Nurturing responsible and compassionate Himalayan youth through education
We're on a mission to provide Himalayan children with the education they need to become self-sufficient and independent.
Through education and cultural preservation, our school strives to give Himalayan students a better future.
The Serang Primary School was established in 2015 by Tulku Karma Rinpoche and Nubtul Rinpoche as a means to provide poor children with a foundational education. More than a hundred Himalayan children attend our school for free, and receive comprehensive care, lodging, education, and medical attention, whilst being immersed in the culture, and language of their homeland. The school provides a thoroughly modern, science-based education (in three languages) while supporting their traditional practice of Buddhism. In 2015, soon after the devastating earthquake, construction for a wooden, temporary school was begun on the grounds of Serang Monastery. Shortly afterwards, construction of the brand-new, earthquake-safe school building got underway. Thanks to international benefactors such as HCE, the Mahasukha Foundation and others the school building was completed in late 2019 and on November 24th, 2019, the Serang Monastery hosted the opening of the first permanent building of the Serang Primary School.
The Awakening of Nubtul Rinpoche to Act - In 2015, I went to Nepal's Gorkha area, where I had survived the devastating April earthquake. The sight of worlds wavering and crumbling before my eyes pushed me into action in this transitory but valuable reality. During the November earthquake relief work in Sangchen Rabten Norbuling monastery, I observed many frustrated people and frightened children. After seeing their demolished homes and the grief in their eyes, I declared that our monastery would provide temporary education and housing to some of the homeless or destitute children from the communities nearby. I stated that our monastery will provide temporary education and housing for some of the local villages' homeless or disadvantaged children. The faces of these residents brightened as they saw enormous hope in their lives as their children will achieve an education. Fortunately, the school has been accepted by the Nepalese government. Initially, fifty children were admitted; they share facilities and meals with the monastic Sangha.
Our purpose is guided by our core values
We are enthusiastic about empowering children here at Serang, and we live and breathe our goal. Four core values guide everything we do:
We are compassionate
We are a Dharma-focused institution that fosters bodhicitta {the mind (citta) that is aimed at awakening (bodhi)}. We are on a mission to change lives through free education because we are aware of the hardships experienced by children who do not have access to education.
We preserve culture
We take great pride in our Himalayan culture and Buddhist way of life. We uphold the traditions, provide a welcoming environment, and bolster the sense of community.
We are innovative
We are willing to take risks to improve educational initiatives' effectiveness and accessibility as well as look into cutting-edge technology that might reduce the accomplishment gap.
We are collaborative
We maintain close connections with local residents and organizations. We are even collaborating with educators and other organizations to guarantee that every child in the Himalayas has access to education.
Tulku Karma Rinpoche
Tulku Karma Rinpoche was born in 1971 on the auspicious day of Buddha's Descent from the Tushita Heaven in Kurtoe, Bhutan, into a devoted Buddhist family. At age 4, the 16th Karmapa Rangjung Rigpe Dorje recognized Rinpoche as the reincarnation of respected spiritual master Tashi Phuntsok, a close student of Yeshi Nyingpo. At the age of 13, Lopon Tsewang Chophel presented Tulku Karma Rinpoche to His Holiness Dodrubchen Rinpoche as a component of a mandala offering. In Sikkim's Deorali Chorten Gonpa for 16 years, Rinpoche studied under Lopon Thekchok Rinpoche. At the age of 28, Tulku Rinpoche joined Serang monastery in the hidden Kyimolung valley at the invitation of Choekyi Nyima Rinpoche and under the guidance of His Holiness Dodropchen Rinpoche. In this extremely secluded religious community in the Nubri region, where hundreds of monks and nuns reside full-time, Rinpoche has been imparting priceless and ongoing instruction for the past 25 years.
Residents live a nomadic, frugal lifestyle focused on raising animals and subsistence farming. The people barely have enough to eat or have a roof over their heads. These underprivileged residents' children are forgotten and ignored. Rinpoche observed how children's lives had been badly affected and how there was little hope for their future, especially for those from the lower Nubri area. "Every Himalayan child has the opportunity to obtain an education; none will be left behind" is the sincere wish of our Tulku Karma Rinpoche, who ensures that these underprivileged children are provided with an education and high morals to benefit their families and society at large.
Nuptul Tenpei Nyima Rinpoche was born in the Lho village of Nubri on December 1984. He is a direct descendant of Lonpo Gartong Tsen, one of the ministers of the great Dharma king Songtsen Gampo, the first king of Tibet. As a child Nuptul Rinpoche showed distinct characteristics of his former life as a yogi and lama. Nuptul Tenpei Nyima Rinpoche was born in the Lho village of Nubri on December 1984. He is a direct descendant of Lonpo Gartong Tsen, one of the ministers of the great Dharma king Songtsen Gampo, the first king of Tibet. As a child Nuptul Rinpoche showed distinct characteristics of his former life as a yogi and lama. Nuptul Tenpei Nyima Rinpoche was born in the Lho village of Nubri on December 1984. He is a direct descendant of Lonpo Gartong Tsen, one of the ministers of the great Dharma king Songtsen Gampo, the first king of Tibet. As a child Nuptul Rinpoche showed distinct characteristics of his former life as a yogi and lama.Nubtul Rinpoche (Palsang Lama)
We started the Serang Primary School with a vision to provide free education to underprivileged Himalayan children in Nepal.
My vision for free education came through personal experiences of seeing how valuable it is when one can read and write in English, Nepali and Tibetan. My father and mother were farmers. They never received the opportunity to attend school because 1) there were no schools in the Nubri valley then and 2) their parents could not afford their education in the city. My sisters and many other children their age also never attended school for the same reason. I was fortunate to receive monastic education which supported my spiritual growth. But in today’s high-tech and fast-growing society, training in formal education is indispensable for our everyday life.
I believe a child without education is like a bird without its wings. At the Serang Primary School, we envision empowering youths by training them in quality education.
Today, we educate first-generation Himalayan students close to their home environment, culture, and language. Our students come from families whose parents are subsistence farmers, with very few engaging in occasional tourism.
A few years ago, leading an isolated agrarian livelihood in the Himalayas might have been possible. However, today, sophisticated technologies like the Internet have penetrated even the remotest areas, like the Nubri Valley. Educational training is crucial and much needed for today's remote youths in the Himalayan valleys.
Located at the heart of the Himalayas, in the Nubri Valley, bordering the Tibetan Autonomous Region in the Northwestern Gorkha District of Nepal, today the Serang Primary School provides free education to …. underprivileged children including young monks from the Serang monastery.
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