Educating Tibetan Bon Children and Youth

The Bon Children’s Welfare Center (BCWC) is an integrated community for the care and education of children from the Himalayan regions of Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, and Sikkim. The BCWC is run as a part of the Yungdrung Bon Center, which is registered with the Government of Himachal Pradesh in Northern India.

Some of the children are orphans; others are sent by their families for care and quality education which they could not receive at home.  The staff at BCWC look after the physical, mental, and spiritual needs of these children. They are provided with a high quality education and develop a deep and intimate understanding of the culture and traditions of the Bon people. Many of these children come from isolated small communities. The children learn the skills necessary to live in community, the core values of respect, trust, cooperation and responsibility. 

Thank you for your support and interest in the education of Tibetan Bon youth.

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Tibetan parents entrust the Bon Center with their young children knowing they will receive a high quality academic education. The children are also taught life skills, how to get on with others and they receive a good moral foundation for adult life. It is a great sacrifice for the parents to give over the care of often very young children but the advantages the students gain far exceed their prospects if they remained at home in Tibet.

Students live in a cooperative, sharing community and have responsibilities to others from the moment they arrive at the center. Education is to be shared and the lessons learned about life communicated to others.

Here is one student’s comments: “ I know sharing is caring and how important it is. If you give more knowledge to others you will gain more knowledge yourself. You improve your mind and the lives of others. Sharing knowledge is vital for good life. Sharing is a creative thing. Education is central to modern life, everyone depends on it now. So I must keep learning from many sources and share what I learn to help others, then the world will improve.  Respect for elders, caring for younger people, being honest, sincere and faithful all this makes someone a good person.” 

Thank you for your support and interest in the education of Tibetan Bon youth.

The Bon Center provides a high quality, comprehensive education to all its Tibetan students. The curriculum also includes life skills and values one of which is environmental awareness and care for the environment.

Students learn about pollution both locally, on a national level and globally. They study the effects of climate change and the need for all people to properly respect the environment and conserve resources.

Water is a vital resource that needs to be conserved. The students are taught to save water in their daily lives and the devastating impact of drought, deforestation and human expansion on water quality and abundance. 

One student said: “We observe World Water Day in March and make posters and slogans. Everyone needs to do their best to save water. Think about what you are doing with water and be careful not to cause pollution.”

The Bon Center nurtures youth and encourages activism in the young around issues such as the environment. All students learn they are responsible for the world and their part in caring for it.

Thank you for your support and interest in the education of Tibetan Bon youth.

The Bon Center with its clinic and school is running normally and everyone is well and fully vaccinated. The Tibetan students come from different backgrounds and places and the experience of life at the center helps them be better prepared for life in a diverse society. They also receive a high quality education and many go on to higher learning.

Here is one student’s comments, “The hostel is a shelter for students where they live together, learn the value of discipline and cooperation. The atmosphere at the hostel is conducive to study. Life there has set routines and discipline which improves character, responsibility and self-dependency. We take care of our environment, our health, our belongings and our studies. We learn to get along with many different personalities and ages and together we learn about our culture, society and customs and the wider world."

Thank you for your support and interest in the education of Tibetan Bon youth.

The Bon Center with its clinic and school is running normally and everyone is well. In March, New Year celebrations and graduations took place at the Bon Center. Most of the children over 15 years of age have now had their Covid-19 vaccinations. There have been 18 new pupils admitted to the school.

The youth are enjoying the many activities offered such as sports including cricket, football and basketball. There are also lessons in the arts including music and painting. Coming to the Bon Center is a life changing event for these children who are able to attend school and participate in many activities not available where their families live. Here are the words of one pupil who described the experience in an essay entitled my black and white life.

“In my home village, I attended school for two years but then I had to stop for two years because of family trouble and I was able to rejoin for one year. My life changed when my brother sent me to the Bon Center. I have been in school consistently, studying hard and learning a lot of things. At first, I was shy especially as I could not speak the language but I soon made friends and now I am confident and ask questions in class. I am very lucky to be attending such a place. When I think back I wonder how my life would have been very different if I had not come to the Bon Center.”

Thank you for your support and interest in the education of Bon youth.