Pema Ts’al
Making Dreams Reality

Established in southern India in 1995 by Lama Pema Wangdak with the support of Mili Lamas, Carol Borghi, Ellen Gerrity, and other students, Pema Ts'al, a home for 26 Tibetan children, provides an environment focused on its young residents' academic and spiritual development. From its inception, Pema Ts'al has received spiritual guidance, support, and blessings from His Holiness the Sakya Trizin and financial support from the Vikramasila Foundation.

Chloe Sakow is a six-year-old New Jersey girl with a generous spirit. Chloe looked at her savings just before Losar, the Tibetan New Year. “I have all this money that I don't need. I'm going to give it to Lama Pema,” she said to her mother. She drew a pretty picture on an envelope and put the money—two one-dollar bills, a nickel, and thirteen pennies—inside. When Chloe presented it to Lama Pema, he asked her if he could use the money to help some Tibetan children in India. Chloe readily agreed.

Carol Borghi, who lives in upstate New York, has always identified with the Tibetan people, and as a mother, she is particularly interested in the welfare of children. When Carol first heard about a school for Tibetan children, she knew at once that she wanted to participate as a "parent." Asked why, she replied, "Since one can only do so much, I think it's important to hone in on what is nearest your heart. For me, that meant the children at Pema Ts'al."
Carol and other “parents” contribute $35 a month to support the Pema Ts’al students. To date, fewer than half the students have such “parents,” so Lama Pema uses speaking fees and other income his activities produce for the Vikramasila Foundation to cover the shortfall.

In a letter to her “parent,” a studious 14-year-old Tibetan nun named Migmar Dolma offers an apology: “I am very sorry that I could not write you sooner. I have many excuses for this, but the main one is that I have been very busy preparing for the 4th unit test.” Migmar, whose family lives in one of the Mundgod

Tibetan resettlement villages in southern India, wants to be a teacher. Her mother, who is semiliterate, is engaged in farming, and her father serves in the Indian army.

Under the guidance of Venerable Guru Gyaltsen, Acharya, and with the financial support of people like Chloe and Carol, Migmar Dolma lives in Pema Ts'al. This hostel is dedicated to giving extra attention to the brightest, most motivated students in the Mundgod resettlement villages.

In these villages, which comprise a community of about 12,000 Tibetans, the Pema Ts'al students are a select group of bright students who are assigned chores, allowed study time, and given tutoring, but few other extras. This attention to their personal and academic development is intended to give these students a chance to fulfill their potential, thus enabling them to go on to higher education, an opportunity that would usually be accessible only to those few children from families that can manage more than a subsistence existence.

All the Pema Ts'al residents attend the local community school, where they study Tibetan, Hindi, English, math, science, history, and social studies, along with about 1,000 other students. In a community where most families have minimal education, children often find they receive little support for their academic efforts. Semiliterate parents cannot help with homework and sometimes do not understand why studying is so important. The benefit of Pema Ts'al is that it provides an environment committed to education.
Like other Pema Ts'al residents, Migmar competed for admission. Its selectivity is an important motivational tool at Pema Ts'al. Since it intends to remain select, 26 students will be the maximum number of residents admitted. The first group of students, in September 1995, consisted of 11 children, 13 or 14 years of age. Now, Pema Ts'al has its full complement of 26 residents.
"The best friends in life are wisdom and knowledge," His Holiness the Sakya Trizin said in a message sent on the opening day of the hostel in 1995. Pema Ts'al, with the aid of its supporters, is dedicated to helping its residents develop these lifelong friendships.

Anyone interested in becoming a “parent” for one of the Pema Ts'al students should write to the Vikramasila Foundation, P. O. Box 1603, New York, New York 10025-1603.