Thrangu Rinpoche helps adults as well as children. Many of our support staff amalas (mothers) and palas (fathers) are uneducated, but at SMD School, we give extra training whenever possible. Training such as literacy, numeracy, language (English and Nepali) and, in one case, an introduction to Montessori method (for our senior amala, Maya). We provide three meals a day, a snack hot drink at tea time, clothing, medical, dental and emergency support for all our staff.

We say with a good deal of truth, that the amalas and palas are the heart of Thrangu Rinpoche's school.




Harka Bahadur: Senior Gate Guard and Head Pala

Harka Bahadur is an ex-Gurkha. You can see it in his military bearing. The children love it when Harka Bahadur stands to attention and salutes, which he does at our ceremonies, even when getting a khata from Rinpoche.

Harka Bahadur comes from Taplejung, a district which has been very hard-hit by the fighting. His wife Dil Kumari joined us as an 'ama-la' (a working mother with the small kids) after few years he joined, as did their niece Sangita B023a. Sangita's little brother Suman D7  also joined SMD as a day student. after some years. Both kids are studying and are very happy to be in SMD. There wasn't enough food in Taplejung and so they couldn't go to school. 

Harka Bahadur is a kind-hearted and conscientious worker. He has a very tender heart for the little ones.

Maya: Head Amala 
I'm Maya Gurung. I'm from Tarai, the southern jungles of Nepal, where my parents are farmers. I went to Class Three in school and married a boy from the village when I was 16. I moved to Kathmandu and started work in a carpet factory where he was already working. After some years he went to Malaysia to earn more to keep our two boys' future bright. (Suman B309 and Sajak B345a) I kept on working at the carpet factory. My husband was working illegally in Malaysia and was put in jail so no word and no money came for 2 years. Life was hard. My older boy got TB. Then my sons got sponsored at Thrangu Rinpoche's school, and about 8 years ago I got a job here as an amala, so I live here too and now I am the Head Amala. My husband came back to Nepal and he is alright, but he went again overseas to find work. I'm worried about that and I am missing him very much and I keep wondering if he is alright.

Nir Bahadur Pokharel: Head Cook, Sabita Pokharel: Amala

Mr. and Mrs. Pokharel are from Dholakha district. Mr. Pokharel is the head cook, making more than 2000 meals every day! He came to Kathmandu in 1991. He first worked in a noodle factory for 6 months. After that he worked as a gatekeeper in one of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's schools in Nepal. Nir Bahadur served in the Tibetan school for 6 years, but during his service at Namgyal School, he got sick and had to leave his job because he had to remain in bed for 6 months. Later, he worked in a carpet factory for 1 month. After leaving the factory, he opened a small tea shop and ran it for 2 years, then he worked in a guest house. Finally, Mr. and Mrs. Pokharel joined SMD in 2002.

Mrs. Pokharel is one of the Amalas ( female support staff). They  have two children, a daughter and a son. Both of them study here. Lastly, Mr. Pokharel said that they all are happy in SMD and his family is very grateful to SMD school for helping his family.

Sujan Tamang: Cook

Sujan Tamang: Cook

Sujan is from Hetauda which lies in the northern part of Nepal. There are eight members in his family. Like many country boys, Sujan came to Kathmandu, forced by economic necessity.

He joined to our school in the year 2004. Before he joined us, he was working in a restaurant where he had to work the whole day with nothing to eat. Sometimes he even had to work through the night but he was not allowed to sleep in the restaurant so had to sleep in the footpath with the street kids. Even though he worked hard in the restaurant he wasn’t paid well and he to go undergo lots of hardships. (This is an exellent example of how cast discrimination works here.)

Ever since Sujan joined us, his life has changed completely. Here he gets all the things he didn’t get when he was working in the restaurant. He is happy, secure and earning money.  For this he would like to thank our founder Thrangu Rinpoche and the school administration. 

Sujan started his job at SMD as an assistant to Bhola Dai (our handyman and machine maintainer). After that Sujan was shifted to the kitchen to make soya milk. He used to make soya milk twice a day. Then he was promoted to the kitchen as one of the cooks. Before he don’t have any knowledge of cooking, fixing the machinery and of course how to make soya milk. But now he has learned lots of things. 

