Babies of Bhutan
Donation protected
The Orphanage
In central Bhutan, deep in the mountains lies the district of Zhamgang .
Its here that a vision , a dream , and a calling of one guy and his wife Khandro Dorji Phagmo Ripochhe , a Bhuddist Master has started to become a reality .
The vision was to find a place to help others , a place to house the elderly the young and those in need.
It was to provide a place of worship , a place of learning , a place of love laughter and good health.
High on the hilltops above what was once a thriving village sits a 1500 year old monastery .
Back in early 2000 Khandro was told of this place, a place that was meant not just for her , but of a place to be used to help others .
But lacking resources and any outside help it was impossible to do anything at the site.
Thats where our good friend Tshering Tashi comes in.
After sometime it would become clear that the site in question was not a site chosen by Tsheringand his wife, but in fact a site that had chosen Them , a site that had long ago been the very place that a reincarnation took place and a legend was born .
Tshering and his wife made the journey from the capital of Thimphu to the site and began plans to settle , to start the dream. The journey from Thimphu takes about 2 days by car, and is not for the faint hearted . The road winds crazily through the Himalayas at times climbing from the valley floor up the an altitude of more than 3000m up and over the mountain pass , or LA . The road for the most part is in poor condition , with a sheer cliff face on one side , and a drop on the other that will make your eyes water should you be brave enough to look down .
The journey however was not tough enough to stop Tsheringand his wife , together now they have been making this same journey for over 10 years, each time carrying clothes, kids , food and furniture to the orphanage .
Today , 18 years later the house below the Monastery is now home to round 11 orphans and 4 elderly women . At times the numbers swell to 30 children , but with resources few and far between and no funding from the government some of the children are forced to return home to their villages .
The children come from all over Bhutan , from all different situations . Most of them are malnourished , fighting illness and have been mistreated .
At the orphanage they are given clothing , a warm bed and good food .
They are educated and shown the way of the Buddhism.
Life here is strict but fair , there is love and understanding , and there is discipline .
The secret to a healthy life here is to balance it all out.
Which at times can be a challenge , after all kids are kids !!
Each day starts at 5am sharp.
The kids walk single file from the village up to the monastery on the hilltop.
The hill is steep , but the children have no trouble at all climbing it .
It takes them just 2-3 minutes to reach their place of worship.
Here they chant , pray and leave offerings to Buddha .
It’s a different way to start the day , but its life here , and it works.
After the mornings worship is complete its time to head back to the village and get ready for breakfast. The kids get cleaned up while the elderly women prepare food.
Once breakfast is ready the bell is rung 3 times .
The kids all sit in circle and the food is divided up evenly .
The food is healthy , mostly rice chillies and vegetables.
They may not have much here at the orphanage , but one thing is made sure , there is enough food to go around , no one here goes hungry .
Breakfast is over just as quickly as it started .
The kids wash their plates and put them away .
There is a short period of free time now , depending on how quickly you wash up .
Shortly after breakfast the kids gather for their study time which goes well into mid morning. It’s a strict schedule here , but there is always time to laugh and play .
Around 11am the kids break from study to complete any chores they might have , washing clothes , helping to prepare food , fixing things around the orphanage , there is always something to do , but there are always lots of little eager hands ready to do it.
At 1pm sharp its lunch time , the studying is done , the chores are completed , its time again to eat.
As always the food is endless , mostly rice, chillies, and fresh fruit and vegetables grown organically on the property . There is sometimes meat , but not a lot as its hard to come by out here in the mountains .
They sit on the grass , eat , laugh and chat amongst themselves . Life’s good . And far better than what it was for them before they were brought here .
With lunch done and the dishes put away its free time .
The kids spend the afternoon reading books , drawing and playing.
By 4pm its time again to worship, the kids head back up the hill to the monastery .
Again they chant, pray and make offerings to Buddha returning a few hours later in time for dinner .
Dinner is served up , and again there is no shortage , each kid easily putting away two whole plates of rice . Once done they wash up , play a little and head for bed .
The kids and the elderly women are housed in a huge traditional Bhutanese building .
