Domkhar Government School Library

As a carry over from last year the traveling librarian returned to the Domkhar Government School with Mary, Director of Youth Services at the Memphis Public Library in Tennessee. Thanks to HEALTH Inc and Omprakash the new library and computer facility is finished and ready for Mary and I to do our magic.






New library facility in context.


















Our first look inside.













Carrying the boxes of books from the hostel to the library.

Unboxing and examining new books.

Mary introducing the library to a class.

Excitment!


















Discovering new worlds outside remote village life.




































Everyone's socks turned red from the new carpet!





















A few of the new books.

Half-day teacher workshop.

A librarian burning books -what next!

Curiosity about new Pre-K - Class 3 library.

Pre-K - 3 before.

Making Pre-K - 3 library safe.
















Zenab arranging library.

Pre-K - 3 after.

Zenab has agreed to be the teaching librarian for the school and will be going through the Library Information Science degree program with the Indira Ghandi National Open University. Two teachers from the Siddhartha School will also be going through the program which is correspondence-based with testing at IGNOU Centers around India. The faculty came to out half-day teacher workshop with a schedule for library use and rules for use and behavior. They are extremely proud of their two new libraries and since Mary and I returned to the U.S. the entire village and other guests have been invited to the school to see the new libraries. Everyone is excited about the resources and the children get to expand their knowledge and world view.






Using solar energy to power the sound system.

Summer 2009 Blog Entry Two

Stanzen Namgyal's Family

This is part of my Ladakhi family and extended family. There are four houses in their compound and ever time I spend the night I have to visit all four houses and drink juice, milk tea and Ladakhi tea at each house plus a little snack. Refusing is not an option! I love the picture they have hung in the kitchen as some of the photos I have taken of them are proudly displayed. I've been sponsoring Stanzin Namgyal's education since he was in Upper Kindergarten and have been visiting his family for the past three years. If you click on any of the images they will enlarge.









































Baby Chospal who I've known since Tsewang was pregnant.






















Tsetan, Stanzin's father,.






Stanzin being goofy with cousins Dawa & Tsering.
















Tsewang, Stanzin's mother, with cows.






When I sleep over at their house I sleep with Stanzin, sister Stanzin, Chospal and Tsewang. I think we all snore but sleep deeply.

TEEN PARTY TIME
If you ever wondered about the teens in rural villages, just outside Leh, here is an example of a party I was invited to as a grandmother figure (abilay). [surprisingly this reminds me of when I took hip hop lessons with a room full of junior high girls!] It was Stanzin's cousins 18th birthday party. She is attending Class 12 in Jammu and has her girlfriends from school with her during their school break. It hardly seemed different from our teen parties sans alcohol. They had about seven bvowls of chips and snacks, an iMac on a black inflatable couch blaring music and just the typical girl hanging out scene. This is probably not typical in terms of the iMac & furniture but cousin's family is not as poor as the rest. I was told the next morning that they danced for awhile and stayed up until 2:00 AM talking. Notice the hand gestures!

Beginning of Summer 2009 Adventures

I think this is going to be one huge blog entry covering the past 5 weeks that I’ve been in India. Everything (business, communications, Internet connections, etc) in Ladakh takes a long, long time. Just conducting one or two small but important tasks can take up an entire week. For example you have an appointment on Tuesday at 9:00 AM – you show up and no one is there – the next day you get them on the phone and they say where were you Monday I waited for three hours! Then you make new plans and so it goes. Needless to say this blog has been in the works since I arrived. Connections to the Internet are getting worse every year and the electricity keeps going down. Who couldn’t love a place like this!

I’m actually becoming very fond of Delhi even though it is crowded and has steaming temperatures of 45 degrees centigrade. The second I leave the enclosed airport there is a rush of the warm, sweet, exotic and comforting smells of dung fires, diesel fuel, human excrement and blossoms. The laziness from the intense heat, even in the middle of the night, gives way to people everywhere sleeping on the pavement, in their rickshaws, on the median of the roadways, on pallets or charpoys, and so forth. The street dogs are out and prowling, cows are walking in the middle of the road and the traffic is minimal. I’ve come to love this drive from the airport to the guest house in the middle of the night.

