The Zanskar Foundation, a U.S. based non-profit organization, will be up and running in the very near future. The Zanskar Foundation will be able to raise money to support the work in Zanskar and to fund the children’s education. I will let you know when the Foundation is fully operational.

I intend to return to the U.S. again next Fall if possible. I hope that I can again receive the generous welcome and support I received on this trip and that I will have a chance to meet many more of your friends and families. I am very happy with all that has been accomplished on this trip and feel that I have made wonderful and important connections with many people in America. I hope you will continue to support the work I am doing in this very important region of the world for the education of the children and the preservation of Tibetan culture.

Please stay in touch with me through e-mail, on my webpage savezanskar.org or through the Save Zanskar page on Facebook. Please continue to share the movie “Journey from Zanskar” with you friends and family.

On behalf of the children and all Zanskari people, I want to thank you all for your kindness and generosity.

Geshe Lobsang Yonten

On Friday, November 18, Geshe Yonten will be at the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art from 6:30 – 8:00 PM 338 Lighthouse Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10306. You can learn more about the Museum on their website here.

If you are in New York we hope you have a chance to meet Geshe Yonten and support Save Zanskar at one of his last few events. He is off to Switzerland on November 19!

To date, I have been able to show the film in Montana, Colorado, New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and California.  Most of the events have been in Universities and we have had wonderful groups of people attend.

I am currently in San Francisco, and will continue on to Seattle, Chicago, Boston, New York, and Washington DC before I leave the US and go to Switzerland.

I wanted to take a minute to talk about the current three aims of Save Zanskar:

On this trip, I have worked with close supporters to start the Zanskar Foundation as a 501c3 here in the US.

To date, I have been able to care for children from the Zanskar and Ladhak regions.  In the future, I will extend this project to other Himalayan regions that I feel are losing touch with their Tibetan and Buddhist roots. This involves several things; not only bringing children in from more remote regions, but also building Zanskari hostels in larger cities such as Delhi, so students who have progressed in their education can continue to stay together in a safe environment, and have their living expenses subsidised while they finish the University education we first promised to their parents.

Health care is seriously lacking in Zanskar.  There is one small clinic that can handle the most basic needs. Because the Zanskar region is so remote and isolated, many Zanskaris die during the winter months — when there is no way to get to another location for health care.  It is my aim to build a small surgery centre, where local people can have access to both Western and Tibetan medicines.

The third aim is bringing water to the region.  From global warming, snow mountains have disappeared, villages have had to move, and it is harder to get water.  To bring water to the villages is very important, this can be done by building a pipe from one side of the pass to the village.

I wanted to thank all of you who I have seen and met on this trip.  Your interest and support for the quiet, remote region of Zanskar is definitely needed.  I strongly feel that the Zanskar/Ladhak area are one of the last truly unoccupied Tibetan areas, and supporting this region is supporting the true spirit of of Tibetan culture and religion.

Many of you have a copy of the film; I encourage you to do your own screenings and share this with your friends.  If you want to take a minute to share the website with others, that is also very helpful.

I have been able to pay 3/4 of the children’s school fees for this year to date.  If you are interested in learning more about one of the students, and committing to help pay their school fees, I am happy to pair you with a student in need.  If you would like to ‘meet’ some of the children, and see how they have progressed since the original movie was taped, please visit: http://savezanskar.org/manali-visit-may-2010/

Thank you all so much for your interest and continued support.  If you have any questions about a particular project, please email me.

On behalf of the children, the Stongde Monastery, and myself, I would like to thank you,
Geshe Yonten

Geshe Yonten has been busy traveling to many parts of the United States and has spoken in Colorado, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachsettes.  Click here to read about his visit to Waterbury, Connecticut in the Waterbury Observer. The article does a great job of sharing the backgound of the work Geshe Yonten is doing in India.

Geshe Yonten still has stops in Washington, Chicago, Washington D.C., Boston and New York City. Information will be posted soon on those events.

