The school has spent the last year recovering from the damage and loss from the August 2010 mudslide.
There are still replacement educational items needed following the internal damage to the classrooms and then the school has a number of priority needs in terms of materials, furnishings and equipment.
The School Needs US$ list gives a detailed breakdown of items required, also available in GB£, School Needs
A sponsored trek in Ladakh is being arranged by Peaks Foundation for a small group of women wishing to face a challenge in aid of the Druk White Lotus School. The Gulap Kangri Challenge, Ladakh, 10-19 September, 2011.
If this fantastic opportunity to walk in the Himalayan peaks is not for you, perhaps a friend of yours may be interested so do pass on the details, or perhaps you would prefer to sponsor one of the group and let them do the physical work!
For more details go to: http://www.peaksfoundation.org/our_adventures/1_peak_1_week_challenge/ladakh/
If you may be interested, please e-mail Peaks Foundation directly at: climb@peaksfoundation.org
CONGRATULATIONS to Malcolm and Edwin, who completed a 150km sponsored bike ride. Please help the school by donating to reach their goal of £1000. Go to their Virgin Money Giving page.
Malcolm Hodgson and Edwin Gruber of St Christopher School, Letchworth, are raising funds for equipment and teaching materials for the school following last year’s mudslide damage.
Malcolm and Edwin had never done a bike ride of this length before, but felt they really wanted to show their commitment to the school by doing something extraordinary.
Please support their effort by sponsoring their achievement.
Many thanks for any support you can give.
Two very successful screenings of the ‘3 Idiots’ box-office hit took place in the UK in March 2010 to raise funds for the school.
The secret story behind the smash hit film is that Druk White Lotus School is trying to be just the kind of school that encourages creativity, enthusiasm and intelligence that the film promotes.
The Letchworth screening was arranged in conjunction with St Christopher School Letchworth, a partner school of Druk White Lotus. Here, and at the central London screening, members of the audience were delighted when they saw the Druk White Lotus School on screen, where it had been used for some of the filming!
Filming of the ‘3 Idiots’ at Druk White Lotus School was very exciting for the students and staff – read more
With grateful thanks to Vidhu Vinod Chopra Productions, Reliance BIG Pictures, Cineworld, Broadway Cinema Letchworth and Aamir Khan.
2 screenings of the ‘3 Idiots’ box-office hit are arranged in aid of our school, which was used in the filming.
The secret story by the smash hit film is that Druk White Lotus School is trying to be just the kind of school that promotes creativity, enthusiasm and intelligence that the film promotes.
Do join us at either screening:
London: Saturday 6th March 1.00pm at Cineworld Haymarket,
63-65 Haymarket, London, SW1Y 4RL.
Tickets on the door, £10, cash payment only.
Letchworth: Wednesday 3rd March 6.00pm at Broadway Cinema,
Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire, SG6 3DG.
Tickets £8 from Reception at St Christopher School, Letchworth, SG6 3JZ and from ‘David’s Bookshop’, Letchworth.
Filming of the ‘3 Idiots’ at Druk White Lotus School was very exciting for the students and staff – read more
With grateful thanks to Vidhu Vinod Chopra Productions, Reliance BIG Pictures, Cineworld and Aamir Khan,
Students from Alton College, UK, raised funds for the school and then came to Ladakh in summer 2009 to build an exercise trail and experience a challenging trek in the Markha Valley. The school recently employed a Physical Education teacher.
We are cooperating with the ladies of Gya village to transform their pashmina, sheep and Yak wool into stylish knitted goods that visitors will wish to buy and wear. This ‘win-win’ situation will bring pleasure to the owners, and generate income for the ladies of Gya and for Druk White Lotus School.
Ian Hazard is an Architect from Arup Associates who spent six months with us as a volunteer. Why not find out more about volunteer opportunities in Ladakh?.
