My kids

Here they are (click on picture to enlarge)

 1.  Zhuoma Chutsen was my first sponsored student starting Middle School in Litang in 2004.  She had been selected by Kham Aid Foundation who assigned me as her sponsor.  I visited her each year in Litang and when she graduated, she was selected to attend the Tibetan High School in Kangding, still under the Kham Aid program.  I visited her in Kangding this year.

2  Tsewong Baji was my second student, matched to me at the last moment so she could attend Senior Middle School (High School) in Kangding.  Her home is in Bamei.  She graduated from high school and was one of 4 students accepted to a University from her school.  She attends Sichuan Normal University in Chengdu.

3. Nyima Cimu was another last minute sponsorship in 2004 from the tiny village of Waka, half way between Derong and Zhongdian.  She entered Batang High School that year and I met her there each year and visited her home several times.  She was one of three students in her class who scored well enough on the college exam to be accepted at Southwest Minorities University in Chengdu.  I met her in Chengdu and also in Waka.

4.  Dechen Zhongga was my fourth student sponsored through Kham Aid.  She is from Daofu and attends Senior Middle School in Luding.  She will finished her junior year in June 2007. I went to Luding to meet her for the second time.  She will graduate in 2008 and I may have another university student to sponsor.  I have never been to her home.

These were the basic four, all sponsored through the Kham Aid Foundation.  The following 11 were added during the summer and fall of 2006 to attend classes that fall.

5. Sonam Gyamtso is an orphan living with his grandmother in the village of JiaYi in the farthest northwest corner of Sichuan Province. He lives in a one room adobe house with two beds and a stove.  He attends primary school and his teacher is Chad's brother.  The  boy was in desperate need of warm clothes last year, so I provided him money.  I visited him at his home this March.

6. Gesang Chodren is one of two girls from the mountain village of Garting who were introduced to me by Drolma Tsering, an ETP graduate working for an NGO in Kangding.  She is on the left in this picture.  She graduated from Batang Middle School and attends High School in Chamdo, T.A.R.  I took a three hour ride on horseback to reach her village.

7. Silang Yangzong is the other girl from Garting.  She entered High School in Batang this year.  I stayed at her house during my visit, along with her parents and sister.  Here she is wearing the pink shirt next to her sister.  Gesang Chodren's parents also hosted me, but she was still in school and I did not see her this year.

8. Rinchen Dorge (Colby) attends Xining Normal University in Xining, Qinghai.  He was a top student in ETP on his way to a B.A. degree when he got sick.  His illness wiped out his family's assets leaving him no way to pay tuition for his final year.  I made it possible for him to finish.

9. Zhuoma is from Yari village near Deibu in Gansu Province.  An ETP graduate studying in Manila recommended her as a bright student whose father was seriously disabled in an auto accident.  She is in primary school, but needed money for book fees, supplies and warm clothes.  She also asked for money to buy a Tibetan robe for school dance performances.

10. Zhuoma's brother.  I added him because he was in the same circumstances as Zhuoma.  I don't know his name although I did stay at their home in the hills above Diebu.  They were warm and affectionate kids despite their poverty, holding my hands as they took me all around the village an up in the hills.

11. Todnen Zhaxie is from Pembuxi village in the Minyak River valley. Deqing Zhuoma (Mary), an ETP graduate from Lanzhou comes from that village and recommended him to me.  He is an orphan living with his aunt who has no money to pay the High School tuition at Xinduqiao Town.  He is hard working at home and a class leader at school.

12. Nyangiag Gyal (Robert) was recommended by Kevin Stuart, himself.  Robert is in ETP in Chabcha, Hainan Prefecture, Qinghai.  He comes from the poor, rural village of Bon-Skor near the Yellow River.  His is very bright, already quite fluent in spoken and written English and an avid reader (in English).  He has completed at least four projects funded by foreign NGO's.

13. Gesang Drolma lives in a village across the river from Batang and goes to High School there.  She was recommended by her teachers to Drolma Tsering who, gave me her name.  She is a top student and a lively, outgoing girl.  I stayed at her home with her parents and grandmother.  I got a wonderful tour of the town, meeting a lot of her friends along the way.

