The Way We Are - Chorten Nebu Monastic School

This Project will focus on "Chorten Nebu" a half-hour journey by car from Punakha Dzong. Following the Mochhu River upstream to Sirigang the trail head leads to Chorten Nebu. Two hours on foot steeply winding upwards to the monastery and school of Chorten Nebu on a hill top in the Punakha Valley.

The Monastery of Chorten Nebu, built in the eighteenth century is a little known treasure, with its magnificent statue of Maitreya (the future Buddha) and fine images of the great lamas of the Drukpa Lineage. According to legend, this magical spot was once a dense forest inhabited by evil spirits. One day, the Divine Madman, Drukpa Kunley arrived here when all the demons were gathered together in meeting. He hurled a blazing log into the gathering and all the evil spirits were scorched to death. The great oak tree outside the monastery is said to have grown out of the blazing log that the Divine Madman threw and interestingly, its bark is still dark, burnt down. People use the bark to bring them good-luck talisman.

In 2005 the Monastery started housing poor orphans from the nearby village and founded a small Buddhist educational institution for these little monks, a place where the children can study both traditional Buddhist scriptures and texts, and also learning Western subjects such as English, math and science in order to be equipped to survive in the modern world, whether as a monk or a lay person.

Sustainability Needs:
- small renovations of the monastery-a national heritage,
- clean water supply and proper drainage facilities (on-going)
- Construction of proper toilets/bathrooms(on going)
- A permanent kitchen for the school

Environmental Needs:
This charming place is also suffering from serious environmental degradation caused mainly by poor waste management. A key challenge is poor awareness of waste issues amongst the local population who are unaware of the serious short and long-term environmental impact this has.
- Maintaining clean trails,
- Managing disposal of garbage
- Raising of awareness in the local community, the value of the protection of the environmental heritage of Chorten Nebu by means of Advocacy campaigning, Volunteer engagement, Media Support and School Support.

You are encouraged to go to
Namgay's Facebook page

.

The primary objectives of the Chorten Nebu Monastic Institute School are:

" To provide free primary education and complete care for needy children of the most destitute families in the Chorten Nebu village through traditional monastic training combined with comprehensive western curriculum.

" To create a model for the community, where education is highly valued by providing a better opportunity for learning
through discipline, dedication and hard work.

" Raise awareness in the local community and amongst visitors, the value of the protection of the national heritage of Chorten Nebu.

Current Circumstances:
The School has a total number of 30 monks:
2 teachers
8 sponsored children
20 children for who complete care are taken care of by small contributions in cash and kind from the Central Monk Body and visiting guests who value giving back to Bhutan.

and learn about education for Girls Too.

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