BON CHILDREN

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The Bon Children`s Home (BCH) and The Bon Children`s Welfare Center

The Bon Children's Home and The Bon Children's Welfare Center are located in Dolanji, Himachal Pradesh, India. These organizations are dedicated to educating and caring for Bon children whose families are in exile. Many children have been orphaned, or their families are too poor to care for them. All are here to receive an education that includes learning about their Bon-heritage.

The Bon Children`s Home counts today more than 280 children in the age from 3 to 20 years. Most of them are under 6 years old and need most attention.

Only 7 very dynamic and admirable persons take care of all these children and support the director of the home and school and abbot of the Bon monastery, Lha-Tri Khenpo Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche, in his daily work:

2 mamas
who take care of the youngest children. They achieve an admirable work to look after more than 30 children between 3 and 5 years old. They feed them, wash them, wash their clothes, bring them to bed. They sleep in separate little rooms in each end of the dormitory to be close by whenever needed.

1 cook and his aid
The cook and his aid are working in shifts to prepare the scarce food for the children. In the morning they prepare tsampa (dumplings of flour and water) with some hot tea. At lunch they serve some vegetables, a boiled egg and another dumpling-tsampa for each child. In the evening each of the children gets another tsampa with some tea or soup. Although the conditions at the BCH are not the easiest — no running water, no hot water, poorest kitchen equipment — both of them love their job and are very happy to support the children.

1 housekeeper
This man is actually the “gofer” or “handyman”. He takes care of anything that needs to be done, repairs broken furniture, tinkers whatever needed and is always present when some help is needed. His help and work is a valuable support for the BCH.

1 supervisor
Being the supervisor has never been a very nice and appreciative task because you are always the “bad guy”. But this man… With all his love and compassion he looks after the children and makes sure that everything runs smoothly. He often has to settle disputes or reconcile some of the children. The children love him for being like a father to them.

1 secretary
He takes care of the more administrative tasks of the Bon Children`s Home and the school. His help is very valuable to Lha-Tri Khenpo Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche not only to cope with the daily work but also to have a trustful representative when he is abroad to take care of the home and the school. His organizational and administrative work is very valuable to the BCH.

Today, the home has a total of 4 buildings: a kitchen (with a storage area), a dormitory for the girls (with a dining hall and a separate area for the youngest children), a dormitory for the boys, and the office. In the past, 3 to 4 children had to share one bed, and perhaps even one blanket!

Faced with such circumstances, each child contributes in his or her own way. Some help with the smaller children — washing and feeding the little ones. Others assist with the serving of food, or the laundry — which is especially hard in the winter when the water approaches the freezing point. While these efforts never impinge on the time devoted to scholastics, every student is thus able to add what they can to the community

Despite facing such challenges, it is the policy of BCH never to turn down a child in need. In January 2004, 40 new children (many of whom are extremely young) unexpectedly arrived at the school. With no one else for them to turn to, BCH gladly accepted responsibility for all of them. Since large groups of new arrivals such as this are not an uncommon occurrence, the Bon Children`s Home is always greatly appreciative of any donation.

“Caring for these children and instilling in them an appreciation for their unique Bon heritage, gives me the remarkable motivation required to undertake so many different tasks for their benefit. However, it is only with your support and donations that I will be able to provide the children with their basic everyday needs of water, food, clothing, and medicine. If you are in anyway touched to help us here at BCH, your kind contribution will help insure a bright future for these children.

Every day you make a difference in the life of a child.

Every child makes a difference in preserving a culture.

Thank you very much for your support!

The BCH is an open organisation and is any time happy to welcome you at its guest house. If you wish to visit the BCH, please send an email to me.” — said us BCH-administrator Lha-Tri Khenpo Nyima Dakpa Rinpoche

By materials of the BCH and the ABC