With the building being at least 50-60 years old, it is in a poor state and in desperate need of renovations . The front wall of the building has started to collapse meaning the front part of the building cannot be used as its unsafe . Only the rear bedrooms can be occupied requiring the kids and elderly to share 3-4 to a room , no beds , just a place on the floor . But its home for now , so they make do.
The day after our arrival we thoroughly inspect the building inside and out , it becomes very clear that if nothing is done soon the building will be in a state of disrepair , meaning that it can no longer be occupied and will be lost forever .
In addition to this it will leave the kids and the elderly again homeless.
We do our best during our stay to help out , we build things to make life a little easier , but the real issue is funding .
Without outside help the orphanage simply cannot maintain the infrastructure that is required.
Its clear that help is needed .
The main reason for our trip to Bhutan was to see first hand how life really was at the orphanage.
To live it , breath it , interact with the children and get a feel first hand of what its really like to live here . We knew the orphanage need help , but we had to live here to see exactly where to start .
Within just hours of being at the orphanage the message was clear .
We needed to rebuild the accommodation .
The kids needed somewhere warm and safe to live .
They need a place to call home .
They needed OUR help.
During our time at the orphanage we arranged local builders to come and give advice on what was needed to restore the old building back to its former glory , to make it safe , to make it a home.
Discussions were held at length , what materials were already available , what materials were needed , and what kind of labor was required .
We took measurements, made plans , took more measurements and made more plans .
The end result was simple , we needed to raise around $20,000 Australian Dollars ,we needed to move the kids and elderly into temporary accommodation , and we needed to start work as soon as possible.
This is where you come in , we need your help .
We have created this page in the hope that with your help we can raise the money required to save this building and make it a home.
$20,000 is not a lot of money, but will make a HUGE difference to the lives of these children .
It will give them a place to grow into adults , find their own way in life and hopefully continue to make a difference for years to come.
The dream for Tshering Tashi and his wife Khandro is to develop the property into a fully functioning Orphanage , to provide food and shelter for 100s of children . To provide education , development and a place to live for all those who need it .
Right now its just a hand full of lucky kids , and Old ladies .
With our help it will become so much more .
In central Bhutan, deep in the mountains lies the district of Zhamgang .
Its here that a vision , a dream , and a calling of one guy and his wife Khandro Dorji Phagmo Ripochhe , a Bhuddist Master has started to become a reality .
The vision was to find a place to help others , a place to house the elderly the young and those in need.
It was to provide a place of worship , a place of learning , a place of love laughter and good health.
High on the hilltops above what was once a thriving village sits a 1500 year old monastery .
Back in early 2000 Khandro was told of this place, a place that was meant not just for her , but of a place to be used to help others .
But lacking resources and any outside help it was impossible to do anything at the site.
Thats where our good friend Tshering Tashi comes in.
After sometime it would become clear that the site in question was not a site chosen by Tsheringand his wife, but in fact a site that had chosen Them , a site that had long ago been the very place that a reincarnation took place and a legend was born .
Tshering and his wife made the journey from the capital of Thimphu to the site and began plans to settle , to start the dream. The journey from Thimphu takes about 2 days by car, and is not for the faint hearted . The road winds crazily through the Himalayas at times climbing from the valley floor up the an altitude of more than 3000m up and over the mountain pass , or LA . The road for the most part is in poor condition , with a sheer cliff face on one side , and a drop on the other that will make your eyes water should you be brave enough to look down .
The journey however was not tough enough to stop Tsheringand his wife , together now they have been making this same journey for over 10 years, each time carrying clothes, kids , food and furniture to the orphanage .
Today , 18 years later the house below the Monastery is now home to round 11 orphans and 4 elderly women . At times the numbers swell to 30 children , but with resources few and far between and no funding from the government some of the children are forced to return home to their villages .
The children come from all over Bhutan , from all different situations . Most of them are malnourished , fighting illness and have been mistreated .
At the orphanage they are given clothing , a warm bed and good food .
They are educated and shown the way of the Buddhism.
Life here is strict but fair , there is love and understanding , and there is discipline .
The secret to a healthy life here is to balance it all out.
Which at times can be a challenge , after all kids are kids !!
Each day starts at 5am sharp.
The kids walk single file from the village up to the monastery on the hilltop.
