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Construction
begins on the new Pema Ts'al school in Mundgod, India.
On
October 24, 2002, the site for the new school was blessed,
and excavation began a few days later on October 30th. The
Pema Ts'al staff and students were very fortunate to receive
a visit by His Holiness the Dalai Lama on December 15th. His
Holiness laid the foundation stone for the school building.
(Click here
for photos of His Holiness.)
The
physical building is a square, two-story structure with an
open courtyard in the center and a partial basement. The school
will have 20 rooms for students and 4 teacher/staff rooms
on the ground floor, though some of the rooms will be used
temporarily as an office, Prayer Hall and classroom/meeting
hall, leaving 14 rooms for boys on the ground floor. The first
floor will have 20 student rooms for girls and four rooms
for teachers and staff. Each of the student rooms house two
children.
The
basement will have a kitchen, storeroom, dining hall, two
rooms for the cook and other staff, a multi-purpose hall and
a garage. There
are also plans to have an administrative/classroom block consisting
of three classrooms and an office, along with a library and
guest rooms. The kitchen block has a kitchen, a store, two
staff rooms and a dining hall on the ground floor, and a music
room and multi-purpose hall on the first floor. The school
plans to house 80+ children who will live there full time.
If
enough funds are raised, the children will move into their
new home in November of this year.
The
design for the school was kindly developed and donated by
Nate McBride of McBride and Associates, based in New York
City.
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