India, Diwakar Primary School

Current status: August 2024

Diwakar Primary School is located in the small town of Takdah in Darjeeling. The location where the school was built is ideal for the monks due to its remoteness.

There are currently around 60 young monks attending the school. Most of them come from Nepal or Sikkim and more distant parts of India. Whilst there are also older students, many of them are under 13 years old. Most of them come from families in need, which is why the school supports them with stationery, clothing, food and medical care and even provides them with their own pocket money.

There are currently seven teachers at the school, four of whom graduated from Kalimpong Shedra and teach as monks in Diwakar on a voluntary basis. The other teachers lead a secular life and are married. There are also three kitchen staff on site for cooking and a health worker who looks after the young pupils.

The children’s education consists of basic schooling as provided by the Indian government on the one hand, and lessons in English, Nepali and Tibetan on the other, as well as ethical behaviour and a respectful approach to all living beings and the environment – laying excellent foundations for their future lives.

As far as the school project is concerned, there are currently plans to completely renovate the house, which is now more than a hundred years old, where the British used to live and which shows clear signs of the passage of time in many places. In addition, another major project is currently underway on site: the construction of a guest area. As there are currently no facilities to accommodate guests, plans are being actively developed for the construction of five guest rooms with attached bathrooms. For the children and the community of monks, this will certainly be a wonderful addition to their life in Takdah.

However, the primary school urgently needs our financial support for these two projects