The Jamyang-School in Leh/Ladakh

Ladakh is the approximate size of Austria, but has just about 100 000 inhabitants, who live in secluded villages. The region is a highly sensitive military zone, because of its location at the borders of China and Pakistan. A mix of different tribes, many of whom speak their own dialect and maintain their own cultural traditions, live in the border area, without a chance of getting a decent education. In 2006, Geshe Lobsang Samten and his colleague Geshe Tsultrim Tharchin, two highly respected Buddhist monks in Ladakh, were entrusted by the Dalai Lama with the task of building a school in order to help some of the poorest families to escape the vicious cycle of poverty.

The Jamyang School is a secular boarding school with the aim of offering free education as well as guiding children in ethically and environmentally friendly behavior. The construction work at the totally undeveloped property began in June 2007 with a donation from the Dalai Lama Trust. Within a year, the infrastructure for water and electricity has been laid and a hostel has been completed, which also served as the school building in the first year.

In summer 2009 a separate school building has been inaugurated by His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Today the school has seven teachers and a fantastic team of staff, hosting more than 160 children as boarders, from the poorest families of villages near the Pakistan border, giving them free education.

The first batch of 62 children was admitted to the Jamyang School in 2008, the second batch of 50 Children came in March 2010. The third batch came in March 2011. They mainly come from villages near the Pakistan border: Hanu and Baima (Leh District) as well as Darchik and Garkon (Kargil District). For the Jamyang School it is important that at least half their students are girls. All admitted children come from the poorest families of the villages with predominantly difficult family backgrounds: families that are broken due to divorce or death of one or both parents, and children who face child labor in the city or road construction since their parents neither possess land nor have a job to feed them. So far, most of the children do not have access to medical care or eat sufficient and nutritious food.

Click here to get a visual impression of the Jamyang School .

Dr. Katharina Poggendorf-Kakar got involved in the Jamyang-School-Project in March 2008, when the school was under construction. In September 2008 and March 2010, she traveled to Leh to evaluate the progress of the school. Sponsors as well as volunteers of Tara Trust continue to visit the school, giving feed-back and engaging themselves with our mission. Regular communication with the school allows us to keep in close contact. In May 2011 a new team of Tara Trust volunteers will spend time with the children, conduct workshops on the schoolgrounds, as well as in cooperation with the Lamo-center for media and arts in Leh.

Within a time frame of ten years, there are plans to develop the Jamyang school to a level that will look after approximately 340 children. Within the next three years, buildings have to be constructed as a matter of top priority. These are: a small health-station on the school grounds, a dormitory for staff members, an open playground (with trees and greenery) and an open sports complex. The Jamyang School aims to become a model in its region for ecological sustainability. Ladakh, with its intense sunlight all year around, is an ideal target for solar energy techniques to transform sunlight into heating. The construction of the first buildings have followed a range of ecological considerations. Local building material, wherever possible, was used: for example, local clay tiles and a black glass facade were installed to absorb the sunlight for passive heating. Solar heating for obtaining warm water has been sponsored by Tara Trust, as well as solar greenhouses to grow fresh vegetables all year long.
The Jamyang School project is run by a carefully chosen team of teachers and helpers. All those who have contributed so far to give the children a home and a future, are working with great dedication and personal effort. Rural India remains one of the world's biggest poverty traps. To help break that vicious cycle of poverty and bring the project to a success, we are depending on your support. We are looking for people to sponsor the education of one or several children of the Jamyang School throughout their schooling period. Click here to know more about the sponsorship-programme.