It’s been four years since supporters, Carole and Neil, visited their sponsored students, Tenzin Dhesel and Choekyi Gyatso, in Pokhara. When they recently signed up for a trek in Nepal they decided it was time to meet up again!
“Our limited trekking schedule meant that we couldn’t get to Pokhara this time, so instead we invited Choekyi and Tenzin to Kathmandu. Sadly, Choekyi was unable to leave his monastic studies for three days, but Tenzin persuaded her employer in Pokhara to grant her three days’ leave. She came to Kathmandu alone by a seven-hour bus journey and we met up at our nice hotel where we had booked a room for her.
Our invitation to Tenzin to join us was partly our gift to her for having achieved 87% in her Bachelor of Business Administration. What’s more she was awarded the Dean’s commendation – no mean achievement for a Tibetan girl in a predominantly Nepalese university. Our reward over the years has been to see a shy teenager develop into a highly intelligent, self-confident 24-year old woman. Our time with her in Kathmandu was a total delight! So that Choekyi wasn’t forgotten, we asked Tenzin to deliver a letter with photographs to him at his monastery on her return to Pokhara. This she did, as the photograph here shows… and how he’s grown since we last saw him!
Since finishing her degree, Tenzin has been working in a paragliding shop in Pokhara, managing the shop’s stock and accounts and organising trips for clients. The latest photo we’ve recieved from her shows her enjoying a parachute jump over Pewa Lake! However, Tenzin has now decided to continue her education and we will be supporting her in a two-year Masters degree in Bangalore, again through Tibet Relief Fund. So come August, she will be venturing along a new path far from family and friends in Pokhara. But she is clearly up for the challenge!
Our third sponsee, Karma Choenyi, also from Pokhara, is studying for a nursing degree in Mangalore, south India. As with Tenzin and Choekyi, we have formed a very close relationship with her through e-mails, exchanging news and photographs. We’ve never been to south India, so who knows if our sponsorship journey will take us there next?!”
