Sponsor: A Boarder • A Day Student • A Young Monk • Before and After Stories • FAQ-About Sponsorship • Sponsor one of the 3 Monks who Live at the School - Donate: How to Sponsor or Donate • Wish List • Getting Money to the School • Astrologer helps School
• Kathleen Burckhardt Raises Money for SMD • How Karen and Emily Billing are helping SMD • A Gift From Rebecca •
Making a Dramatic Difference • NEW Sponsor Monks Meals During Yarney, Monsoon Retreat • Govinda our security guard needs help

Children Who Have Recently Been Sponsored

The children shown here have all been sponsored over the last few months, their stories are typical of those who still remain on the waiting list. Pictures show before coming to the school on the left and after on the right.


B718 Rinchen Dorje Lama Boy 6 years

Rinchen is from Namo Buddha, which lies in Kavre district of Nepal, in the hills on the rim of the Kathmandu valley. Kavre is very poor and consequently, has been in the Maoists’ control for years.

Most of the villagers are farmers. Namo Buddha has been the site of Buddhist pilgrimage for centuries, but once the war intruded on village life, that extra income was lost. The villagers are too poor to pay the small user fees necessary to send their children to public schools. In Namo Buddha, poverty is the main problem, as it is in most of parts of Nepal. Many of the kids die of hunger and diseases such as diarrhea, dysentery etc. Rinchen needs full boarding.

B811 Tsering Shrestha Boy 4 years

Tsering Shrestha comes from a family of the Newar community. The Newaris are the first inhabitants of the Kathmandu valley. Their language is distinct from Tibetan and Nepali and they follow a version of Buddhism with Hindu overtones. Most of the Newari people are farmers and highly skilled artists.Actually Tsering’s parents are originally from Kathmandu but due to his father’s work, they had to settle down at Namo Buddha, which lies in Kavre district, on the rim of the Kathmandu valley. Namo Buddha is surrounded by hills on all sides. It is only 2 hours’ drive from Kathmandu, but it shows no sign of development: the people
do without good nutrition, sanitation, health service, electricity and so on.

B812 Karma Pemba Boy 7years

Karma Pemba is from Namo Buddha, which is situated in the hills surrounding the Kathmandu valley in Kavre district. It is a sacred place where Lord Buddha sacrificed his body to a starving tigress in order to save her and her cub’s lives.

Although they are only two hours away from the capital, Kathmandu, Kavre people live in conditions of grinding poverty. Services that people in developed countries take for granted…running water, sanitation, electricity are not available. The villagers are mostly dependent on subsistence farming. They are largely illiterate and are very conservative.

Our founder has built a monastery and retreat centre at Namo Buddha. He has also build a small hospital and is offering free medical care for the villagers. Formerly, it was a six-hour trek to the nearest health post. Namo Buddha is also the site of SMD Branch
School for monks.

Karma Pemba’s father passed away when he was very small. His mother is suffering from some form of mental illness (we see a lot of mental illness associated with extreme poverty and the hardships associated with it). Karma Pemba’s mum cannot provide adequate care for her son, so his uncle (who is one of our monks) asked if we would admit this little boy and Rinpoche himself added to the request.
   
 

B818 Tashi Lhamo Girl 4 years

Tashi Lhamo is from Tibet, one of the most beautiful countries in the world. There are many beautiful mountains, lakes, streams and rivers. It is rich in culture and Buddhadharma (the teachings of Buddha).

Many Tibetan people escaped from Tibet and thousands of them are living in other countries as refugees. Nepal, India, Canada and Switzerland were the four countries that opened their gates to the Tibetan diaspora.