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Tibetan Buddhist Nuns Urgently Need Textbooks

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The new academic year begins shortly after February 10th and the Tibetan Buddhist nuns urgently need new math, science, and English textbooks. Can you help?

textbooks for nuns, Tibetan Buddhist nuns,

So far three nunneries, home to 650 nuns have sent their wish lists of textbooks. The total cost for the 1,005 textbooks comes to $5,563 or about $5 per book. Photo courtesy of Olivier Adam.

Three nunneries have already sent their lists of books they’d like to purchase from Collins India. We’re waiting to get the textbook requirements from the remaining four nunneries we support and also the list of storybooks needed for Shugsep Nunnery.

So far, the nunneries have asked for 1,005 textbooks in English for their 550 nuns. The cost of these orders is $5,563. The average cost of one textbook is between $5 and $6, so even if you can help purchase one textbook, that would be wonderful.

Tibetan Buddhist nun reading an English textbook.

Teaching and learning is a complex process. Studies show that illustrated textbooks help students learn more effectively. The nuns need textbooks for math, science, and English. Photo courtesy of Olivier Adam.

At Shugsep Nunnery and Institute, home to about 100 nuns, the nuns would love math, science, and English grammar and composition books. The English teacher would like to improve the stock of English textbooks so the students can complete coursework up to Grade 8. The nunnery’s last big purchase of books was years ago and the books have been so well-loved that they are now falling apart. Shugsep Nunnery needs 369 textbooks. Cost: $2,019.

At Geden Choeling, the oldest nunnery in Dharamsala, the 200 nuns and their teachers are excited at the prospect of having good sets of books. Geden Choeling’s abbot is keen for the nuns to learn math, but the nunnery doesn’t have any math textbooks. They have asked for help to purchase textbooks so the teacher can use them for ideas and exercises in their classes. Geden Choeling would like 362 textbooks Cost: US $1,864. 

At Dolma Ling, home to 250 nuns, the teachers have asked for the higher grade books which were not previously available and for grammar and composition books. Dolma Ling has so far requested 274 textbooks. Cost: $1,680.

To help buy textbooks for nuns you can:

    1. Make a gift online here.
    2. Call our office in Seattle, US at 1-206-652-8901
    3. Mail a check to: The Tibetan Nuns Project (note for textbooks) 815 Seattle Boulevard South #418, Seattle, WA 98134 USA

The Power of Textbooks

A single book can transform hundreds of lives.

Textbooks provide organized units of work with each lesson carefully spelled out. Because they are illustrated, students can picture and visualize concepts.

Books for Tibetan Buddhist nuns

There’s a growing body of research showing that high-quality textbooks are important for students’ comprehension and success. Please help provide math, science, and English textbooks for the nuns. Photo courtesy of Olivier Adam.

A textbook gives all the plans and lessons needed to cover a topic in some detail. They save time and energy when searching for information and provide a reliable point of reference. The textbooks will be ordered from Collins India.

Although we now have a science-learning program in the nunneries for one month per year, if the teachers had each level of science and general knowledge textbooks in their classrooms it enliven their classes and help to explain science topics.

Textbooks needed for Tibetan Buddhist nuns in India

Traditionally Tibetan Buddhist nuns have not had equal access to education. The textbooks will help educate and empower the nuns to become teachers and leaders.

The Tibetan Nuns Project is also raising funds for teachers’ salaries for the 2024 academic year.

Many Nuns Get Vaccinated, Outbreak at Nunnery Over

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Here’s the latest news from India about vaccinations and a COVID update from some of the nunneries.

Many Dolma Ling Nuns Get Vaccinated

As we reported on May 4th, the almost 250 nuns at Dolma Ling Nunnery and Institute had started registering for vaccinations in April. However, as coronavirus cases in India surged, vaccines ran out. We’re happy to report that in May, many nuns at Dolma Ling, the largest nunnery we support, were able to be vaccinated.

Tibetan Buddhist nun gets vaccinated for coronavirus May 2021, vaccinations, COVID-19 vaccination

A nun from Dolma Ling receives her first vaccine in May. In May, 178 Dolma Ling nuns aged 18-44 from received first vaccinations. All nuns and staff over 45 have also received both dose of Covidsheild.

The vaccination roll out in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh was by age. The nuns and staff of Dolma Ling as well as the Tibetan Nuns Project India staff aged 45 and over have now received both shots of Covishield from the Tibetan Delek Hospital, the Zonal Hospital, and close by centers.