My major reason for staying over in Delhi for three days was to purchase books and have them shipped to Ladakh. Thanks to HEALTH Inc. I received funding to buy books for the Domkhar Dho Government School pre-k through Class 10. I purchased most of the books at Teksons Bookstore in Delhi and this year they had to ship them via air cargo which is a little pricey but I had them in hand three days after I arrived in Ladakh. The other reason I enjoyed being in Delhi was my stay at the World Buddhist Center established by a Japanese Monk, Guruji. He also had the Shanti Stupa, here in Leh, built for the people of Ladakh. He’s a musician and last year he had sung me some of his new songs – this year his CD which was produced in Los Angeles with famous backup musicians was finished and for sale. I bought the CD and one of his books and can’t wait to share them with people. I’m so touched by his music and what it has to say. My room (third year) entitled Tamara’s Room has been painted since last year and has new curtains. I arranged the furniture to suit me and bought a Tibetan carpet so I could do my exercises on the floor. Also I wanted the room to feel like a small apartment without cooking facilities. When I opened the big trunk I left here over the winter I was so pleasantly surprised at all the treasures I’d left behind – books, clothes, sleeping bag, toiletries, etc. The food is better than ever this summer – my first few days there was a visiting French chef and the food was impeccable. As I’ve mentioned everything is fresh – vegetables, fruits, homemade pasta, etc. No canned or processed stuff (well, I imagine a few things come from packages). This nutrition should help in my healing as I enter month five of my hip recovery. Right now peas are in season and so I have been buying peas and eating them as a snack – it’s like eating dessert. It’s funny to taste real food – even the mutton & chicken I occasionally eat tastes real – they are freshly slaughtered that day.

TSO MORIRI & TSO KAR

Several people from my Sangha were here for a few weeks – I’ve spent a day and several dinners with them. Lisa (one member) brought two college girls to volunteer at the Siddhartha School. Scott, who is on the Siddhartha School Project Board with me, was here for three weeks to visit the boy he sponsors, to get communication going with the Board here and to bird watch. Scott and I went on a camping a trip to Tso Moriri (where I wanted to go last year but never did) for three days to bird watch and see wild animals & Nomads. We camped out the first night at Tso Moriri a high altitude lake and did some hiking – I don’t believe Scott was able to check off too many new bird sightings at that site. I bought both Scott and I Napalese Yak wool hats that are lined to keep our heads warm at night as it gets pretty cold at that altitude. The second day we continued on to Tso Kar which is a high altitude salt water lake. On the way we saw Tibetan wild ass, blue sheep, pashmina sheep, marmot and many birds. We were very fortunate to see 3 rare and endangered Black Neck Cranes at Tso Kar. The cranes are only found near this area and contiguous Tibet. What fun and adventure. We hired a driver and a wild animal/birder guide/cook for the experience.

SIDDHARTHA SCHOOL

I’ve been out to the Siddhartha High School (pre-k – Class 10) a few times and they have maintained the library perfectly. Susheel, the secretary, has finished his degree in Library Information Science except for the final test – his wife had brain surgery during the testing period so he will take it next testing time. Two other teachers at Siddhartha have just signed up for the Library Information Science program as well. They love cataloging and maintaining the library so I am very pro

ud of them and pleased that within two years they have taken the ball and run with it. The two librarians at Siddhartha hosted two of my teachers from the Domkhar Government School for two days of intense workshops and we were able to catalog and cover all the Domkhar books that I purchased in Delhi and shipped up to Ladakh. Then I will go out to Domkhar circa August 6^th with the books and my two Librarians from Memphis to set up the library. We will be giving staff workshops in an effort to support the Domkhar teachers who have been trained. Our focus will be on respecting the library, its value, use, and how to use it with students. Some teachers are not so keen on having a library or any extra work. Because it is a Government school there are many issues but the largest is the lack of real interest, on the part of the teachers, to teach. They often go away and don’t show up for weeks or they sit in the classroom and knit or socialize with other teachers and totally ignore the students. This is endemic in government schools all over India. The Public schools, which are really privately managed schools, are much preferred because teachers are held accountable. Then there

are Private schools as well. This and many of my professional readings have given me a more open view of education and educational excellence. I actually feel that Charter

schools, private schools and public schools in the U.S. can co-exist very nicely. Back to Ladakh – I’m very excited that

my influence here has generated five educators wanting to be school librarians who will be enrolled in school this Fall.

