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The Dechen Da Zhong Ci Shan School, high in the mountains of northern Yunnan, is home to forty-two children, two Tibetan monks, one dog, thirty-one black pigs, a large number of chickens and one proud cockerel. The students are the children of Tibetan farmers and nomads who travel up to eight hours each term to board at this rare school where the students learn in Tibetan with Chinese and English taught by voluntary staff who share their accommodation.
A brochure for the school might read:
“Join our school set in idyllic mountain scenery - heaven on earth when the sun shines, shear hell when it rains. Learn Tibetan with two dedicated monks, share the workload and run freely in the surrounding woods enjoying the local flora and fauna.”
The school brochure may also point out that every time it rains, the area becomes a quagmire. The buildings, constructed with planks of wood and polythene, have mud floors and regular maintenance is needed to try to keep the rain out. In July they endured appalling conditions; teaching had to be carried out wearing a waterproof coat with the hood up and the children made every effort to keep their books dry under pieces of plastic.
Fuel is a problem as dead wood has to be collected to provide warmth and heat for cooking (cutting trees is banned in this environmentally protected area). Often lessons have to be missed for fuel collection and maintenance, as they become the priority.
(Dechen Da Zhong Ci Shan School)
Dechen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, SW China.
I am now back in the UK dreaming up ideas for next year and working with the The Shuxiong Schools Fund - which has supported this school for three years – raising the capital to provide them with proper school premises on a site which has already been prepared for construction work.
The buildings are designed to capture and hold the sun’s warmth and will be constructed of local stone with roofing designed to accommodate the extremely heavy snowfalls in winter. Landslides are frequent in these mountains during the wet season and a stone wall has been built to protect the site. Funding is accumulating gradually but overall £44,000 is needed to accommodate the current students and staff and further buildings are planned to eventually provide for 120 children.
If you would like to know more about this Tibetan school project, or are in a position to offer advice of help with funding and support, the Tondashun School would be truly grateful.
In Dharma Tsultrim Drolma (Jane Wheeler MSc.)
____________________________________________________________________
The Shuxiong Schools Fund,
Carol Turner,
16 Compton Abbas,
Shaftesbury,
Dorset
SP70NH
Tel: +44 (0) 1747 811920,
email carolturner@tiscali.co.uk
Jane Wheeler +44 (0) 1908 542705 (Tel or Fax),
email at namesti_jane@hotmail.com
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Between May and September 2004 the author worked with the community both as an English
language teacher and an environmental scientist, chiefly helping to find ways of
producing income enabling the school to remain independent and sustainable. This
included raising funds to provide traditional Tibetan costumes (Chubas) for the students’
Song & Dance group which performs to tourist groups and in the local villages, raising
income to feed themselves. In 2005 they plan to raise further income from the sale
of their own meat, eggs and vegetable produce and their very skilled drawings and
local handicraft. New school buildings are desperately needed for these hard-working,
fun-loving, bright children aged between seven and nineteen who are dedicated to
their culture.