Kids Share Workshops
Connecting Kids Worldwide through Writing, Art & Photography
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The Great Tibetan Snow Lion Learn about Tibetan kids living in exile at the T.C.V. Bylakuppe, India.
My name is "Om Mani Padme Hum," which means "Buddha of Compassion." Some know me as The Great Tibetan Snow Lion. I come from the idyllic Dophu Valley, near Dzongsar, Tibet, on the pilgrimage route to the Lake of Turquoise where the Snow Lioness Roars. Through my strength and wisdom I strive to spread the seeds of compassion throughout the world! I always carry my mala beads to help me concentrate on my goal, and I continue to spin my prayer wheel for all children. Recently, I met my friends Speed Demon and Falcon Ranger at the Tibetan SOS Children’s Village (TCV) in Bylakuppe, India so that we could trade narratives and artwork from the the children of Tibet and Vermont to help them learn more about one another. The children in Vermont and Tibet have many interesting thoughts to share. If you read further in this book, you will even learn how to make Tibetan Prayer Flags, also known as Wind Horses.
(This is a preview of our first Kids Share: Tibet and Vermont. The Great Tibetan Snow Lion's actual size is 23"x33".) ©”The Great Tibetan Snow Lion”
(Here are images sent back to us from the lower Tibetan SOS Children's Village. The photographs were taken by children sharing their daily life. Please slow down the slide show by holding your mouse over the bottom of the slide show.)
AIDING TIBETAN CHILDREN IN EXILE: Since the invasion of Tibet in 1949 by the Communist Chinese, over one million Tibetans have died as a direct result of the occupation. More than six thousand monasteries -- centers of Tibetan culture and learning -- have been looted and completely destroyed.
This on-going brutal occupation and cultural genocide in Tibet by the Communist Chinese continues to force many Tibetans to escape into exile by making a perilous journey across the Himalayas to Nepal and India. While some don't survive this journey, many arrive malnourished, frostbitten, traumatized and destitute. Among these new arrivals are large numbers of children, nuns and monks. The Tibetan government-in-exile immediately goes to work to find placement for the new arrivals in such settings as a monastery, a nunnery, the Tibetan Children's Village, or with relatives, friends, or foster parents.
The largest concentration of Tibetan refugees is in South India, spread throughout five settlements. A growing population and increasing number of destitute families moving into the settlements from other places had put heavy demands for more schools, particularly day-care centers, that would take care of children while parents work on farms. The Tibetan Children's Village (TCV) at Bylakuppe was opened in 1981 on sixteen acres of land donated by the settlement. After a great deal of planning and work, an idyllic children's village was created. Currently, the village has 29 homes, two hostels and complete facilities for education through class twelve. In addition to this village, TCV runs ten day care centers for the benefit of the Tibetan settlers around the Bylakuppe and Hunsur areas. TCV's commitment in the South has solved many pressing needs of the people and has contributed a great deal towards the development of the community.
Thank you Bob at Green Mountain Camera for his generous donation of 20 disposible cameras which were sent to the TCV so the children could share their world with the kids in Vermont. And thank you Bob's Camera & Video in Barre, Vermont for processing the disposible camera's! Many thanks also to The Drawing Board for generously donating the art supplies that were sent TCV School, Bylakuppe (South India) as well as framing the kids artwork for classrooms in Vermont!! Founder, Kristina, is grateful for Kathy Nolan, Tibet Aid's executive director for her generous guidance in helping to shape the first Kids Share: Tibetan and Vermont Children's Narrative Book!