“Since being a child I’ve loved to draw the world around me and from an early age I dreamt of being an architect. When I finally left university having fulfilled my ambition I realised that the skills I had learned with respect to architecture could be a very powerful tool, not only to share my wonder for the world with others, but also as a means to work very directly with people in a manner that my help them improve the conditions of their surroundings and the quality of their lives.
I joined Arup soon after graduating and found within the company a shared aspiration to shape a better world, not only in the forefront of design in the western developed context, but also in developing countries where our expertise can make a real difference and the Druk White Lotus School in Ladakh is one of several projects I have become involved in that seek to bring all that good design has to offer to people who have nothing to offer in return other than their gratitude.
Each year a member of the design team travels to Ladak to take up the post of resident architect or resident engineer with the purpose of ensuring what is designed and drawn in London gets built in Ladak.
Having been asked to be the resident architect for 2006, I arrived on site and soon realised the most significant hurdle of my job was not one of construction or design but that of working successfully between people of different cultures. Although the differences between places and people are sometimes barely perceptible, the differences in the way that actions and gestures are perceived by people of different cultures is very significant and working in Ladak I found that I needed to be extremely sensitive to the way that people lead their lives and to the things that are important to them in order to work effectively with them and sometimes it would be the most simple of problems that cause me the most headaches to solve; such as making sure the school had water on a day to day basis or that making sure light bulbs worked when they were switched on.
“the heart of the project is … the children and not the buildings.”
But of course at the heart of the project is the school and that being the children and not the buildings. To me it is the children that make the project worthwhile, providing for their education and for their future in life.
With that in mind from day 1 there is the understanding within the design team that this is not a 9 to 5 job. Often, being involved in the project requires working long hours and in unexpected circumstances and for me this is one of the job’s pleasures such as helping organise school activities, taking part in fund-raising events, such as climbing Stok Kangri, a 6,500 metre peak, was one of the most demanding experiences of my life but because of its purpose to raise money for the children, it was one of the most rewarding.
“I have very fond memories of the time I shared with the children and the staff at the school.”
Obviously I have very fond memories of the time I shared with the children and the staff at the school which I am sure I’ll treasure for some time to come. However the moments that moved me the most and that filled me with such hope for the future were often born from something so simple as a wave from one person to another. Although quite often I would have very little in common with some of the people that I had met there is something very beautiful in a gesture so small as a wave. Maybe it’s a recognition that beneath all the differences that culture time and place would put between us we’re all just human and the world’s not such a big place.”
Sunday 2nd August: fine summer weather, the garden of a great English pub located in beautiful countryside, excellent food and lots of good music … a recipe for enjoyment and for raising funds for Druk White Lotus School. The Duke of Cumberland pub is located in a small village not far from the south coast of England. Around 300 people enjoyed the skills and talents of a range of singers, bands, poets and performers at DukeFest 09. Funds were raised for the school through an auction, a raffle and games – and our thanks go to all at ‘the Duke’, the performers, and everybody who participated.
The Druk Foundation in the USA organised a gala event at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York. The evening focussed on the art of the Drukpa lineage and included a conversation between His Holiness Gyalwang Drukpa and Jeff Watt, Curator of the Rubin Museum, before an invited audience. This was followed by a screening of a documentary entitled ‘Druk White Lotus School – Ladakh’ produced by New York film company kontentreal and sponsored by Autodesk.
His Holiness with Karena Albers and Tad Fettig (Executive Producers from the film company)
Following a screening of the film, His Holiness took part in a Q&A with Jeff Watt, Rubin Museum Curator, together with Jonathan Rose (chief architect), Tad Fettig (film executive producer) and Philip Cornwell (trustee).
In Europe a few days later, the annual retreat with the Gyalwang Drukpa was underway at Pel Drukpay Tcheutsok, the centre in Plouray, France. As ever, the Drukpa Trust and a dedicated crew of volunteers kept a display open throughout, fundraising for equipment for the Science Laboratoty. Always trying to have fun with the theme, this time donors could buy parts of the human skeleton 1€ buying a tooth and 100€ represented by a skull. By the end of the retreat, over two whole “skeletons” had been bought.
