, I can’t take a step without someone cheerfully asking, “Can I help, Madam?” Seeing them unwaveringly help do laundry, dishes, sweeping—and even the way they so mindfully line up their shoes outside the houses—I wonder, “What can I do? How can I be more useful? What do they need?”

One afternoon a younger girl started crying alone in the breezeway. Hardly a moment went by before three older students rushed in to comfort her. The way they unconditionally give their energy for the benefit of others and succeed so well in caring for each other makes me ask, “In what ways can I show more love? How can I be more caring and supportive of others?”

The absolute capability and deep goodness that Jhamtse Gatsal students show through their learning, playing, and everyday living are, for me, enlivening experiences of what a loving and successful community can create.

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I can’t believe we’ve been here for three weeks already. Even more, I can’t believe we’re leaving in a couple of days.

Time has absolutely flown this summer. Jessie, Sarah, Catie, Max and I have been teaching assortments of English, science, math, and social studies classes to the fourth through seventh graders. Our days have been busy in the classrooms, and our evenings busy brainstorming activities and drafting lesson plans (and sometimes reminding ourselves how exactly does the respiratory system work, or how do acids and bases interact…). I never really realized exactly how much work goes into preparing for each minute in the classroom, and I am filled with new, deeper appreciation for all the time and effort that my teachers have invested in my education for the last sixteen years. I’m overwhelmed, too, with incredible, incredibly profound respect for the work the teachers here do on a regular basis: I have been teaching five classes per day, four of which I lead with a co-teacher (doubling our ability to get materials ready), and even this has me regularly staying up late and running around like a crazy lady as the kids finish their morning assembly. I have no idea how Minoti, Gombu Lhamu, Sangpo, and Ghanshyam teach seven periods of classes to eight grades between the four of them on a regular basis. I am awed by the effort and commitment and energy and care they put into running the academics here. It’s absolutely inspiring and humbling.

All of the staff here, in fact, are inspirations to witness. I have never seen a group of people go so incredibly above and beyond the call of duty. I have heard Lobsang say before—and this community could not function if it were not true—that the people who make Jhamtse Gatsal run do not do this work because it is their job. They care about these kids really deeply, and believe in and own this community’s vision. They do this work from their hearts. Their dedication and investment and passion are clear in how they manifest at every moment of the day. I’ve seen teachers spend whole afternoons crafting posters to use in class, and excited to spend their little free time in the evenings watching the children in dance rehearsal. And the amalas (house mothers) are some of the most amazing, hard working people I have ever, ever met. They not only take care of 75 children, and manage all the laundry and household upkeep that entails, but they are always the first to help out with tasks around the community, be it extra help needed in the kitchen, construction of a new paved platform in front of the classroom (which I can hear them working on outside the window as I type), or lending a hand with something in the office. They are also the backbone of the education that happens at Jhamtse Gatsal outside of the classroom. The kids are such, such amazing embodiments of the values that this community is founded upon: love and compassion, patience, kindness, generosity, wisdom, and a host of other intertwined principles that I know Lobsang could articulate better than I. I really believe that the extent to which the kids have come to learn these things stems directly from the way the amalas live and teach them in their every thought and action. The kitchen staff work tirelessly to nourish this community, beginning their day at 4:30 to start rolling I don’t know how many hundreds of roti, and I constantly see them and the office staff passing time in the company of the children in the rare moments when they’re not busy on duty as the steam engines that make this place run. It is remarkable to see the dedication of all of the staff here, and there is no way Jhamtse Gatsal could be this rich, exuberant example of community—nor even, I think, function at all—if it were not for their investment in and commitment to this work, and their truly living its vision in every thing they do. I am honored to be working by their sides this summer.

But I digress. For all the busy-ness and time that goes into their preparation, teaching classes this last month has been absolutely so incredibly exciting and rewarding. I have been so impressed with the articulateness of the older kids I’ve been working with, and perhaps even more so with their attention and effort and readiness to learn (and their patience with all of my crazy teaching experiments). But it’s been so exciting to be learning how to teach, particularly in the company of such bright (and remarkably respectful) students. Some attempts at lessons, certainly, have been less successful than others, but we’ve learned from those, and have tried to use them to figure out how to make our lessons more engaging or applied the next time.

And it’s been so, so exciting to see the kids thinking, and processing, and taking in new things, and applying concepts they’ve learned, and reforming information into new ideas, and learning how to organize their thoughts and make an argument. Teaching is pretty darn cool. One of my favorite projects from the last few weeks has been working through Indian history with the class VII social studies. Last week they broke into groups of five, each group reading the textbook’s section on a different medieval kingdom. Then they had to take notes, in their own words, on five categories of information about that kingdom, then finally re-encode that information onto five note cards, each with a representative picture on the backside, which we hung from pairs of sticks to make mobiles. We spent about a week covering this one chapter, and each student only really worked within one third of it, but what they learned they learned deeply, and they’re practicing skills as well as learning concepts: things like comprehension, organization, synthesis, and forming new presentation. And it’s been so, so exciting to watch that process.

