Community Center in Gongma Village, Himalayas
Community Center in Gongma Village, Himalayas
Community Center in Gongma Village, Himalayas
Community Center in Gongma Village, Himalayas
Community Center in Gongma Village, Himalayas
This campaign is closed
Community Center in Gongma Village, Himalayas
The story:
I have created this fund for my valued friend, Lama Tzehphel, a Tibetan Buddhist monk. When Lamaji called me asking for help with a community project in his remote Himalayan village of Gongma, I was immediately inspired to set up this fundraising effort.
Villagers, Lama Tzehphel and me getting ready for the long journey
I met Lama Tzehphel in 2010 and was invited to spend 3 weeks traveling with him to his home village of Gongma and the nearby Lingshed monastery, built circa 1440. Gongma, Lingshed, and the few other neighboring villages are some of the most remote and isolated villages in the Indian Himalayas. To reach this region, we journeyed together by foot over a frozen river bed at altitudes of 14,000 feet, sleeping each night in mountain caves with temperatures reaching as low as -30F at night.
While this journey was an amazing and unique adventure trek for me, the experience and the relationship that was built with Lamaji significantly changed the way I looked at life. I was amazed and touched by the very fact that a journey of this nature was merely the basic way of life for villages like Gongma.
Not only did the journey itself change me, but the deepening of my friendship with Lamaji continues to influence the way I look at life. Lamaji is a true community leader in this remote part of India. He is respected and admired by his entire community for his dedication, generosity and willingness to help in any way possible.
Lama's Project
The winters in Gongma are harsh and the high altitude adds challenges of its own. The villages have survived for over 1,000 years, but now more and more villagers must relocate to larger towns in order to find work and education opportunities for their families. Lama Tzephel has taken the initiative to build a community center in Gongma. The center has two primary functions: to offer safe and warm housing for the elderly and to offer an educational space for both the students and children from Gongma and the five villages nearby. Most students walk a few miles across extremely dangerous mountain passes to attend classes. Traditionally, children stop attending school during the 3-4 months of winter when conditions are at their worst. Many students are able to continue their studies in some fashion at home but there is a loss to the continuity of their education. This housing will allow them to attend school during the winter months, allowing them to remain on educational par with their peers in the rest of India. Education is the primary means of growth opportunity for the students as well as for the village and regional community as a whole.
Current Project Status
As some of the photos illustrate, Lama and the villagers are already hard at work building the center. They are racing against the cold weather which is fast approaching. Winter will not only halt construction, but will also affect their ability to accumulate essential materials. Each piece of material, from timber to glass, has to be carried by foot or by mule, from the city of Leh to Gongma (a journey of roughly 6-8 days by foot). Community members are donating their labor towards the building's construction and their time for the lengthy 6-8 day trek for materials.
Plywood sheets carried on the back to the village of Gongma for construction of community center
Muletrains carrying timber. Gongma village on the backdrop.
4X8 plywood sheets for construction.
Lama Tzehphel moving 'premade' doors for construction.
Work in progress!
How You Can Help:
As of now, the materials for the building have been acquired in a loan of sorts, on goodwill and trust in Lamaji's reputation from local shops in the city of Leh. Funds raised by this campaign will go directly to Lamaji to pay off these materials. Any additional funds raised will be used towards the purchase of educational supplies.