BON COMMUNITY

I’ve been spending quite a bit of time in Choglamsar visiting a Tibetan Bon monk Geshe Lungrig Nyima. He had asked my Bon teacher Chongtrul Rinpoche in New Jersey to help sponsorship of his Bon students here in Ladakh. My mission was to take up-dated pictures of the students and of Geshe and the little monastery he built. There are very few Bon people left and only a few in Ladakh (eight families) so much support is needed to maintain their tradition and to get the kids educated. I’ve really had some nice afternoons with the Geshe – he got to practice his English with me and I got to take some pictures. He invited me to a Puja (religious ceremony) two weeks ago and I got to meet almost all the families and children. The Puja goes all day so we had breakfast, lunch, breaks and lots of chanting and socializing. More picture taking ensued.

Ph-Yang Festival: Mask Dances

I've met a very nice Scottish woman who I’ve been sharing dinner and wonderful conversation with most nights. She has been spending the past five years travelling around the world and then spending large amounts of time in Napal, Cambodia, India, Thailand, etc. She volunteers wherever she’s at with local women’s organizations. I asked if she had “stuff” stashed at all these places and she said no – she carries a rucksack with a few outfits and when they wear out she has new things made. I admire her economy of travel. I also love her stories of the villages she’s worked

with. Here in Ladakh she is working with the first Woman owned and operated Trekking & adventure company that just started a couple of months ago. Part of what she is doing is going on Treks with the Trekking Company trainees before they actually take tourists out. She’s also working on their webpage. We went to a Mask dance at the close by Ph-Yang Monastery recently and had a ball. The dances were slightly different than the dances I went to at Hemis Monastery the past two years. Some of the

masks were significantly different and it was obvious that the Monastery was not as well off as many of the others in Ladakh.

Siddhartha School: Additional Amenities

Additional pictures of the Siddhartha School Summer 2008

Below our wonderful Siddhartha School staff are pictures of the new infirmary and the infirmary wing of the science building. The science lab is up and running this year and the students seem to enjoy the space and the experiments.



























































Some of the new library books purchased at Teksons Bookshop in Delhi. They used my Visa card for payment, wrapped, and shipped them to Ladakh by courier service. I used them on my return trip as well to send additional books and computer software.

Travells with Cynthia

Domkhar with Health, Inc.

After 7+ hours on a local bus with playground equipment, assistive devices, and our packs and supplies for 11 days we arrived at the Domkhar Government School. The school was on summer holiday so we were able to stay in a small dorm (hostal) that housed boys from other villages. From Health Inc. was Cynthia (Sintia), Stamba, Dorje, a,and a. From Omprakash was Will, Lily, and Gordon. Then there was Greta from Friends of Lingshed Austria and myself, the Traveling Librarian.


















Cynthia’s home was somewhere up in the mountains. The rest of us slept on the roof, bathed in stream water, and the guys took turns making tea and meals. The night skies brought me to my knees – shooting stars every night and an array like I have never seen before.
The purpose of our visit was to paint, decorate and set-up three learning stations for a Mella (fair) that would take place at the end of our hard work. The fair was to demonstrate to local and regional officials, and the teaching staff at Domkhar how to set-up and use special areas for working with children using hands-on, student centered and body centered learning. The playground equipment which was designed by a previous group working with Health, Inc. was the first playground to be established in a Ladakhi Government School and boy did the kids love that. There was a large slide, swings, seesaw, and various other stations to assist with physical fitness, working together & sharing activities.




































































































