Shree Mangal Dvip, Kathmandu
Shree Mangal Dvip is a school dedicated to providing an education to Tibetan and Nepali children from the Himalayas. It was founded in 1987 by Thrangu Rinpoche, an important and highly respected Tibetan Buddhist teacher. At the main school in Bouda, which is just outside Kathmandu, there are about 400 children. Most of the children board at the school year round, as their villages are too inaccessible to make return easy. Indeed, some may be away from their homes and families for the whole duration of their time at Shree Mangal Dvip - up to ten years.

The children are Tibetan and Nepali, but are Tibetan in terms of language, culture, and philosophy. The school strives to offer a secular education while helping to preserve Tibetan Buddhism as well as the language and cultural identity of Himalayan peoples.

We came to know of the school through meeting one of its graduates. Bhuti came to RCNUWC in Norway on scholarship to continue her education, and will be among the UWC students graduating this June. A delightful young woman, her enthusiasm for the education she received at SMD certainly heightened our interest in visiting.

The website for the school is: www.himalayanchildren.org

Namo Buddha Retreat Center and Monastic College
Three hours east of Bouda, higher into the Himalayan foothills, is Namo Buddha. As well as being an important Buddhist pilgrimage site in its own right, it is also the location of the branch school of Shree Mangal Dvip. Here young monks receive a secular education alongside their religious education. It is here that we expect to be based - at least for the first few months of our time in Nepal.

The website of Thrangu Rinpoche is: www.rinpoche.com. On the website is a section about Namo Buddha.

We flew into Kathmandu on March 1st.