He also had a chance to speak at the Center on Rights Development at the University of Denver Korbel International School. He met with students and faculty to discuss the work he is doing in Zanskar as well as discuss issues of water and food insecurity, the importance of education for all children, and the values he thinks it is so important to teach children. (Watch part of this here.)

Geshe Yonten also had a film screening and talk with the Denver Theosophical Society. He has been warmly received by all the people he has met in Denver. His next stop is Whitefish, Montana then he is off to New York City!

September 19, 12:30pm – 3:00pm Film Screening and Public Talk
Auraria Campus, Denver, Colorado
Sponsored by Metro State College of Denver Student Activities, University of Colorado Denver Student Life, and the Metro State College of Denver Office of International Affairs
Tivoli Multicultural Lounge
Contact: Laura Roth- lstrohmi@mscd.edu

September 21, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Film Screening and Public Talk
Metaphysical Research Society
1001 East 7th Avenue
Denver, CO 80218
Sponsored by the Denver Theosophical Society
Cost: This program is free. All donations go directly to Save Zanskar.
Contact: Kathy Gann- kgann57@msn.com

September 25, 7:00 pm
Film Screening and Public Talk
Bohemian Grange Hall in Whitefish, MT
Suggested Donation – $20
Contact: Brian Muldoon – Heartworks@montanasky.com

October 19, 2011 7:30 p.m.
Film Screening and Public Talk
Ho Center for Buddhist Studies, Stanford, University
Building 320 Room 105, Main Quad
Free and Open to the Public
Contact: ihl@stanford.edu

Julie Thompson, The Cleveland Plain Dealer (USA)
The debates in this country about funding for education, charter schools and test scores seem like small potatoes indeed after watching “Journey from Zanskar.” It’s about parents in a remote village in the Himalayas who send their children on a perilous, nearly three-week trek to a town with a school, Grandmothers cry because they know that they will probably die before they see the 8- and 9-year-olds again. The villagers are too poor to travel.

Richard Gere narrates this gripping documentary, which follows a group of monks as they select the children and lead a caravan, traveling on foot and horseback, across treacherous mountain paths clogged with snow. The sight of tiny children making their way across the frozen land is an indelible image.

This fascinating film shows what parents everywhere — even those living at the end of the world — will sacrifice to give their children a better life.

Chris Knight, The National Post (Canada)
The journey is a compelling one to behold, and its leader is an inspiring, soft-spoken figure. He explains at one point that he only chose monkhood over marriage (at age 10!) because he liked the idea of chanting and tea ceremonies. But he has grown into his vocation, and if his vows — to relieve all humans of suffering — may never be completely fulfilled, he’s determined to do right by his 17 young charges.

Check out this link for more reviews of Journey from Zanskar: http://www.journeyfromzanskar.com/allpress.asp

In addition to the eye examinations and free glasses, the program will be providing over 300 walking sticks (canes) and 6 wheelchairs to people in need. These items are very difficult to get in Zanskar and cost prohibitive for most people.

Thank you to Nying-Jay Yul, an organization in India and Austria that provides help for the sick, elderly and disabled people in the Tibetan exile community, for partnering with Save Zanskar to make this program possible!

The film was created by an Australian monk and friend of Geshe-la’s, Clarke Scott, and shot during Geshe-la’s recent trip to Tso Pema and Manali. You can see more about this trip here.

We hope you enjoy the film. Please send us your thoughts and share the link with your friends!

Because schools in northern India don’t have central heat, they have an extended winter break and a shorter summer break. Schools close at the end of December and resume in early March. The children just started classes a few weeks ago in Manali.

In addition to their new clothes and school supplies Geshe Yonten took the kids out for a nice lunch topped off by ice cream for everyone! Many of the kids also took their visit to Manali as a chance to get a haircut for the new school year.

The new clothes and school supplies were all made possible by the kind donations of the many friends and supporters of Save Zanskar! Thank you all for making this possible.

Geshe Yonten with the children in their new clothes