This year’s six-week Summer Study Program at the Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV) in Dharamsala has attracted unprecedented attention from the Tibetan parents and students in North America.
Fifty Tibetan children, aged between 10 and 19, from North America are participating in the program, which commences on July 3rd in Dharamsala, a small hill town in North India that serves as the base for Tibet’s Government in exile.
Last year, when the program was first launched by TCV School in collaboration with the Office of Tibet in New York, only 24 students from North America participated in the program.
The children from North America are being recruited by the Office of Tibet in New York.
Mr. Thupten Dorjee, General Secretary of the TCV Head Office who is in charge of the Summer Study Program, says that there are around 15 more students joining the program from Europe this year.
During their stay in India, the students will spend five weeks at the Tibetan Children’s Village, the largest residential school of the exile Tibetan community, where they will learn about Tibetan history, culture, language, Buddhist Philosophy, the current situation in Tibet, and the functioning of the exile Tibetan administration.
The curriculum will cover basic Buddhist philosophy to Tibetan folk tales, arts and crafts. There will be an overview of the Tibetan history as well as the current situation. The introduction to the institution of the Dalai Lamas and history and development of the Tibetan Children’s Village will also be covered.
The participants will also take part in mock practice of traditional Tibetan ceremonies to immerse themselves deeper into the subjects.
The chef at the Tibetan children’s Village will give a crash course to the students on traditional Tibetan cuisine.
In order to familiarize themselves with the functioning of the Tibetan administration and issues, they will visit various Tibetan institutions and offices in Dharamsala and interact with the concerned officials.
The students will also visit Tibetan Children’s Village in Chauntra, Suja, and Gopalpur to get more exposure to the life of Tibetan children in India and to understand their situation better.
In order to make the program intensive and meaningful, the Tibetan Children’s Village has arranged a number of resource persons, both from the TCV and outside.
At the conclusion of the 5-week in-house program at the TCV, the students will take part in an excursion to Tso Pema, the legendary land of Guru Rinpoche.
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– Based on report filed by Tsewang Phuntsok, Office of Tibet, New York