Shankar Bahadur Thapa Magar, Cook

Shankar Bahadur Thapa Magar, Cook

Shankar is from Nuwakot, which is north of Kathmandu. He is the oldest son from the 17 children. He is married to a girl from his neighboring village. His wife’s name is Kanchi Thapa. Shankar and Kanchi have 2 sons. Their older son, Bishal D613 studies in class UKG. Shankar came to Kathmandu in 2003 and joined SMD School in the same year. He came to Kathmandu to find work so that he can look support his family and educate his children. He is happy in SMD. 

Mr Pandey: Kitchen Helper
I'm Dal Bahadur Pandey. I was born in Dolkha district to a poor family. I lived in my village and worked at farming when I was a child. At the age of 15 I was married to a lady from my village and then all our family members migrated to different places in the hopes of finding better conditions and some peace. But it never happened as I wished. Until I was 33, we had to move keep moving, always looking for a place where there was enough to eat. By that time I had two children, a boy (Jai Chandra B177 now called Dawa Gyaltsen. DG is in his second year of university and wanting to become a teacher. He is fluent in Tibetan now, and is working half time as a teacher/Hostel Head)) and a girl (Radhika B303. Finally we settled in Nuwakot district, where my wife died of TB.

We had no land and I had to feed my children, so I became a kamaiya (an indentured slave). Fortunately one day, my son Jai Chandra ran away from me (see story in Success Stories) when he was 7. Luckily he got a chance to stay in SMD and slowly he pulled my daughter and then me. Now we are all together at the school and I'm happy to work here, helping in the kitchen.

Bhola and Saraswoti
Son: Sujan D347 Daughter: Srijana B312

Bal Ram “Bhola” SMD Handyman
My name is Bal Ram but here at SMD everybody calls me Bhola Dhai. (‘dhai’ = big brother). I am from the Kavre District, which lies on the rim of the Kathmandu valley in central Nepal.

I joined the SMD family in the 1986, before the school opened. Now I am the oldest member at SMD School. I know each and every part of this school. I have wife and she too is working here as an ‘amala’ on the Support Staff. Both my kids are being helped by the school to study.

I am happy that school has provided us a flat to live, which is near by the school main building. I work from 6 in the morning to 7 in the evening. My main part of work at school is to do maintenance.

The school has changed a lot compares to last few years. All are working very hard to fulfill Rinpoche's aim. Nowadays, the Support Staff are getting many facilities. I find that the kids are very loving because they always call me, Bhola Dhai (Bhola big brother) and they play with me a lot.

I learnt much Himalayan culture by staying here at school. Now I can speak and understand Tibetan a bit. My wish is for all the members at the school to live happily and peacefully. And I will pray for peace for our nation.

School's Tailor and Assistants

AMALAS


Dolam Tamang; Amala

Dolam Tamang; Amala

Twenty year old Dolam is from a mountainous district in Nepal called Sindhupalchok. She is the second of four children; her parents are still living in the same village. When she was 14, Dolma came to Kathmandu to find work as a maid in a private home. She worked there for 5 years before she joined SMD in 2007.

Dolma is happy in SMD and she says she likes the school very much, especially the people and she enjoys the English lessons that are given to the Amalas (female support staff). Lastly, she says she is very grateful to SMD for giving her a chance to serve Thangu Rinpoche's school.

Interviewed by Ugyen Karma B196


Dil Kumari: Amala

My name is Dil Kumari. I was born in Kathmandu 40 years ago and I lived here for 12 years until my father got out of the army, then we returned to our village in Taplejung district. Life in the village is not easy. I was married to a man from my village when I was 16. Harka Bahadur and I lived in our village for some years but eventually came to Kathmandu to try to better our lives. Luckily my husband got a job at the school as the day watchman. After 8 years I came to work here too. Now I'm working as an amala, helping with the small kids, and I'm happy to do it.