My job, among other things, was to take a dreary room with mishandled books (mostly textbooks) and turn it into a temporary library while the new library room was being built. Both Willy & I had brought a pile of wonderful DK books for science and ancient cultures which ended up being used in the lessons I gave and added some useful books to their very small collection. Cynthia & I removed all the classroom desks, sorted and bundled the textbooks and non-library books and put them aside and then I worked on making some sense out of what was remaining. Meanwhile Cynthia drew her
wonderful pictures of children reading around the outside door of the library while Greta and some village children painted them in with color.
Simultaneous to the library, staff members were painting and working on two other dismal rooms. One as a pre-primary room with a weather center, cozy reading corner shelves of activity or discovery boxes and books. The other a primary room with activity areas e.g. a play kitchen, cozy reading area, play classroom and more. I took a lot of time out of the library to make activity/discovery boxes, collect and stuff empty chip wrappers, candy wrappers, Maggi soup wrappers, etc. with foam for the little kitchen cupboards and filled in painting occasionally. Each room and activity had an accompanying poster listing the activity, motor skills development, cognitive development, socio-emotional development, and benefits for special learners.













































































The Omprakash team, being a strong young group moved rocks, dug holes for playground equipment, brought in huge bags of heavy sand, and cemented everything in place. Hard work but they played hard, and read a lot as well.
We covered such things as a positive & inviting library environment that would capture children’s imagination through color, special displays, and clean interesting books. We discussed proper shelving and handling of books, how to teach the students to respect books and their care. Also how to integrate the library into their teaching – they followed three groups of students through a model library lesson (grade 5, middle school & high school students) for 45 minutes each. The projects were examples of how to start with a simple research process, related to classroom work, using the library. They have invited me back to assist in the new library next year and to provide more training. In the process of all this I have also been asked by Cynthia Hunt of Health Inc. to jointly (with another librarian) conduct a research project with results presented to the Kashmir & Jammu Government. We will take three diverse schools: the Siddhartha School which is private, The Domkhar Government School which is remote and a primary Government school. These schools will be given a three year infusion of books and intervention by a professional librarian (not only myself) in training how to use a library and they will be compared to comparable schools where no infusion of resources or outside intervention. Although this will be a qualitative study I have suggested that we also maintain a five year record of National Exam scores and dropout rates in the six schools to see if any link reflects back on having a well supplied functioning library that is actually used. I would love to think that we could pull in a couple of young, healthy library types to work on and continue this work and possibly a longitudinal study. I’m looking for contacts at some of the major Library Science Schools that might be interested in this research. Results would certainly be an important tool for other developing countries struggling with literacy & education.
Cynthia Hunt is writing & illustrating a book on how to handle and care for library books based on a chart I developed for remote library users. Her characters “the Hens” which I affectionately call “the girls” are willing to take on the chore. I will also be scripting short training modules which will be filmed next summer in the various schools - they will include how to set up a school library, how to establish rules & discipline, how to develop a core collection reflecting the text & syllabi, and how to integrate the use of the library resources into the class work.
Domkhar Dho area is one of the main regions for growing apricots and they are currently ripe (August). The villagers are drying them, making apricot oil, and other products. Needless to say I was given a continuous supply of fresh apricots right off the tree. There are two types one with a white pit and one with dark brown. The seeds or nut inside the pits are delicious – almost like a hazelnut. Here are some pictures of them drying – probably not up to western sanitary standards but definitely sun dried.



