Today’s children, tomorrow’s future
Pende Menkhang: A monastery, a school, a children’s’ home, a hospital
Led by Lama Jigmé Namgyal, the Golog Support Luxembourg provides for the education of young, nomadic children. In 2007, GSL adopted a school in the town of Dawu where free education is provided to a total of 110 children from the area. Within this group are also children who are orphaned or who may have families who cannot provide for their care and education. These orphans are cared for and housed at the school, which is directed by the Pende Menkhang monastery. The school houses 28 beds.
The monastery supports the school in the form of donations that people bring to the monastery. Monks who receive an income donate it to the children to buy blankets, books, food, and medicine. Due to the remote location of the monastery, these donations are little to nothing. The roads are often impassable due to heavy rains.
General education in Tibet.
Regular education is often inaccessible to children of nomadic families in these very remote regions of Tibet. Many of these children do not have the chance of an education. Some nomadic children who attend our school are very young, going to live in the monastery as young as 5 years old. There, they receive their sustenance, lodging, and education for free. Other nomadic children may spend much of their childhood with their families. If the family has enough money for school and boarding fees, the child can attend a regular public elementary school where they can live in a dormitory.
Reports from our volunteers
Over the years, GSL has had several volunteers visit our projects in Golog. They have taught students at the Pende Menkhang school and visited our health care projects. You can find the link to their experiences below:
Antje Steenhuizen (from the Netherlands): teaching English, 2016
Shaya Laughlin (from Australia): teaching English, 2014
Hannemeis Peters (from the Netherlands): teaching English, 2007