TRAS - Kathmandu, Nepal

Objectives and Philosophy of the School
Buddha Academy Boarding School provides primary and secondary education to marginalized and vulnerable children and youth from urban Kathmandu slums and remote regions in Nepal. 75% of the children come from the remote and inaccessible hilly and mountainous northern regions of Mustang, Dolpa, Humla, Langtang and Solukhumbu. 20% come from the plains of the Tarai regions of the south-west and about 10% of them come from the streets of Kathmandu. Buddha Academy is a unique educational institution as it not only seeks to provide basic education to its students, but also emphasizes their development of livelihood skills and maintenance of their ethnic cultural identities.

Of its current 500 students, ranging in age from 4 to 18 years, 380 are boarding at the school as they are especially destitute. These include orphans, semi-orphans, refugees, children/youth displaced because of the conflict, physically disabled, street children and others vulnerable to various forms of child abuses such as child labour, trafficking and addiction. By receiving education in a protected and supportive environment, children and youth at Buddha Academy learn how to become agents of positive change in their own lives, in their families and in their communities.

History
The director of Buddha Academy, Mr. Dorje Namgyal Lama, was originally sponsored by TRAS after he fled Tibet to India as a child in the 1960s. His experience growing up in a caring orphanage led him to dedicate his life to helping destitute and orphaned children. In an act of true humanitarianism, he travelled to Nepal to serve Nepal's community of Tibetan children-in-exile and underprivileged Nepalese children and youth. He founded the Buddha Academy in 1989 and has been its director since 1992.

TRAS-Supported Vocational Training Programs for Youth
Buddha Academy offers vocational training in carpentry, tailoring and electricity to youth in order to improve their livelihood skills and make them more marketable in today's competitive job industry. Nepal has a shortage of skilled labour, and is often forced to import workers from India, thus causing a double marginalization of Nepalese youth. Currently there are few opportunities for young people to receive vocational training in Nepal, particularly affordable training. Buddha Academy's vocational training programs contribute to filling a gap in job training for youth. Over three years, this TRAS-supported program will train between 60-80 poor Nepali youth in trades that are in demand in the local economy. In the future, Buddha Academy hopes to diversify its vocational training program by introducing training in mechanics, TV/Radio repair, plumbing, beautician, hairdressing, gardening and agriculture.

Carpentry workshop.

Tailoring program.

Over the last nine years, 90 young men and women have graduated from Buddha Academy's vocational training program. With the practical training these youth have received, many have returned to their respective villages where they have been able to give back to their communities and become leading members of society.

Mr Santosh Yadav, a post-polio paralysis case, having successfully completed the three years' training program in tailoring from our school in 1996, got a job as a tailoring trainer in a small local NGO at Pashupatinath (a holy Hindu site) in Kathmandu. He is now married and the father of a child. While continuing with this job, he has also set up a small-scale NGO of his own giving crash trainings in stitching and tailoring to poor and deprived youths. He is indeed doing very well.
Mr Kalsang Tsering who did two years of training in carpentry from our vocational training program in the mid-90s has successfully set up a small carpentry workshop in Kathmandu. After leaving us, he joined a local wood-carving workshop as an apprentice specializing in wooden alters and furniture in the traditional Buddhist styles. These have good markets both locally and globally. A friend of Kalsang in Switzerland helps him to market some of the finished items there.
Ms Phurbu Tsomo who comes from a very poor family was admitted in our school in 1996. After studying VI class she did tailoring training for three years. She is now married and lives in Rasuwa village of Western Nepal. She is successfully pursuing her tailoring profession and does brisk business there. She is the main bread-winner of the family.

TRAS Supported Medical Dispensary
A school dispensary was established about 10 years ago to provide basic preventive and curative health services to the boarding children and staff members. The dispensary has undergone major improvements since the beginning of 2004 with kind financial support from Dr. Ian M. Penn of Vancouver through TRAS.

Sponsorship at Buddha Academy
Currently, approximately 120 children at Buddha Academy are sponsored by TRAS sponsors in Canada. If you are interested in sponsoring a child, please speak to a TRAS representative or phone the TRAS office: 604-224-5133.

