Jhamtse Gatsal

Partner From
01/02/2017 - On Going
Jhamtse Gatsal logo

http://jhamtsegatsal.org/


Supported by: Wipro Cares

About Jhamtse Gatsal

Established in 2006, today Jhamtse Gatsal Children’s Community is a loving home and educational center for more than 125 vulnerable children ranging from toddlers through college age. Jhamtse Gatsal is located in the remote foothills of the Himalayas in the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh at the trijunction of India, Bhutan, and Tibet borders. 

Our name means the Garden of Love and Compassion in the local language. The children come from diverse backgrounds of trauma and adversity from nearby villages of Tawang district and primarily belong to the Monpa tribe, which has its roots in Tibet. Jhamtse Gatsal was featured in the Emmy award-winning documentary film Tashi and The Monk

 

Our Vision is that one day the world will live as one Jhamtse (loving and compassionate) community. 

 

Our Mission is to nurture the seeds of compassion to bloom within ourselves and people around the world. 

 

We have a comprehensive team with a balance of local staff and people from outside the state who bring their respective expertise and skills to contribute towards the holistic development of a child. Our 1:1 ratio of local and non-local staff gives us a unique mix of skill sets to help refine and bring out each child’s highest potential. In the academic year 2022-23, we were joined by three new staff from Assam, Manipur, and Central India. 

This year’s hires are representative of the diversity in our community which aids in the comprehensive development of children and enables their deeper understanding of our nation’s cultural unity in diversity. Our newly hired principal joined us in January 2023 and assumed all his duties related to community and school administration. He is immersing himself in the community with close guidance from our Founder, Gen* Lobsang Phuntsok la for the next six months before initiating any changes. [*Genla is a title of respect in the local language. It is pronounced with a hard g, like get.]

As we have a firm belief in our core philosophy and vision, we are regularly trained by our Founder in the context of educating the heart, mind, and body of our children and staff members. We also undergo training regularly in our areas of specialization, be it teaching, administration, or any other field. Allied staff members underwent capacity-building sessions on organic farming and the use of solar dryers.

After the winter break, our Founder conducted a workshop for all staff and Gap-Year students on eight verses of mindfulness. The staff and children took up reflective exercises after their learning and conducted presentations on their understanding and application of the practices in their areas of expertise.

With the intent of expanding our educational programs and curriculum, we applied for diverse grants in 2022-23. In one of the grant application processes with 15k+ entries, Jhamtse Gatsal made it to the top 10. We hope to apply again next year with a stronger proposal to cut. 

 

The Huracán Foundation continues to sponsor new football gear for our boys’ and girls’ teams. We are spreading the mission of empowering students of all genders, within and beyond the Community. Our coach and head teacher’s efforts to expand the impact of the relationship between Huracán and Jhamtse Gatsal have led to a renewal of financial support.  

Our Sustainability Educator was invited to The Green Hub Festival held at Tezpur, Assam, where she shared Jhamtse Gatsal’s work and approach towards sustainability. This served as a great platform to amplify Jhamtse Gatsal’s visibility in the North East. In December, she also attended an award ceremony conducted by Wipro Earthian in Bangalore. In February, she conducted workshops at local schools on sustainable development as well as participated in a Sustainability workshop in Bangalore conducted by the Wipro Earthian program. Her efforts to create awareness regarding sustainability are inspiring supporters to contribute to our efforts.

Our collaborations with government schools from the region, NGOs like the Women Welfare Association (WWA), The Indian Army, etc., are serving as a great avenue to improve the visibility of our work in waste management and making Tawang a Zero-waste district. Expanding our outreach and visibility greatly aids our efforts to achieve financial sustainability through the creation of sustainable revenue-generating enterprises.

We have been conducting ‘Educate the Educators’ training sessions in the district on our educational philosophy: The Three Essentials for the 21st Century – Educating the Heart, Mind and Body.’ To expand these training sessions to the state and beyond, we are submitting proposals to the Ministry of Culture and other grant-making organizations for logistical and financial support. 

As part of our media outreach and visibility campaigns, Jhamtse Gatsal was covered in the ScooNews – SGEF 2022 magazine and Brainfeed Oct 2022 – The Change Makers – Volume IX, Issue 7. 

Our Founder and Director, Gen Lobsang Phuntsok la, conducted a Thematic Conversation Session on The Jhamtse Educational Model: Educating the Heart, Mind, and Body at the Wipro Education Partners Forum. Platforms like this enhance our ability to connect with people beyond our remote region.

Our Founder also spoke on “Education for the ecological crisis using Buddhist ethics” on March 4th, 2023 with other renowned international practitioners from Uganda and Plum Village’s Wake Up Schools program, which was designed under the leadership of globally renowned Buddhist teacher Late Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh, in a webinar conducted by SHEE (Sprouting Humane Education for the Ecological Crisis). 

Our Founder was invited and honored to speak at TEDx Kyoto, Japan, which was held on 12th March 2023. He also gave keynote presentations at diverse educational conclaves and conferences across India conducted by organizations, like ScooNews, The Association of International Schools in India (TAISI), and Global School Leaders Consortium.

Speaking engagements such as the above amplify our visibility to help us enhance our financial and organizational sustainability. 

Plans Ahead 

  • Build a strong curriculum for children who are naturally inclined towards life skills, like carpentry, farming, natural building, etc. We are building relationships with skilled, experienced individuals, and organizations in these spaces who will help us create said curriculum. We are also engaging with SEE Learning India to train our educators and other stakeholders directly involved with children. 
  • Scale our sustainability efforts within the Community. We are working with Biome Environmental Solutions to implement a campus-wide rainwater harvesting project and sustainable construction for our future buildings. We have also begun construction of our kitchen and dining facility, which will have solar heating and lighting as well as a passive temperature-control system. 
  • Building administrative and HR capabilities to support community members. We hope to strengthen the policies and SOPs of our organization to allow for its smooth and efficient functioning. We also hope to set up PPF accounts for all our staff as well as acquire adequate medical insurance for them.