Last autumn John Crook organized a 2 week journey to the Buddhist sites of Arunachal Pradesh in the Himalayas of North East India. The remote district of Tawang is situated at 10-12,000 feet in an area of outstanding natural beauty but relative impoverishment. Access requires 2 days of tiring journey along winding mountain roads made treacherous by mudslides and avalanches. There is no access by rail or air.
The prime target of the expedition was the Tibetan Buddhist monastery at Tawang, the first refuge of the Dalai Lama when he fled Tibet in 1959. The Tawang region was part of Tibet for over 300 years and was only integrated into India in the 1940's. The town of Tawang lies some 20 miles from the current border with Tibet and only 30 miles from Bhutan's eastern border.
Whilst the whole journey was most memorable, an unexpected highlight for many of the travellers was a half-day visit to the Manjushree Vidyapith School and Orphanage, situated just outside the town of Tawang. The orphanage was founded in 1998 by a dynamic and caring young Buddhist monk, who was born in one of the mountain villages near Tawang.
The harsh climate, difficult terrain and minimal healthcare in this remote and isolated region mean that many adults and children die from disease as well as natural disasters and accidents. Many children are left with either no parents at all or are effectively destitute. Some are also severely physically handicapped.
Manjushree Vidyapith School and Orphanage (MVSO) was established to rescue childrenwhose prospects would otherwise have been very poor indeed. The vision of Manjushree Vidyapith is:
- To provide a home and close-knit loving family for orphans, physically disabled or destitute children of the Tawang district.
- To provide a modern education and sound moral values.
- To inspire the young people to act with a good heart, to become leaders in their communities, and to help bring peace to the world.
Members of the group were all deeply moved and inspired by the incredible work being achieved with scant resources and it was felt that we could and should contribute in some way. As a result, a new charity has been established called Friends of Manjushree Vidyapith School and Orphanage (FMVSO). Website: www.fmvso.org. The mission of FMVSO is to 'help sustain, improve and expand the facilities of the school and orphanage'. FMVSO is a charitable trust, registered with the Charity Commission of England and Wales.
In April-May this year Diana Gallagher returned to Manjushree with her son Rory and they spent 3 weeks living and working at the orphanage. Diana gathered detailed information on needs for support over the next couple of years.
FMVSO is seeking donations to support Manjushree Vidyapith School and Orphanage with funds for the following 3 priorities:
- Support for children through sponsorship of daily living and education costs at a rate of £18 per month per child, ideally to include ongoing communication with individual children.
- To raise £1000 over the next 6 months as the beginning of a fund of £12,000 which needs to be raised over 6 years to support 4 children as they move out of the orphanage and into higher education. Some of the older children will soon be reaching their final years of education at Tawang and will be looking to train for their futures.
- £1000 is required to complete the girls' hostel upper floor ready for occupation, hopefully by August this year. The hostel is partly built from donations received by the orphanage from other donors over the last several years. Even though fund-raising only started recently, FMVSO has already raised over £5,000, most of which has already been transferred to the orphanage bank account towards this building project and so only the relatively small amount of £1000 is needed to complete the project.
There are of course other longer term needs including major building projects but the above three priorities will be the focus for fund raising during 2006.
FMVSO has established links with other UK donors who support Manjushree and they are now contributing to the orphanage through FMVSO. Contributing through a charity has tax advantages for tax-payers and the joint effort also enables a more strategic approach to long term support of the orphanage. In addition we have established links with supporters in the US and New Zealand with whom we are sharing ideas and information.
If you personally would like to contribute then please contact Di Gallagher (Secretary & Treasurer of FMVSO) on digal@fsmail.net for details of how to make your contribution.
David Brown (Chair of FMVSO)
Di Gallagher (Secretary and Treasurer of FMVSO)
