This spring, May 2007, I spent some time in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. This was my starting point for a trip to Amdo and Kham.. Namcho, the girl from Amdo | My Tibetan guide was Namchu. Over the two weeks we were together I got to know Namchu and my admiration for this beautiful, enthusiastic and immensely motivated girl grew and grew. Namchu is the youngest daughter of a Tibetan family who live in Hong Tu, a village about 300km north of Chengdu, in a valley which runs into the Chu river valley and the main road between the well known grasslands of Songpan and Chengdu. We went to Hong Tu Village for a home stay visit to her parent’s home.. It is a small village, and like so many others, the monastery is its heart. Their Lama who has recently returned from India is building a Tibetan school where the village children can learn to read and write in Tibetan in after school hours. COULD YOU HELP? If you have any ideas for fundraising, places where I could give a picture presentation, any organizations I might contact, groups of people who might go to Chengdu and take a guided tour of Amdo and Kham. Contact me on fstanley@hotmail.com www.travelandcontribute.co.uk Namchu and her family are working hard to raise the necessary funds: under her mother’s direction the women are spinning extra yarn to weave material for some bags and sheepskin lined waistcoats which I hope I will be able to sell here in London. And Namchu, who goes back to her village whenever she has the time, is starting to read more Tibetan and further her studies in the language. Who knows, one day perhaps she will be a teacher in Red Earth Village. |