One of the other activities I have been most excited about is a project Jessie and I led last week with the sixth grade social studies. We’re doing a chapter, from their book’s Civics section, on “diversity.” We framed a discussion of culture around Montessori’s “Fundamental Needs of Man,” presenting these common basic needs, having the kids brainstorm the manifestations of their fulfillment in Monpa culture, and then assigning them to another culture to research. We split the class into groups of four, took them to the three computers in the prayer hall, and helped them look up images of food, clothing, housing, transportation, and defense in Incan, Mongolian, and Maasai cultures. On the third and fourth days of the week, they worked on charts from their research notes. It was great to see them taking in information from sources outside of their textbooks, and synthesizing the various images they came up with into one or two representative drawings from their own creative eye. And they drew with such focus and attention. It was awesome to see how proud some of them were of their charts at the end, and the care with which they had put them together.

It’s hard to write a post about this, because there is so, so so so SO much I want to talk about. In the last two days we’ve been simulating various cultures’ new year festivals with the sixth grade social studies. And seventh grade science just built a solar cooker from tinfoil and cardboard boxes after we finished a unit on heat. The seventh grade has also been writing some beautiful, beautiful fables, memoirs, and articles based on interviews with classmates in their English class. And we introduced paragraph structure in argumentative writing to them last week, and it’s absolutely awesome to see them grasping the concept and improving in its utilization as they practice. But I can’t write about all the cool things they’ve been doing, because that would take up a novel and this blog post has already, I’m pretty sure, crossed the line into obscenely long. And then there’s all the amazing work they’re doing in Hindi and Tibetan, and the stuff being worked on and the skills being developed in the younger grades.

A novel, actually, probably wouldn’t be enough.

But they are absolutely so, so bright. The sixth and seventh graders’ English is really actually pretty remarkable. And their level of attention and thoughtfulness is truly astounding. I’ve written and spoken before about the extent I’ve seen them really living a lot of wisdom, whether aware or it or not, in their daily lives: in how they interact with one another, pitch in instinctively with chores, and care for the younger children, paying forward the same care they know so many people have invested and do invest in them. But this is the first time I’ve really been fortunate enough to interact with them in the classroom for an extended period of time, and I am so, so impressed and in admiration and awe of both their sharpness and focus.

In any case, it’s about time to wrap this article up. As always, I feel so, so incredibly lucky to be able to be here and learning from these kids and this community. Thanks very much for reading, if you still are, and sorry again for the length of this rambling. There’s just too much to be excited about. =)

Sending lots of love to everyone back home, (and to all members of the Jhamtse community, wherever in the world you are!),

<3 sandy

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We have been having a lot of fun teaching classes.

For the last few days, we have been working in English class with the 4th graders to put together dramatic renditions of the story from the current chapter of their textbook. The story tells a myth about the demon Bhasmasura and how he wants to be very powerful. He prays to God, who grants him his wish: to be able to touch any living thing on the head and have it turn to ashes. The village people are all terrified and don’t know how to stop him. Then a dancing girl appears and, taking advantage of Bhasmasura’s pride and competitiveness, tricks him into copying her every dance move. When she touches her own head, he does the same, and his power becomes his undoing as he turns himself into ashes.

An action-packed tale, this story lent itself well to be turned into a performance. The class split into two groups, each of which created their own script, worked out casting, rehearsed, and put together their own costumes. They had so much fun with the whole process and were very proud of their work, asking us for extra evening rehearsals and triumphantly showing us their eclectic collection of costume pieces.  They even asked if they could perform it for the younger grades, which they did really well and thoroughly enjoyed. The entire audience was captivated. We are really proud of how much they took ownership of this whole project and how well they carried out all of its pieces.

Here are some pictures from their Tony-nominated performance.

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Last Sunday some of us went on a walk to Lumla, the closest town. Catie, Max, Vasudha, and I were accompanied by 10 children (class V and older). The children actually originally thought that they would be going on a car ride to Lumla, and their spirits dropped slightly when they realized that we would be walking the 6 kilometers there (and the 6 km back). However, no one backed out and the children were soon playing with my camera (as evidenced below), having races with each other, and pointing out the different edible plants along the way. They even picked some bamboo shoots for us to try, which I have to admit were not as good raw as other ways I’ve had them. They also showed me how to use a giant leaf as a fan, since I was getting a little worn out.