Funding Challenges
Buddha Academy's funding comes entirely from individual child sponsors and donations from abroad. Buddha Academy is now facing financial strain as a result of the ever-spiralling costs of living, increasing numbers of children needing schooling and board, and decreasing numbers of foreign tourists dropping by and making 'on the spot' donations to Buddha Academy. The number of tourists visiting Kathmandu has dramatically decreased because of the ongoing political turmoil in the country.

There is a continuous influx of requests for new admissions for both boarding and day scholars. This is likely attributed to two major factors: Buddha Academy's good academic performances over the last three consecutive years and the increasing number of displaced rural children and youths migrating to the city. Not only can it be dangerous to remain in rural areas, but also hundreds of rural schools are closed due to the ongoing civil war.

TRAS has been supporting Buddha Academy since 1995.

Displaced Youth Volunteer Program (DYVP), Nagarik Aawaz

Nagarik Aawaz: "Citizens' Voice"
In June 2001, amid escalating violence and following the massacre of the Nepali Royal family, concerned citizens came together to work for conflict resolution, human rights and peace building in Nepal. This led to the founding of Nagarik Aawaz (Nepali for "citizens' voice"). In April 2002, Nagarik Aawaz was registered with the government of Nepal as a non-partisan, non-profit, secular, inclusive and participatory NGO based in Kathmandu. Nagarik Aawaz is committed to working towards a peaceful and democratic society in an effort to bring about effective economic, social and political development in Nepal.

Displaced Youth Volunteer Program (DYVP)
Nagarik Aawaz established the DYVP in September 2003 to support and address the needs of youth displaced from their homes and villages who are often without work and dealing with high levels of psychological trauma. The DYVP provides the youth with a safe learning space and a positive environment to help sustain them emotionally and practically. The program includes:

NGO Internships: Nagarik Aawaz places youths as interns in Kathmandu-based NGOs where they learn office skills, develop their understandings of NGO programming and projects (particularly related to peace and development) and receive mentorship from host NGO staff.

Peace-Building and Conflict Resolution Educational Program: The DYVP provides the youth with a year-long peace-building and conflict resolution educational program.

Shanti Sahayog Bhancha ("Peace Kitchens"): DYVP youth run a weekly "peace kitchen" to feed hungry, displaced and homeless people on the streets of Kathmandu. DYVP youth express feeling empowered by being able to serve others less fortunate than themselves.

Professional Psychological Support: Psychological counseling sessions with clinical psychologists are held for highly traumatized and emotionally unstable youths.

English Language Training: Unlike the rural villages, in Kathmandu English is a valuable and sometimes necessary language to know. Depending on the skill level of each group of youths, Nagarik Aawaz provides basic English language training.

Monthly Stipend: Many youths arrive in Kathmandu with little to no money, and often without contacts in the city. To help support youths financially, Nagarik Aawaz provides each youth with a monthly stipend of NRs. 2000 (approx. $40Cdn) for a period of one year.

The DYVP's long-term vision is for youths to gain the necessary experience and skills to function as peace and reconstruction workers ("peace ambassadors") at the local level, both urban and rural, in the arduous times ahead. DYVP graduates evaluate the program highly, expressing that it helped them to overcome feelings of desperation and revenge, improved their health, behaviour and confidence while stabilizing them emotionally. Most graduates are working or volunteering as "peace ambassadors" with peace and human rights NGOs, are self-employed or are resuming their studies. 99 youths have benefited so far from Nagarik Aawaz's DYVP.

Nagarik Aawaz's DYVP is being replicated by organizations in other regions of Nepal. In November 2005, the DYVP won an Ashoka/Changemakers and Institute for Global Ethics Innovation Award in the "How to Build a More Ethical Society Competition".

Thanks to the fundraising efforts of a group of Toronto Nepali youth, TRAS initiated a partnership with Nagarik Aawaz in July 2005 with funds going to the 2005-2006 DYVP.

Photos from the "Peace Kitchens." Some of the DYVP youth volunteers are young "conflict widows" (young women whose husbands have been killed in the conflict), who have been displaced to Kathmandu with their children.