TIBETAN CHILDREN'S EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

Geshe Gela with Student Family

Students with helpers Kirsten and Geshe Khenrab Wangchu

About Us.........

Every year thousands of Tibetan students arrive in India hoping to access education in Tibetan schools located in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka e.t.c. These schools are specifically for the preservation of Tibetan culture which is in danger of being lost. During school time, the students receive all necessary facilities, but outside of school not all the students have relatives in India to take care of them. For those without relatives or guardians life is very difficult as they have nowhere to go outside of the villages, no money for themselves and often not even a toy to play with. This situation really affected us emotionally which is why we started the (Tibetan Children Educational Project) under the support of Ms. Marlies Brumenbaum the mother of Geshe Kelsang WangmoThe main aims of the project are to preserve Tibetan culture and religion and also to educate those children who were unable to receive a proper education in Tibet. By offering assistance to these students, we are at the same time contributing to our own Tibetan culture by offering guidance and support almost like a family alongside providing a home for them to come to for a break. The TCEP tries to provide shelter, food, medical treatments, books, and all necessary resources during school holidays. During school time we provide pocket money, clothes and so forth. We have been trying tirelessly to help students since 2001, and now we have the opportunity to send students to the above mentioned Tibetan schools. Our students are extremely concerned about preserving Tibetan culture and study extremely well. In just a few years, their level of studies have exceeded all our expectations, and now many can read and write both Tibetan and English independently with two of our students about to start college next year and hopefully for years to come. This has made us even more determined to support as many students as possible within the TCEP and now we have about 30 students under our care including some monks. Most of them are totally under our care and at present we don't have any office or staff, just one rented room and some kind hearted people.

Acknowledgements
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the mother of Geshe Kelsang Wangmo, Ms. Marlies as it is due to her long and kind support that we can continue our support. Also we would like to thank Ms. Julie Kelly from England who helped us design our blog

Geshe Gelek Rabten - A Brief Biography
Geshe Gelek Rabten (Gela) was born in 1970 in Kham Drango ( Sichuan), In 1986 he entered Drango monastery in Kham. In 1987 he joined Drepung Loseling Monastery in south India where he received his novice as well as full ordination as a monk from His Holiness and other great lamas. In 1994 Geshe Gelek Rabten (Gela) joined the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics where he completed his studies in December 2009. He received his MASTER OF PRAJNAPARAMITA BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY (equivalent to B.A.), MASTER OF MADHYAMIKA BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY( equivalent to M.A.), GREAT MASTER OF BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY (equivalent to M. phil) and the RIME GESHE degree (equivalent to a Ph.D.) In 2007 he also received his GESHE degree from Drepung Loseling Monastery. In 2010 he composed his Ph.D. thesis on the ultimate nature of reality according to the four Tibetan Buddhist traditions, which will get published soon. During his sixteen years at Institute of Buddhist Dialectics Geshe Gela studied the Buddhist scriptures and philosophy of the Sakya, Kagyu, Nyingma and Geluk traditions as well as English and Chinese. For one year he served as the master of discipline to which he was appointed by the director of the IBD. In 2005 he was elected by the students as the chairperson of the student union of IBD. Further. Geshe Gelek also gave introductory lectures on Buddhism to numerous Westerners and assisted many university students from the USA with their research projects as an instructor and translator. In 2004 during his winter vacation Geshe Gelek Rabten visited Germany and France where he gave lectures on Buddhist psychology and philosophy for about two months. In January 2010 Geshe Gela and his classmate Geshe Kelsang Wangmo ( first female Geshe in the world) founded the Tibetan Children Educational Project, a non-profit organization that assists Tibetan students in need. In the spring of 2010 he returned to his hometown in Kham (Sichuan) where he continues to give Buddhist teachings to locals. Geshe Khenrab Wangchuk

Ms Julie Kelly - My Story
Born in 1965 to a simple working class family, I am the only member of my family to go to university. I have one daughter who has grown into a compassionate and beautiful human being. For the past 10 years I have supported people who are experiencing trauma as a result of war or other serious crime. My first meeting with Geshe Gela was in early 2010, when I was blessed to become one of his students in Tibetan Buddhist studies . Having decided to leave my social worker job to travel the North of India, my plan was to gain a new perspective on life and culture. When I reached Dharamsala however, my plans came into effect but not in the way I expected. Living in the Tibetan community, not only helped me to expand my own cultural understanding, but also to develop spiritually as a human being. During this time, I became aware of the TCEP and how Geshe Gelek (Gela) and a small number of committed people support many Tibetan students to gain education in India. Many of these students come to India because they feel so strongly about keeping Tibetan culture alive and the TCEP help with many aspects of their lives to make the experience easier. This deeply affected me which is why I decided to become actively involved in the project. At the moment I use my computer skills to keep the blog up to date and to impliment any new information. Additionally I am constantly trying to enlist financial support for the project.

Why your Financial & Practical Support is so valuable
At the moment we have about 30 students in total under our care including some monks. At present we have only one rented room and no staff except for the continued help from Ms. Marlies Brummenbaum. Some students received sponsorship due to the effort of Ms. Marlies and we have shared this money equally for clothes, food, and rooms during summer and winter vacations. Usually we don't have enough money for students to have separate rooms or to provide food & blankets e.t.c. during their school holidays so we often leave half of the students in the school over this period which leaves us feeling very sad. This is really why we are desperate for any practical or financial help you can offer no matter how small. The TCEP is here to help Tibetan children grow with respect and dignity.

To help please contact .......
Germany:- Marlies Brummenbaum BREIDENBACHERWEG" LOHMAR GERMANY Tel-- 02246-5815

India:-Kelsang Wangmo Tel: 0091-9418121453

Geshe Gelek Rabten Tel: 0091-9129254433 Institute of Buddhist Dialectics P.O. McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala Distt, Kangra (H.P) 176219

E-mail tcep2000@yahoo.com

Tuesday 3 May 2011

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