Students of Shree Sangka Dhechholing Gonpa School in Taplejung, Nepal.

Since 2012 the Social Services Fund has been supporting schools in India and Nepal that have students of Tibetan, Nepali, Sherpa, and Indian heritage. Approximately 1,000 school-aged children in seven different schools benefit from this support. FPMT’s Social Services Fund provides the food, uniforms, and school supplies for the students and salaries for the teachers to these free schools. We invite you to rejoice in the support we have offered this year, helping break the cycle of poverty and destitution in impoverished areas, and in order to facilitate both a modern and Dharma education, as well as cultural preservation, for those who will benefit most greatly. 

Students of Ngari Institute in Ladakh, India, enjoying a meal together.

Founded in 2010, Ngari Institute in Ladakh, India, helps disadvantaged children from remote regions of Ladakh, especially from a borderline with Tibet, obtain a proper education. Ngari Institute enrolls children from impoverished families into school and provides free boarding, medical attention, clothing and other needs to the students. They also pay a tuition fee to three government schools where they send children for classes. The students are following the standard government educational curriculum during the day and learn about Tibetan Buddhism and culture during after-school hours. The Social Services Fund has been covering all the costs of the food for the 83 children and teachers for nine years. This year we offered a grant for US$32,270 for this purpose.

Students of Ngari Institute, Ladakh, India.

Young students of Shree Sangka Dhechholing Gonpa School in Taplejung, Nepal.

Shree Sangka Dhechholing Gonpa School in Taplejung, Nepal, was established in 2007 to serve the Buddhist community in the area. Eleven teachers currently educate approximately 100 students who start at age three. The curriculum is taught by eleven staff in English and Nepali and focuses on modern subjects as well as Buddhist teachings and culture. In 2022, US$29,799 was offered for all of the operating expenses of this free school. 

Samtenling Monastery is located just behind the Boudhanath Stupa in a beautiful Kathmandu valley. The monastery provides the young monks with a modern, progressive, secular education from kindergarten through grade eight. Most of the monks are from Nepal and are primarily Sherpas and Tamangs, but Tibetan monks also attend the monastery and school. The school had been operating without classrooms since it started, with the children sitting outside under a tin roof, with almost no protection from the sun and rain. Thanks to support from Unione Buddhista Italiana (U.B.I.) three years ago, a grant of US$157,785 was raised and over the following years we facilitated regular grants from this for the building of the school, finalizing this year with the last installment of US$26,976. We are so pleased that due to this grant they were able to build these new classrooms and a debate courtyard for the students.

New school facilities at Samtenling Monastery thanks to a three year grant administered from the Social Services Fund.

Students of Maitreya School, Bodhgaya, India.

Maitreya School, which is a social service project of Root Institute, Bodhgaya, India, is a free school benefiting impoverished children from neighboring villages. The school offers 300 children living in one of India’s poorest states a precious opportunity. Not only do they engage in a traditional education but, more importantly, they receive life skills in compassion, honesty, and loving-kindness presented through Buddha’s teachings. The core of the training and vision of the school is: making lives meaningful. Since 2012 we have offered yearly support toward the operating costs and transportation needs. In 2022 we offered US$29,400 toward the annual costs of operating the school.

A student of Sera Je Secondary School receiving instruction.

Sera Je Secondary School offers education to students from the Tibetan refugee community but also to those from remote areas in India like Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. Additionally, young novices from Tibet, who do not have the opportunity to study under Chinese rule, have entered this school where they not only learn Buddhist philosophical texts and various aspects of Tibetan culture, but also receive modern education. We are so happy to offer support to this school in in 2022 with a grant for US$25,000.

Sagarmatha Secondary School in Chailsa, Nepal, is located on what was once a Tibetan refugee camp. It currently serves 170 students, including 79 young lay students who live at the school hostel and 25 young monks who live at Thubten Shedrup Ling Monastery, which is a branch of Kopan Monastery and shares the school grounds. The monastery was initially founded to provide a spiritual center for the refugees who came from Tibet after 1959. In 2004 the Tibetan Government in Exile requested Kopan Monastery to take over the care and management of the school and Thubten Shedrup Ling and its resident monks. Kopan Monastery oversees all operations of this school which has a hostel accommodating children that live too far way to travel or who come from families who are too poor to care for them. There are 25 monks who live at the monastery but attend the school for their education. 

Since 2015 we have offered annual grants to the school that covers the salaries of teachers in addition to yearly text books and one set of school uniforms per year for the students.  We are very happy to continue this commitment this year with the very kind help of Yeshe Norbu Association and Unione Buddhista Italiana (U.B.I.). The annual cost is US$45,000 and will be offered at the end of 2022.

Location of Sagarmatha Secondary School in Chailsa, Nepal.

Some of the students of Rolwaling Sangag Choling Monastery School.

Rolwaling Sangag Choling Monastery School is a community run free school, situated on the lap of Mount Gaurishankar, in the Rolwaling Valley, Dolakha District, Nepal. This is the only school available in the valley and provides modern education in addition to promoting the local culture and Dharma. Established in 2010, this school educates thirty-two children from poor families across the Dolakha District of Nepal at the primary school level and provides free boarding, medical attention, clothing ,and other needs to its students with the help of four teachers. A number of monks from the local monastery also attend this school. Many Kopan monks come from Rolwaling, so FPMT’s relationship with this school is quite special. We were very happy to offer a grant of US$19,000 for their operating costs this year.

Please join us in rejoicing in another year of support offered to these beneficial schools due to the kindness of so many. Incredibly, US$220,947 was offered toward education this year. Thank you to all the kind donors who made it possible to offer this substantial support. If you would also like to be part of supporting the education for over 1,000 students please donate anytime to the Social Services Fund.

The Social Services Fund, established to support Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Vast Visions for the FPMT organization, focuses efforts primarily in India, Nepal, Tibet and Mongolia. Funds help children, the elderly, sick, and very poor.