14. Chutso is from the village of Ziwa, the home village of Gonbo, an ETP graduate who works with Drolma in Kangding.  Although Chutso is an outstanding student, her stepfather is not interested in paying her tuition to High School.  Her teachers think she is too good to lose and asked for help for her.  I met her mother in Ziwa and Chutso in Batang, still at school.

15.  I funded one scholarship in Shiqu which, to my knowledge, was never awarded.

New Students for 2008

So my family grew from four in 2006 to fourteen in 2007 and I was able to visit all but one.  This had become more important to me than exploring new places.  But I learned that visiting my students opened up opportunities to explore places that I never have seen any other way. And in the course of those visits, I came upon even more student situations that needed my attention.

When I went to Bon-Skor to visit Robert's home, I was invited by the headmaster to visit the village primary school. I met the staff, toured the buildings and spoke to a number of classes, students who had never seen a westerner in their lives.  It was a nice school, the pride of a village which, itself, was quite poor.  The headmaster told me he had six outstanding students who could not afford to go to middle school.  We talked a long time that evening and I woke up in the night thinking about it.  I told him the next morning I would find a way to fund four of those students.

16. Byamsba Tshering  My Dream
Dear donor,

How are you? I am happy to have the chance of telling my dream as below.
At this century of science and knowledge, we change our heart to be liberated and to be a helpful person to this human world, and talking our historical events while accumulating knowledge and experience are the most significant wish that our former scholars have for and it is the calling of this 21st century.
Therefore, I want to tell my future dream briefly as I could imagine at this stage of my life: there is life competition, scientific competition, and educational competition etc, many more in this century. Meanwhile, all the advanced countries are struggling with their education to get the top of world. In contrast, all the impoverished countries are struggling with their stupidity to get the value of their punch and fists. In this backward environment, most of the young people are influenced and influencing by such worse things. Thus, their golden time of study is flying away and some are already wasted. Anyway, a great help for such poor things is in great dire need. Besides, it’s a responsibility for scholars to do so.
For that reason, I want to encourage the kids who are not attending at school in the local village, to tell them the value of education in this century, to think about the education-made bright future, to tell them the changes of this society and its needs, and let them do not waste their young golden time for study. But for me, I need a time of getting education and experience as a tool to do these things. Therefore, my goal or dream for the future to study well and have the tools to do the things exactly what I mentioned above. For getting this dream to be appeared true though this little heart and body needed to burn and become ashes. But in the contrary, as in the terms of my family condition, what I eager for am just like drawing in a stream and it has a lifetime needing explanation.

Thank you so much!
Tashi Delek!!!
Sincerely
From Byamsba-Tsering
 

17. Bsodnam Tshebrtin  My Dream
Dear donor,

How are you? Hope you are doing glorious!
I think, everyone has every different dream. That is our first promise and the last goal. Achieving the dream is depends on how people strive through the zigzag ways of their life.
For me and to my family, we spent most of the time stepping onto the every print of sheep, goats, cows, etc. Since I had a great chance of attending our local primary school, I thought that I have to have a dream, which is challenging with knowledge.
One time, I met a local student, Brashe-Rgyal, who was attending the local County Tibetan Middle School. Since I met him and went over a study topic for a day, I admired him strongly and pressures followed to kill me.
Now I can realized by many ways as I thought, my parents have already wasted their life times herding our livestock. My heart is full of urgencies for pursuing the opportunities of studying and assists my family, village, and nation with a wealth of knowledge. This is my dream in the same way.

