Students of Maitreya School, Bodhgaya, India.

Since 2012 the Social Services Fund has been supporting disadvantaged schools in Nepal and India that have students of Tibetan, Nepali, Sherpa, and Indian heritage. Approximately 1,000 children in orphanages, hostels, and Tibetan refugee communities benefit from this aid.

We invite you to rejoice in the ways we offered educational support to these children this year, thus helping break the cycle of poverty in impoverished areas and to help facilitate both a modern education and Dharma education for those in need.

Schools Supported in 2021

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

Ngari Institute in Ladakh, India, helps disadvantaged children from remote regions of Ladakh and arranges to send them to, currently, three different schools. The Institute arranges all the costs related to offering this education, including the facility fees, food, uniforms, etc. The Social Services Fund has been covering all the costs of the food for the children and the teachers for eight years. This offering started in 2013 at US$15,720.62, and this year we were so happy to issue a grant for US$33,232.

Rolwaling Sangag Choling Monastery School, established in 2010, 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. It is a free school that also teaches Dharma.  We were very happy to send a grant of US$19,187 for the operating costs of this school this year.

Some of the students of Sangag Dechholing Gonpa School, Taplejung, Nepal.

Sangag Dechholing Gonpa School in Taplejung, Nepal, was established in 2007 to serve the Buddhist community in the area. Seven teachers currently educate 105 students, starting at age three. The curriculum is taught by eleven staff in English and Nepali and focuses on modern subjects such as math and science, while being grounded in Buddhist teachings and culture. In 2021, US$29,908 was sent for operating expenses, which is the annual cost of this free school. Kopan Monastery is now taking over responsibility of this school and FPMT is helping to raise the annual costs through our Social Services Fund.

Students of Sagarmatha Secondary School in Chailsa, Nepal.

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. Eleven teachers and one additional employee support these students. 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  with the very year kind help of Yeshe Norbu Association and Unione Buddhista Italiana (U.B.I.).  The annual cost is US$30,000 and will be offered at the end of 2021.

A young student 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 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. The school has a total of 305 students. Since 2012 we have offered yearly support toward the operating costs as well as two new buses for transporting students. In 2021 we offered US$39,200 toward the annual costs of operating the school. The last year the school has been operating in various ways online.

Students of Samtenling School, Khathmandu.

Samtenling Monastery provides the young monks of the monastery a modern, progressive, secular education in Kathmandu, Nepal. Out of 140 monks, 120 of them are aged 6-26. Samtenling School provides 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 has been operating without proper facilities. To help with this need, we have been issuing a grant raised from Unione Buddhista Italiana (U.B.I.) in installments over the past two years to build new classrooms and debate courtyard.

In 2021 we offered US$40,402 toward Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in South India for their educational program, covering the salaries of all the teachers and staff, as well as textbooks, stationary, and other resources.

Please join us in rejoicing in another year of support offered to these beneficial schools due to the kindness of so many. Incredibly, US$161,930 was offered toward education this year. Thank you to all the kind donors, including Yeshe Norbu Association and Unione Buddhista Italiana (U.B.I.) who made it possible to offer this substantial support.

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. 

All are welcome to support the Social Services Fund and help ensure we can continue to offer support to the education of children in need.