We passed people on the side of the road and, as we got closer to town, some small houses, some people, and some dogs. The town was very nice. We walked down a dirt road to a store where we bought biscuits and juice which we took down the road to a small restaurant-type place. Only a couple of us wanted a cup of chai tea, but we were all allowed to sit there to rest and to consume energy before the one-and-a-half-hour-long trip home.

On our way out of town we picked up some coconut candies for the rest of the children and some plantains which we have been letting ripen and which we will soon make into a tasty treat. It was late afternoon as we headed back, and starting to get cold and dark. The two girls that I was walking with taught me beautiful Monpa songs all the way back to Jhamtse Gatsal where we collapsed with exhaustion and then went to dinner. I quite enjoyed the excursion.

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The much awaited bathhouse, aka the Taj Mahal of Jhamtse Gatsal Children’s Community, was inaugurated on July 13, 2011. We embarked upon the journey of constructing the bathhouse back in 2009, thanks to the hard work of young volunteers like Sandy and Vassar Jhamtse Club members who raised a third of the construction budget through bake sales, hug-a-thons, and other charity events, and thanks to our very generous Jhamtse International donors. We were very fortunate to have had Catie, Jessie, Max, Sandy and Sarah with us to celebrate the grand opening. All the greater Jhamtse community donors, contributors and members were present with us in spirit and in our thoughts.

The opening ceremony started with one of the young children, Tashi Lhamu A, offering all the volunteers and guests with a khata (silk scarf), followed by Lama Sherab offering a small prayer service and a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Sandy and friends. The volunteers, guests and Jhatmse Gatsal Community members then enjoyed a traditional feast of bresi (sweet rice with nuts and raisins) and butter tea.

The bathhouse is by far the most beautiful building in the community and a source of pride for all of us. It is a three-level structure in Monpa architectural style with the top level for bathing and middle level for lavatory facilities. The lower level has two rooms that were originally earmarked for storage space, but right now house two of our staff members.

Although the exterior of the bathhouse is traditional looking, the inside is fully tiled and fitted with modern amenities. We had Penpa Tashi, a Tibetan artist, come from Dharamsala to paint the exterior of the bathhouse. Our heartfelt thanks to Penpa for the his dedicated effort and beautiful artwork. Inside, the lavatories have six Western and six Indian style toilets, and the bathing facilities have both overhead showers and faucets with buckets and mugs so children can enjoy showers the Western or Indian way. The bathhouse has separate sections for boys and girls, given that children are growing up and need their privacy. The bathhouse also has its own hot water system so children don’t have to carry hot water from the kitchen. They can get it right at the bathhouse!

The kids and staff members greatly enjoy using the bathhouse, especially since it is so much closer to the family houses. The Ama-las are now working with the young children to train them in using the new toilets. Most of them are trepidacious of using them since they are not very sure what to do with the tiled floors and Western style toilets. We didn’t see that one coming! Did you?

A big thank you to all donors, contributors and Jhamtse International members for gifting us with this treasured building! Also, big thanks to all the staff members and children of Jhamtse Gatsal Children’s Community for many days and hours of hard work to create our most beautiful bathhouse.

There’s more!  Click here to see the entire gallery of new bathhouse pictures!!

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On July 11, 2011, Jhamtse Gatsal Children’s Community came together to welcome Catie, Jessie, Max, Sandy, and Sarah, who have come from the United States to spend a month with us. We are delighted to have them with us and eager to learn from them as well as share our stories with them. This is the first visit for all of them, except Sandy, who visits us for the fourth time. We are so fortunate to have such dedicated volunteers who choose to spend their vacation time with us instead of taking the time for themselves.

The staff enjoys the time they get to spend with them and the children can’t get enough of them inside and outside the classroom. The volunteers are teaching English and Science to Grades 4 through 7, Social Studies to Grades 6 and 7, and Math to Grades 2 through 7. All of them have come so well prepared for their teaching assignments and it is fun to watch them as they get ready for their classes. Each morning brings a new request to the kitchen, and the kitchen staff now waits for these demands of the day! Much of the teaching is hands on and activity based, which eagerly engages the students into the learning process. Night time finds the volunteers telling stories to the children in family houses or learning dancing with them. Be it play time or learning time, the community is abuzz with much excitement and joy!

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Catie, Max, Sandy, Sarah, and I arrived at Jhamtse Gatsal on the 11^th of July. As our car pulled up to the school we were greeted by a line of children welcoming us and giving us flowers. It was a wonderful way to be received. Everybody here is so warm and nice and really great to be around. There definitely is so much love and compassion here.

Since we arrived we have been teaching classes and playing with all of the children. I have already gotten to know many of the children quite well, both in and out of the classroom. They are all very eager to learn and they are all very sweet, though some are shy and some are wild. There is a very strong community here, and it is a very open one as well because it has found space for us visiting Americans.