Hira Maya Gurung: Amala

Hira Maya Gurung: Amala

Hira Maya is from Chitwan which is in the southern part of Nepal and it is also a National Park of Nepal. She grew up and married in Chitwan. After marrying, they came to Kathmandu to find jobs. Hira Maya’s husband found a job in the cinema hall as a ticket taker in Boudhanath, not so far from our school. And she found a job as maid in a local home. After few years, she was engaged as a support staff at another school in Kathmandu. Luckily, she got chance to join our staff with the help of Ama Maya (the head of the female support staff). 

Hira Maya and her husband have two sons, both are studying in the school where she used to work. The older son is  in grade 12,  and the younger one is in grade 7l. Hira Maya commented  that she is very happy here at SMD and went on to say that our school is far better than the previous school  because here, she feels like she is in heaven with all the facilities (good food, clothing,care and love and the English class for ama-las!).She said that she got very dry and not  very nutritious food at the other school. She is so happy to be here and grateful to all the SMD family. She also said that she has never seen such school in all the places that she has been.

Interview by Sherab Dolma Sherpa B351


Sanumaya Tamang:Amala
My name is Sanumaya Tamang. I work as an amala at SMD. I do most of the heavy cleaning in the school. I have four kids, all of them live with me here at school and three of them are students. I came to work in Kathmandu in a carpet factory when I was 11. I married a man who worked in the same factory when I was 15. When the carpet industry collapsed, we were both out of work so we sent the two older boys Raju D373 and Roshan D374 to live with my parents in our village. My husband and I didn't have enough money to feed them. They didn't go to school in the village for the same reason.

Quite a few years ago, I came to SMD and begged for help. They gave me the job of cleaning all the school toilets and they took Raju and Roshan as day students. After some time, they let me move in with my two smaller boys. Now I'm working fulltime and I am happy that my children and I have a place to live and enough to eat. My husband and I want our kids to learn how to read and write, so they will have better live than we do. Note: Sanumaya's parent's house was destroyed in one of the monsoon landslides. Miraculously, no one was hurt, but they lost everything.

Interview by Sherab Dolma Sherpa B351

Wangchuk Rapten

My name is Wangchuk Rapten.  I am from Tsum, which is located in Gorkha District of Nepal. It lies in the north-west part of Nepal and touches the border of Tibet.

My family consists of eight members, including  my father, my mother, one elder brother and sister, two younger sisters and one younger brother and myself. My father works in the fields. My elder brother and elder sister are already married and they live on their own. My two younger sisters and one younger brother are with me at SMD Boarding School in Kathmandu.  My mother passed away in her early age of 39 due to some sickness. 

I spent my childhood in the village where I went to a government school and made my education up to Grade 1. Fortunately, I got a chance to join the Thrangu Monastery in 1998 so I came to Kathmandu at the age of nine to become a monk. My life completely changed after that.

After taking preliminary vows, I was able to continue my education for some time, then I ended up my schooling after finishing Grade 6 with the thought of joining a medical line to help the monastery. So, according to my aspiration, I went into the medical line.

So far, I have received many kids of training, such as Community Health Worker (CHW), First Aid, Pathology, Dental Assistant, and Craniosacral Therapy. I’ve also become a member of the Nepal Red Cross Society. I worked more than nine months in Namo-Buddha Free Clinic, a clinic Thrangu Rinpoche established for the villagers, who had no access to medical care until the Free Clinic was opened.

Right now, I am in charge of SMD School’s Clinic and am responsible for monitoring the health of all the children and staff. Part of my work is educating others: with the aim of creating awareness among the students who come the very remote areas, I opened a Health Club giving health training to 16 young students (“Clinic Kids” = student volunteers) at SMD. Now these students are active in giving First Aid Training to others and making everyone aware of sanitation, hygiene and nutrition. I also do all the buying for the Clinic.

This year, I started to upgrade my academic qualifications. My aim is to finish Grade 12, then my medical certification will be automatically upgraded. At the moment, I am going to classes at Indira Ghandi Open School, along with one other of our students. We go in the early morning and then return to SMD at lunchtime. 

I am always very grateful to our Rinpoche for his kindness and all the support he has given to me and many other Himalayan kids like me. I am always looking forward to help Rinpoche and I want to work according to his aims. I would always love to continu e my work in his institutions.        

Note: Wangchuk Rapten is 19 years old.