Tsewang Bhuti
Tsewang Bhuti (9 year old girl), LKG Class
Tsewang is from a region called Dzum, in Gorkha District of Nepal. Dzum is an extremely high altitude part of Gorkha, lying right on the border of Tibet. The altitude and weather extremes make it very cold in the winter and difficult to eke out a living. Most Dzum-pas are seasonal nomads, moving their yaks and goats up into higher alpine meadows as the snows recede. (Yaks only thrive above 10,000 feet.) The villagers augment their livelihood through subsistence farming but still, they suffer from seasonal famine. At these altitudes, only barley and potatoes grow well.
The people live in dry stone houses. The villages have no roads, electricity, running water or health care services. There are no schools for the children of Dzum to go to.
Tsewang's family is very poor. Her mother passed away last year. Her father is an alcoholic and cannot not really take care of her. He works when he can in their village but does not earn enough money to send his children for education. Tsewang's has been taken into care by her relatives, but an extra mouth to feed exposes everyone to hardship.
