Volunteers helps in taking Rogpa babies for walk to temple
Photo: Rogpa
Namgyal Phuntsok, Education Coordinator of the Rogpa Charitable Trust, meets me to chat about the Trust and mentions that he has only recently started at the organisation earlier this spring after an absence from Dharamshala of several years,working in the IT industry in the south of India. It seems that the work there was not to his taste. “The primary value is money,” he says before diving into a description of the work of Rogpa. At Rogpa, he says, he has the opportunity to be an agent of positive change.
Rogpa has four projects, namely the Baby Care Centre, the Children’s Library, the Women’s Crafts Centre and the Shop and Café.
Rogpa Baby Care Centre for children aged six months to three years was started in 2005. A couple in Dharamshala noticed that many couples had only one parent working while the other stayed at home to look after children. This curtailed their ability to earn a decent income. The couple reasoned that if the children could be looked after, the parents would be freed to increase their earning potential, empowering them to do more. The Centre provides its services free of charge. The requirement is that both parents must be working, and there must be no family member who can take responsibility for the children.
In the beginning there were only five children, but this has increased to the point that there are now 30 children being cared for.
Parents do have responsibilities. Every Sunday parents clean the Centre, and they take part in ventures to raise money for the organisation.
Volunteers from all over the world fill a vital role in meeting the needs of the children. There are two shifts for volunteers, namely 08:30am to 1pm and 1pm to 5pm, six days a week. Responsibilities are said to include “playing, singing, feeding, putting to sleep and, of course, changing diapers”. A minimum commitment of two weeks is required for volunteers at the Baby Care Centre.
There is an opportunity for volunteers who are available for a shorter term. Every Thursday an expedition to the temple is held. The intention is for the children to be integrated into the culture and religion of Tibet. One child is assigned per volunteer, weather permitting and if sufficient volunteers are available to enable the visit to take place.
The Rogpa Chidren’s Library (RCL) was started in 2012. The projects under the RCL include “Books on Wheels” where Rogpa rotates 50 books every month that are culturally relevant and interesting for the children. This service is provided to 11 schools. A wish list has been compiled of requests from students, and books on the wish lists are purchased by Rogpa for the students. Along with that, Rogpa organises educational and fun activities at the schools such as “My Fav Book” and “Green Letter Campaign”.
Rogpa has published four books, namely I am Tashi, a Tibetan alphabet primer KaKhaGha Nga, Snow Leopard and Tibetan Animals. A story writing competition was held, the prize for the best story is that it will be published. Dolma and her Puppy was the winner and publication for the book is in progress.
Volunteers at the RCL are expected to be available for a minimum of four days.
An exciting development is the introduction of a quarterly Children’s Newsletter. The students at 11 schools have been invited to send in their contributions including articles, paintings and book reviews. It is hoped that children will be encouraged by seeing their work in print.
The Women’s Craft Centre (WCC), which started in May 2008, aims to give a sustainable livelihood to women without educational qualifications and experience. During training in tailoring the women receive a stipend. On completion, they are appointed permanently and receive a salary. The WCC’s designs are different to the stock creations of other tailors to give them an edge over the competition. There are six women, both Tibetan and Indian, currently staffing this project
Rogpa Shop and Cafe at Mcleod Ganj, Jogiwara road
Photo: Rogpa
The Shop and Café which started in November 2008 has been established as an outlet for the work of the Rogpa Charitable Trust. It is above the Yongling stairs in Jogiwara Road. One can buy coffee and cake, browse the crafts on sale and find out more about the activities of the organisation.
Rogpa’s key constraint is financial. At Rogpa, the funds are generated by organisation itself via the Rogpa Shop and also from donations from individual volunteers. Rogpa is a purely Tibetan organisation with a Tibetan Director and Tibetan staff.
Readers who would like to volunteer or contribute financially can contact them directly via their website at http://www.tibetrogpa.org or by phone +91 98579-73026.
Print
Email