The hill is steep , but the children have no trouble at all climbing it .
It takes them just 2-3 minutes to reach their place of worship.
Here they chant , pray and leave offerings to Buddha .
It’s a different way to start the day , but its life here , and it works.
After the mornings worship is complete its time to head back to the village and get ready for breakfast. The kids get cleaned up while the elderly women prepare food.
Once breakfast is ready the bell is rung 3 times .
The kids all sit in circle and the food is divided up evenly .
The food is healthy , mostly rice chillies and vegetables.
They may not have much here at the orphanage , but one thing is made sure , there is enough food to go around , no one here goes hungry .
Breakfast is over just as quickly as it started .
The kids wash their plates and put them away .
There is a short period of free time now , depending on how quickly you wash up .
Shortly after breakfast the kids gather for their study time which goes well into mid morning. It’s a strict schedule here , but there is always time to laugh and play .
Around 11am the kids break from study to complete any chores they might have , washing clothes , helping to prepare food , fixing things around the orphanage , there is always something to do , but there are always lots of little eager hands ready to do it.
At 1pm sharp its lunch time , the studying is done , the chores are completed , its time again to eat.
As always the food is endless , mostly rice, chillies, and fresh fruit and vegetables grown organically on the property . There is sometimes meat , but not a lot as its hard to come by out here in the mountains .
They sit on the grass , eat , laugh and chat amongst themselves . Life’s good . And far better than what it was for them before they were brought here .
With lunch done and the dishes put away its free time .
The kids spend the afternoon reading books , drawing and playing.
By 4pm its time again to worship, the kids head back up the hill to the monastery .
Again they chant, pray and make offerings to Buddha returning a few hours later in time for dinner .
Dinner is served up , and again there is no shortage , each kid easily putting away two whole plates of rice . Once done they wash up , play a little and head for bed .
The kids and the elderly women are housed in a huge traditional Bhutanese building .
With the building being at least 50-60 years old, it is in a poor state and in desperate need of renovations . The front wall of the building has started to collapse meaning the front part of the building cannot be used as its unsafe . Only the rear bedrooms can be occupied requiring the kids and elderly to share 3-4 to a room , no beds , just a place on the floor . But its home for now , so they make do.
The day after our arrival we thoroughly inspect the building inside and out , it becomes very clear that if nothing is done soon the building will be in a state of disrepair , meaning that it can no longer be occupied and will be lost forever .
In addition to this it will leave the kids and the elderly again homeless.
We do our best during our stay to help out , we build things to make life a little easier , but the real issue is funding .
Without outside help the orphanage simply cannot maintain the infrastructure that is required.
Its clear that help is needed .
The main reason for our trip to Bhutan was to see first hand how life really was at the orphanage.
To live it , breath it , interact with the children and get a feel first hand of what its really like to live here . We knew the orphanage need help , but we had to live here to see exactly where to start .
Within just hours of being at the orphanage the message was clear .
We needed to rebuild the accommodation .
The kids needed somewhere warm and safe to live .
They need a place to call home .
They needed OUR help.
During our time at the orphanage we arranged local builders to come and give advice on what was needed to restore the old building back to its former glory , to make it safe , to make it a home.
Discussions were held at length , what materials were already available , what materials were needed , and what kind of labor was required .
We took measurements, made plans , took more measurements and made more plans .
The end result was simple , we needed to raise around $20,000 Australian Dollars ,we needed to move the kids and elderly into temporary accommodation , and we needed to start work as soon as possible.
This is where you come in , we need your help .
We have created this page in the hope that with your help we can raise the money required to save this building and make it a home.
$20,000 is not a lot of money, but will make a HUGE difference to the lives of these children .
It will give them a place to grow into adults , find their own way in life and hopefully continue to make a difference for years to come.
The dream for Tshering Tashi and his wife Khandro is to develop the property into a fully functioning Orphanage , to provide food and shelter for 100s of children . To provide education , development and a place to live for all those who need it .
Right now its just a hand full of lucky kids , and Old ladies .
With our help it will become so much more .
Fundraising team (2)
Kane Sgherza
Organizer
Scarborough WA
Jesika Maree Jeisman
Team member
