The measure of a man is in what he does for those who can do nothing for him in return.

What have I done today?

Zanskar Schools Foundation

In 2008 I visited India for the fifth time. Once again I was impressed by its culture, religions, people, landscape, the bustle, the fragrances and the enormous differences between the riches and the poor. The 2008 journey took me to Himachal Pradesh and more specifically to Zanskar, Ladakh and the Spiti valley.

Zanskar is a very remote region situated at between 10,000 and 15,000 feet in altitude, difficult to reach and in wintertime completely separated from the adjacent regions.

At a certain moment I came upon an old stone building which appeared to be a small school. The school consisted of a classroom with a small and dark kitchen, a dormitory, a storeroom and the toilet was a wooden shed some 50 yards from the main building.

The pupils were sitting on the ground and the teacher only had a chair and a rickety table. The pupils had no more than 1 book and 1 notebook.

We all see this kind of touching pictures on our travels or on the television. Often we give a financial contribution and the images fade away into oblivion.

A few months after returnig home the tourleader and I decided that  we where  going to something about this situation under the name “Bardan Gompa Shool Project”.

We decided that, after the 2008/2009 winter season we would furnish the Bardan Gompa School with benches, tables, educational materials and sports equipment. We informed acquaintances and friends about our plans and gradually the number of donors increased. In June 2009 the first load was delivered. This and the next chapter of the story can be read in the newsletters and is to be seen on the photo slide shows.

On the 12th of august 2009 the Stichting Zanskar Scholen / Zanskar Schools Foundation was founded and currently 6 schools are being supported.

                                                            Manjushri, the Buddha of wisdom

The goals of the foundation are descripted in the mission statemen of association:

Goals of the foundation

- Promotion and support of the education in Zanskar-India by improving the circumstances, supplying   educational materials and the alleviation of primary needs without limits.

- Promotion and financing of supplementary education for pupils.

- Profit generation is not the goal of the foundation.

The foundation will meet the goals by:

- Improvement of the housing facilities (schools).  Determining the needs for educational materials and supplying the goods.

- Supporting the students who expressed the desire and have the intellectual capacity to attend supplementary education successfully.

- Development of teachers

It goes without saying that the Zanskar Schools Foundation can only meet their goals if there are sufficient financial funds.

In case you are interested; we urge you to read the articles and to look at the pictures and videos on this website. If you decide to contribute financial support, we would like you to go to “Becoming a donor” on the main menu of the website.

The board guarantees that 100% of the financial gifts will be used for the good purposes. All other costs are being paid by the board of the foundation. 

Kind regards,

Paul Patist  en Astrid Jansen

Zanskar Schools Foundation