Nunnery School for Adult Literacy

In keeping with the Tibet Project’s mission to integrate the empowerment of girls and women into the work, we support a modest school for adult nuns to gain basic literacy in Tibetan and Chinese.

Due to regional economic disparities between rural and urban areas, some girls and young women from low-income families leave their homes in the countryside to work for wealthier households in the city. While some young women are treated relatively well, receiving an education, adequate meals and proper shelter, some other women are met with abusive treatment. As a result, a number of these young women workers escape to their homes, sometimes to brothels or sometimes to a local nunnery. Even in the latter scenario, a number of the young women leave again after a few years. For this reason, the Tibet Project has identified the urgent need for basic adult literacy (bilingual) training for this vulnerable population. The Nunnery School for Adult Literacy, though modest in scale, is an attempt to address very current need.

The Tibet Project has provided support to construct the day school addition to the nunnery, as well as some funding for classroom furniture. The construction consists of the following:

• one main classroom, built architecturally as part of the nunnery
• one small attached to serve as a library
• one toilet

In an August 2004 follow-up monitoring visit to the school, the nuns had completed all the construction, for which they provided most of the labour and installed the requisite furniture. Classes have begun at the school with retired school teachers providing instruction as paid part-time employees. The nuns are now seeking funding to purchase appropriate books in Tibetan and Chinese for their small library.

Please join in the wonderful efforts of these nuns by sending your donation to “Tibet Project – Cultural Survival” and indicate “Nunnery School for Adult Literacy” in the memo line. Thank you for your interest and support.

Losang Rabgey
Director
Tibet Project, Cultural Survival
519 E Street NE
Washington DC 20002-5213
tel: 202-544-3404
losang@tibetproject.org
www.tibetproject.org

Board Member
Tibetan & Himalayan Digital Library
lr6b@virginia.edu
www.thdl.org