Thank you very much!
Tashi Delek!!!
Sincerely,
From Bsodnam-Tsertin
July 25th 2007
 

18. Norbu Rgyal  My Dream
Dear donor,

How are you? Hope you have a good time to read my letter.
Every time as I deposit my whole mind on scrutinizing my value of life, my parents, teachers, relatives and classmates who are living in this impoverished environment are my greatest supporters of giving me a wonderful dream and great appetite at studying. They help me all through the process of my study, thus, I feel these questions for me most of the time: Why they help me and let me attend the school? And why they usually say I need to study hard? Now, I can understand that I have to be a special one in the future and let their wishes to come true. I have to be a useful and helpful man in the future. Without their assistances and encouragements, having such a dream could have never been gotten.
On the other hand, I usually learn from my lessons that Tibetans are compassionate and merciful. Therefore, I have the heart of also become a compassionate and merciful person to other people. Above all, I currently have an urging and endeavoring heart on studying most of the times in my life no matter whatever I do and no matter wherever I go.

Thank you very much!
Tashi Delek!!!
Sincerely,
From Norbu-Rgyal
July 24th 2007
 

19. Dbamo Yag (a girl, no picture)  My Dream
Dear donor,

How are you? I am very excited to express my dream to you.
Since I was born in a nomadic area, I experienced the nomadic life for years before since I could have the chance to attend to the local primary school. I had been assisting my mother and brother to herd sheep since my four elder sisters were getting married and we three left at home. Though I involved in much housework as my mother is too old, I was encouraged by my brother to go to school.
Now, I have completely finished my primary school in six years. I can understand well the much need of education for people and it has many of its potential benefits in the future. Meanwhile, indeed I have a dream that I want to get a good education through attending middle school, high school and college to get a good job and help my family and also village.
However, since my mother has a traditional mind towards anything, she always tells me to stop attending schools and wanted me to do herding and housework and even wanted me to be getting married though I am this young. This idea is mostly happened on the economic condition of my family. Now, I am in a big dilemma of whether go to school or stay at home. But the biggest problem is my family’s condition although I have a greatly wished dream on education.
I am greatly appreciative whoever rescue my in this dilemma and build me a educational path to my future.

Thank you very much!
Tashi Delek!!!
Sincerely,
From Dbamo-Yag
July 26th 2007
 

20. Ngawa Kadro (Marissa) no picture.  Teacher Kevin forwarded Marissa's appeal.  I had met her briefly in Xining the summer before where she impressed me with her friendly, outgoing manner, but this year I had left Xining before getting her letter.  She is from Aba and now studying in an ETP program in Chabcha, the same school as Robert.

21. Puwazering goes to school in Baxi Township near Rou'ergai, close to the border with Gansu.  He is an orphan whose step father tossed him out of the house when his mother died.  His uncle took him in but wanted no part in supporting his education.  Eva heard about him through a relative and told me about him, including the fact that his teachers raved about how smart he is.  I met him at his school when I stopped overnight at Rou'ergai.

22. Beima Bazhuo lives outside Bamei with her father who is dying of TB.  Her mother died several years ago.  My translator in 2004, Tashi Dorjee, is a relative of hers and pleaded for me to help her stay in school.  She was an outstanding student at Daofu Primary School, but there was no way she could afford the fees for middle school.  I went to Bamei and met with Baji.  She translated for me when I talked with Dorjee's parents. I decided to add Beima to the family although I had no opportunity to meet her or get her picture.

23. Jiaba Gyantso comes from the poorest family in a village next to Mary's.  She knew she wanted to help this kid, because he is a class leader, ranking at or near the top and yet would not have a chance to go to high school without help.  I was staying at Mary's family home near the end of my trip and she took me over to meet him.  He is a great kid and I was glad I could add him.

So now I have 23 kids to get through school and I love every one of them.  I have to cut back on my spending now, even though I have help from my family and from college buddies from SAE  Still, I am stretched as far as I can go unless I can drum up some more funding and I am not good at that.  It may be just as well because it takes me six months to get around and on the bus, traveling the back roads gets harder on me as my body ages.

But the need is there, the talent is there, Tibet's future needs these young, energetic kids to carry it forward, to help it get it out of poverty and take its rightful place in the leadership of China.  I am going to keep pushing, so you will see some appeals for donations showing up on this site.  Donate for Tibetan Kids.

If you are interested in supporting this effort, please contact me at rharlan33@gmail.com.  Any help at all will be truly appreciated by me and some kid in Tibet.

For my detailed travelogue for 2007 go to Tibet 2007.