| Phayul[Thursday, November 19, 2015 17:52] | ||||
By Tenzin Monlam
DHARAMSHALA, November 19: The 17th Gyalwang Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorjee today appreciated eleven years of Tong-Len Charitable Trust’s work in educating and empowering slum children in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The head of the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the new hostel block to mark its 11th Annual Thanksgiving Day. Highlighting the success of the organization in enabling slum children to reach universities for further education, Karmapa said, “It is clear evidence and indication that if given the opportunity everyone has the capacity to do well.” The Karmapa said it is the responsibility of the parents to learn from the achievements and send their children to school. “The children are equally responsible to use this opportunity well and take inspiration from these achievements. With this I hope the parents continue giving support and students to keep their determination.”
Thanking the founder, sponsors and the staff of the organization, the young Buddhist leader said that their hard work make every Tibetan proud through actual practice of compassion, love, kindness and altruism. Tong-Len is an organization that helps displaced communities living in the slum areas around Dharamshala and other areas in the state. Lobsang Jamyang, Founder and Director, who is fondly known as ‘Guruji’ by children, said that the new hostel, funded by Fontana Foundation, will be able to house 140 children. He said, “We provide all kinds of facilities required for a holistic development of a child, including academic, social, physical, spiritual and emotional aspects.” Tong-len also runs child education and nutrition program in Charan slum in Dharamshala through their primary and nursery tuition tent schools. There are 150 students currently under this program, Jamyang said. Jamyang also conveyed his gratitude to The Dalai Lama Trust, which sponsors half of the expenses incurred by the organization in their three major programs – Hostel, Tent school and health. Rinku who is currently studying Mechanical Engineering at Lovely Professional University in Punjab is a product of Tong-Len’s program which Jamyang hoped will bring about more children like Rinku. Karan, who graduated from Dayanand Model High School, thanked the ‘Tong-Len family’ for all the support in educating him. He said, “At the beginning, I faced some problems of not getting admission in schools because of my background. I used to do rack picking along with my parents. Now, more schools including those schools that rejected me are calling the likes of me to join their school.” The organization also gave awards to Acha Tsering Dolkar, ‘The Tibetan Mother Teresa’, for her tireless social work in Chandigarh and Mario Fontana, the Founder of Fontana Foundation for his contribution towards charity. |
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Karmapa lauds Tonglen for upliftment of underprivileged children - Phayul
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