I have been teaching English to Class 4 and Class 7 and Social Studies and Science to Class 6. We have all been using a lot of experiments, hands-on activities, and projects in our classrooms, even though we have only been teaching for a few days. I have especially enjoyed demonstrating solubility, miscibility, and density to the science class.

Though I am teaching the children in the classroom, when school is out I am learning a lot from them. I have learned a game similar to Jax, one similar to Hopscotch, countless hand games, a new friendship-bracelet stitch, and many words in Monpa. I am very excited to continue getting to know all of the wonderful people here.

~Jessie

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On July 6, we celebrated His Holiness The Dalai Lama’s birthday. It was a day full of joy, cheer and solemnity for everyone. The teaching and non-teaching staff decided to make it a very special day by planning day-long activities and festivities.

We started the day with a very delicious breakfast of halwa (wheat flour dessert) and poori (fried dough), after which the students got ready for their scheduled activities. At 10.00 a.m., the community gathered in the school campus for a special prayer service for His Holiness’ long life and well being. The worship altar was beautifully set up with traditional Tibetan materials and butter lamps. As the chanting continued, everyone—students, teachers, visitors, and staff members—came to the altar to pay their respects by doing prostrations and offering a khata (silk scarf) before His Holiness’ photograph. When the prayer service ended, everyone gathered together in a circle where a mound of pine leaves was lighted up. Everyone had wheat flour in their hand and released it in the air as an offering.

With the prayer service completed, the cultural festivities began. The children performed two short skits in Tibetan on the importance of our traditional language and culture. The children also performed a Hindi play, Chandaalini, written by Guru Rabindranath Tagore. The play touched upon the social ills of untouchability and casteism, and gave the message through the appearance of Bhagwan Gautam Buddha that every living being in this world is precious and meaningful, and thus worthy of respect. Both the plays were written and adapted by our Tibetan and Hindi teachers, Tsetan Sangpo and Ghanshyam Kumar. The remaining teachers, Minoti Singha, Gombu Lhamu and Madhu Mehta, wrote and sang an entertaining song for the children reminding them to study hard and keep their family houses and kitchen neat and clean.

The cultural program ended with a special snack of bresi (sweet rice with dry fruits) and butter tea. Lunch was a special meal prepared by all the staff members together. It was a delight to watch the children’s faces as they packed in the feast! It was nearly 3:30 p.m. by the time the lunch ended.

The evening had a special event planned that everyone waited for with much eagerness. It was our very first open-air movie night which was hosted in typical Hindi movie style. We put up a big screen and projected a Bollywood classic, Sholay. To give a real Indian movie theater experience, we had an intermission to enjoy some tea and pakoras (fried dumplings with vegetables). The kids loved it and even the little ones stayed up until the break! The older ones and staff stayed up until the end of the movie and closed the day with sleepy but happy eyes. It truly was a memorable day for everyone at the community, and we hope this post shares some of our joy and celebration with you!

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Some  pictures  taken during the painting of our new toilet & bath house by the staff. They all did a great job & and their enthusiastic creativity saved lots of money ….. We are putting the finishing touches on this great project!!

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It was the best moment to see our young painters bring their ideas and imaginations to life with such deep dedication. Who knows, one of them might grow up to be a Pablo Picasso or a Leonardo da Vinci!

Jhamtse Gatsal held a 3-day art workshop from June 14–16, 2011. It was organized by a very dedicated artist, Fernando Cometto, from Argentina. Fernando is a friend of Vasudha, who was on a short visit to the community with the idea to share artwork from the children of El Salvador and Argentina, and to take art from our children back to Argentina to showcase life and community in our remote Himalayan corner.

Everyone, students and teachers alike, took to the paints and brushes with gusto. The best part of the workshop was that it was not a competition. It was conducted with the desire to share colors, joy and thoughts. The bright and glorious faces of the children affirmed that art is the one of the best ways to evolve the knowledge and understanding of our own soul.

The art from the children of El Salvador and Argentina was displayed on the school walls. When the children of Jhamtse Gatsal had a close look at the paintings, you could see deep understanding and respect in their eyes for the artwork from children on the other end of the world. Many times they touched the painting with a warm feeling, like they were making an invisible contact with the children from these countries.

Soon the paintings of Jhamtse Gatsal’s children will be displayed in front of their unknown friends in Argentina. The children are very excited and happy about this sharing of their colorful, imaginative strokes. You could see their pride and amazement at their creativity when the art was displayed in the family dining room before it was taken away by Fernando.

Definitely this type of sharing and exchange of culture will develop a deep understanding and feeling for people beyond the borders of countries and all the children who are part of this project will grow to be hopeful torchbearers of peace for the whole Earth. This is the real meaning of education!

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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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