Give a rural Tibetan youth an enriching summer!

From July 26 to August 20, 2010, Machik held its annual Summer Enrichment Program (SEP) in Chengdu. This month-long program provided a unique summer learning opportunity for 60 Tibetan youth from across the Tibetan region.  Volunteer teachers came from Beijing University, Fudan Fuzhong in Shanghai, Sidwell Friends School, Cornell University, Columbia University and elsewhere around the world.

Student accomplishments during this year's SEP include:

• Choreographing and performing an original Tibetan dance
• Creating artwork and displaying them in their own art gallery
• Forming a micro-business called Machik's Handmade Art and selling postcards to volunteers; proceeds will go to next year's SEP
• Writing, directing and filming their own video
• Writing and performing a play in English
• Learning Tibetan calligraphy and displaying their work
• Building instruments out of recycled materials and composing their own music
• Making PowerPoint presentations about their hometown
• Improving English pronunciation and fluency

SEP Volunteer and Machik Intern, Elizabeth Tseng, says about this year's SEP:

Volunteering at SEP was one of most meaningful experiences in my life. We only had four weeks, but for that short period of time, I was part of an amazingly diverse group of volunteers who came together to make a positive change in someone else's life. Even though next summer seems far away, I'm already looking forward to going back and seeing my students again. I hope the skills and lessons we shared will stay with them, but above all, I want our students to know that even though we may be up to 7,000 miles away in the US, there's a group of people who care very much about them and wish them the all the success and happiness they deserve.

Links:

• Machik Homepage
• SEP 2009 Slideshow