The Tibetan Children's Village School

The Tibetan Children's Village is located on top of one of the steep hills surrounding McLeod Ganj. It houses and teaches 2.000 students whose parents have sent them here from Tibet or India to become educated on the campus. There are several TCV's found in India to serve the large numbers of Tibetan children who cannot be educated in Tibet the way their parents want them to because of Communist Chinese rule. I walked up here one morning to have a look around. It was a holiday and although the kids were on campus, classes were not in session. Lucky kids!!!


This was the gentleman who directed me to the school once I reached the town of Dal Lake. I saw him again as I was leaving the school grounds. He was heading up the steep school driveway with his round lunch pail to get his midday meal at the school canteen (kitchen). We chatted again before parting. Although he did not speak much English, we managed to communicate with smiles, laughter and a friendly, "Namaste," which, roughly translated, means, "The god in me greets the god in you!"

The TCV school playground is located at the entrance to the school. Beyond it is a courtyard where many older boys were playing basketball on their day off. Although the playground is functional, it's not exactly as grand as our own beloved Maze Craze, eh?


The 2,000 students live in group dormitories with similar aged kids. They are cared for by many adults in each dorm and have daily chores to help keep their buildings neat and clean. This is the Babies' Room. About 20 babies are taken care of in this dorm by several women. When I was there, the babes were watching TV!!!

Some of the babies were sent by their parents and others were literally left at TCV's doorstep with their personal data (name, birthdate, etc.) tucked in the baby's cap. Tibetan parents often cannot take care of their children. Since they have escaped from Tibet, they cannot find jobs here in India that will pay them enough money to raise their children properly. The babies range in age from four months to four years old.


This is the TCV gymnasium next to the field where several informal soccer (called football here in India) were being played. Check out the sign on the gymnasium wall, "Come to learn, go to serve." It's very typical of Tibetans, who face such challenges in their homeland, to be selfless in their hopes and dreams for the future. Many of my students have said they want to go back to Tibet and teach children and adults there.



This is Dal Lake (Dal is the Hindi word for "lentil."). Dal Lake is a very sacred place where, every September, many Indians come to take a dip in the lake's waters and receive a blessing.

As you can see, at this point in the summer, the lake is just a big muddy hole. Can you see the Indian women working in the lake bed? They are using pick axes to dig the trench that they are standing in.

I'm not quite sure why they were doing this and neither was the young boy selling chicken in a tiny food stall along the fence. Another mystery unsolved! I'll be heading up to Dal Lake again before I leave McL and, after checking on the status of the lake, will let you know if the water level has risen!

Zim ja nang! ("Good night," in Tibetan).