We also had the experience of going to Hanu where the Dards live (Dards also inhabit India in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Shina speaking populations are predominant in Tehsil Gurez, Drass and Dah Hanu areas of Ladakh. The Brokpa who follow the Bon religion are also a Dard group who speak an archiac variety of Shina called Brokpa. The Kashmiri people of the Kashmir valley are also considered a Dardic people. – Wikipedia). We all rode on the top of the local bus and had to duck often to avoid getting whacked of decapitated by Willow & apricot branches. Cynthia & Health Inc. were delivering a special mobile chair that was designed by the previous team working with Health for a girl with brittle bone disease. The Dards are an intact tribe that has basically interbred over and over. They have a very high percentage of disabilities both physical & mental. Health Inc. is the only organization working with them and has gained their trust household by household. We were going to do some work at the school which was on summer holiday but the school had recently been broken into and we were not able to pursue our goals. After two nights we returned to Domkhar for the final two days to ready for the Mella.
Of course the Mella went well – everyone had a fabulous time and the big “guys” came from the Hill Council, Government, etc. so they got to see some model teaching and ideas. This is a good thing as a seed has been planted with those in power that might assist in changing some of the ways classroom instruction happens. I’ll be fundraising this winter with a goal of $2,500.00+ to purchase a core collection of books to go into their library next summer.
The other day I bought a metal trunk and a lock and have filled it up with my books, textbooks, Syllabi, school supplies, clothing, sleeping bag, water containers, and other gear that I only need here in Ladakh. I’ll leave the trunk here at the Oriental and have all the stuff ready to go for another (hopefully next) summer.

International Women's Chorus Plays Hemis Festival

Hemis Festival with the International Single Traveling Women’s Chorus

Well here we are, the Chorus of course, spending a day at the masked dances at the Hemis Monastery. This is an annual festival that originated over a thousand years ago. After pushing & shoving among the crowds a few of us ended up in the front row and a few up on the upper floors. Raining, raining, raining. Is this a good time to say my expensive LL Bean outer shell with a million zippers to control ventilation outperformed itself? I remained happily dry and warm. Maybe I should also mention that my feet stayed dry and comfortable in my smart wool socks and just my Keen sandals not to name drop!















Last year I needed a walking stick to get up the steps to the monastery and this year, I am happy to say, I have not used or carried my walking stick – my leg grows stronger by the week. Thanks Brooke wherever you are!























Then the hit of the day when the chorus took up residence half way down the mountain in the wind and rain to perform several International hits such as Dancing in the Rain, Somewhere over the Rainbow, Row, Row, Row your Boat, etc. The performance lasted approximately 45 minutes. The countries represented were Germany, Holland, United States, Britain, and Israel. Here are a few clips for your enjoyment.















Members of the chorus partaking of afternoon tea.




























Beginning of the Mask Dance at Hemis

Oriental Guest House Family Puja

Oriental Family Puja & Oriental Stuff

I love being back with the Oriental Guest House Family, they are so caring and fun to sit and hang out with. One of the very nice events they involved me in was a family puja (Buddhist ceremony). They usually celebrate this particular one in the winter for good health but they have a few family health problems so the puja was celebrated now. I was very touched to be there and they allowed me to take some pictures.



Kester and Karin were there as well – I felt glowing by the end. Kester is from Great Britain and Karin is from Germany.


















































The family has made many changes to the guest house this spring before I got here. My friend Meg found it to disturbing so she checked out of the Oriental, Tamara’s room, and moved to a quieter and less expensive guest house. By the time I arrived everything was in place and Tamara’s Room had plumbing that worked (sorry Meg, I love that room). Here’s a chance to say my Pigeon couple is still here – when I arrived there was a dead baby in the nest – the next day they had removed the baby and were tidying up the nest. The following day they did the egg thing and they are taking turns sitting on the egg. They work so hard and deserve to have this baby live.

Soooo, back to changes. The family removed the old dirt floor kitchen and replaced it with a large stainless steel kitchen with marble floors and the works. They have a new cook who is fabulous so most evenings I eat right at the guest house. Dinner costs 95 Rs which is about $2.50 USD on any given day. I’ve eaten out four times so far to have a little protein from chicken and mutton. I’m also snacking on yak cheese and sometimes (yikes) coke and Lays potato chips however I like Phuntsog’s homemade chips better here at the guest house.













They’ve also enlarged the front garden and made a nice new walkway to the C building & dining room. It gives ama leh lots of space to grow green leafy veggies (cabbage, lettuce, etc.). Out back they have more gardens for herbs, mint, cilantro, tomatoes, potatoes, ladies fingers which we call okra, etc. They also have several cows.














Please note there are three members of the International Single Women's Choir in this picture