Happy new year from the Yushu children & family!
Our two youngest children have now reached middle school (grade 7) while our three oldest are in vocational colleges. The rest of our 21 Yushu children are between in grades 8 to 12, except our very oldest, Choyki Jurmey, who has graduated from college and is now getting licensed as a teacher!
Our first graduate, Chokyi Jurmey, 2011 & 2019
Transitioning from education to employment in the market is highly competitive in China, and success markers are largely materialistic (grades, diplomas, physical attributes). Yet our children are on track to becoming teachers, civil servants and possibly healthcare workers. We are also looking at opportunities outside the mainstream to train them in trades like glazing and mechanics.
lunch time
Most of the children walk to and from school, and eat their main meals at the Yushu home. Next September, nine of our children will move to dormitories in upper middle school or colleges. Their pathways require a careful balance of Tibetan traditions (many of them were nomads as toddlers) and the modern market where their livelihoods will emerge.
boys walk home from school
Their success now and in the future depends on their ongoing network of caregivers: foster parents Awang & Choden, house mothers, manager-uncle Dawa, their lama Wangdrak Rinpoche and many kind souls around the world like you who have supported their education.
There are sure to be challenges, but with your continued care and support we feel confident these children will each find their successful way forward. May the year ahead be bright!
To donate any amount towards these children’s scholarships, please see: https://gebchakgonpa.org/donate/yushu-earthquake-orphans/
with house mother Dolma
