Himalayan Education Program
Local school in the Khumbu Valley of Nepal.
The Conservancy contributes to the preservation of more than a millennium of culture by working in remote and sensitive areas in the Himalayan Buddhist regions. The Conservancy believes that preserving Buddhist culture requires access to education and the tools to address both social and economic challenges within the community.
In Nepal there are one million Himali indigenous people having both ethnic and cultural ties to Tibet and Tibetan Buddhist traditions. In addition, about one-third of entire population of Nepal is comprised of groups of indigenous (non-Hindu) people having ties to Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism.
The Himali people have lived in social, economic and political isolation for the past 240 years. The vast majority of the Himalayan villages still lack access to education or basic health care. According to UNESCO the literacy rate in Nepal averages around 38%.
The Conservancy’s goal is to provide immediate access to education for as many students as possible, while simultaneously developing a broader program to address the educational needs of the many Buddhist communities scattered throughout the Himalayan Region.
In May of 2009 CTAC funded the first group of 8 scholarship students from remote Himalayan villages. The students study at Namgyal Middle School in Kathmandu. They are studying English, Nepali and Tibetan languages. In keeping with His Holiness’ wishes, students are placed in schools where they will receive an education that emphasizes traditional cultural values and contemporary education standards. The Conservancy will raise funds to send an additional 10 students per year.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has shown his commitment to the Himalayan Education program by instructing the Tibetan Children’s Village schools to admit 10 Himali Buddhist students per year for the next five years, for a total of 50 students. Local community associations select all scholarship students based on need.