Himachal Pradesh opened up vaccinations for those aged 18-44 on May 17th. In the Kangra District of Himachal Pradesh, there are around 46 vaccination centers and 5 days in May for vaccinations: May 17th, 20th, 24th, 27th and 31st.

It was difficult in the beginning for the nuns to book appointments because the website kept crashing. Only a handful could book for vaccination. However, after downloading an alternative booking application, the nunnery slowly picked up the pace and around 70 nuns and staff were able to book and get their first dose of Covishield on May 27. A further 108 nuns were able to book for May 31st, the final day available for the vaccinations.

Tibetan Buddhist nuns get vaccinated for coronavirus

It was a Herculean task to get bookings for vaccines in May because the website kept crashing. The nuns persisted and many of the nuns at Dolma Ling aged 18-44 were able to get their first dose.

Tsering at the Tibetan Nuns Project office said, “I guess Tara has blessed us as we know others are facing a tough time getting themselves booked for vaccine.”

The Hindustan Times said booking a vaccination in Himachal Pradesh was a Herculean task. “If you are in the age group of 18-44 years and waiting to get vaccinated in Himachal, get ready for a long haul. Booking a vaccination slot in the state is no less than hitting a jackpot.

“Even those with high-speed internet and fastest fingers are at their wits’ end as there is no guarantee that they will get a spot,” the paper said. “Slots open for a fraction of second, one blink and they are gone.”

Tibetan Buddhist nuns wait to be vaccinated, vaccinations

After overcoming obstacles of booking and transport, Tibetan Buddhist nuns from Dolma Ling wait to be vaccinated at one of the 46 vaccine centers set up in Kangra District in May 2021.

Booking vaccinations wasn’t the only problem the nuns faced. Safe transport was another major issue. None of the 46 vaccination centers was within walking distance of the nunnery. And since the state of Himachal Pradesh is still in lockdown, the nunnery had to organize safe transport for the nuns to and from the vaccination centers.

Vaccination centers were scattered throughout the region, ranging between 0.5 and 2.5 hour’s drive away. The nuns and staff successfully managed the complex logistics of safely transporting the 178 nuns to and from the various centers. Dolma Ling organized taxis for some nuns and the teachers and staff with cars or motorbikes also helped by taking as many nuns as possible. We are very grateful for their help.

Tibetan nuns at Dolma Ling leaving to get vaccinated

On May 31st, 108 nuns from Dolma Ling were vaccinated. Coordinating safe transport to the various clinics in the region was a big task and we are grateful to the teachers and staff at the nunnery for their help in transporting the nuns and in taking these pictures for this update.

COVID Outbreak at Geden Choeling Nunnery in Dharamsala

In mid-May there was a small outbreak of COVID-19 at Geden Choeling Nunnery, the oldest nunnery in Dharamsala.

Nine nuns tested positive. Some had a fever and cough. The nuns were quarantined in a separate block of the nunnery and a committee of nuns were designated to care for them, providing meals and other needs. Medical staff from the Tibetan Delek Hospital visit regularly to check on them.

The Tibetan Delek Hospital in Dharamsala distributed Covid Health Safety and management Kits to Geden Choeling Nunnery and 15 other Tibetan institutions around Dharamsala. Items included PPE kits, a pulse oximeter, digital and infrared thermomters, disinfectants, N95 masks, surgical gowns and masks, disposable gloves, an oxygen flow meter with nasal prong, blood pressure machine, and hand sanitizer.

Nuns at Geden Choeling Nunnery Practice Social distancing

Tibetan Buddhist nuns at Geden Choeling Nunnery, the oldest nunnery in Dharamsala.

There have been no further outbreaks at the nunnery. One of the nuns who had tested positive had low oxygen level so she was taken to the Tibetan Reception Centre and kept under observation by Central Tibetan Administration Health Department. Fortunately, she is doing well and will return to the nunnery after she finishes 21 days in quarantine.

The other nuns who tested positive but showed no symptoms of COVID-19 will also be finishing quarantine soon.

Nunneries in India have largely avoided outbreaks. Sadly, in March, 156 monks at the Gyuto Monastery in Dharamsala tested positive. Then in late May, as coronavirus cases rose throughout India, there were serious outbreaks at Namgyal Monastery in McLeod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh and at Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim.

We will continue to post news via our blog and social media.

A Tibetan Buddhist nun gets tested for COVID at Geden Choeling Nunnery

A Tibetan Buddhist nun gets tested for COVID at Geden Choeling Nunnery