The Report of the Gompa Dhangpo Program 2021
Background of the Gompa Dangpo Program 2021
Gompa Dangpo (‘The First Step’ Program) focuses primarily on
mothers’ health and hygiene. Various methods exist to support mothers:
educating mothers about nutrition and about how to cook balanced, healthy meals;
offering training in financial management to help mothers minimize household
expenses through application the 5 Rs and many more. The members of our program
all grew up in the remote high altitude Himalayan region of Dolpo, which shares
a border with Tibet. Communication, electricity and transportation
infrastructure is poor in our region and modern educational facilities have
only been developed quite recently. Most villagers remain deprived of modern
education which ultimately leads to many disadvantages in life. With the
promulgation of the new constitution of Nepal, however, in which provisions for
local or regional government have been made, development has progressed rapidly
in the region. In 2019, Mr. Dundul Dorjee Chagsam, a resident of Chharka
Tangshan Gaupalika, conducted a survey on women’s health and hygiene in Dolpo. Through
his research, he found that most Dolpo women barely ever step out of their villages
– their time and lives are entirely taken up with having to provide for all of
the basic needs of their families. Women’s work involves things like loading
yaks, mules and horses which requires a lot of physical strength and is quite
taxing for them. Even so, only men go out on the villages on a regular basis to
engage in trade and other business activities.
A lack of modern education in the region has given rise to narrow
and superstitious views among many people. As a result, many people do not
prioritize women’s basic health needs, and women are frequently not provided
with sanitary towels or kits. Very often, men who are the bread-winners of
families, don’t have any idea or knowledge about menstruation, women’s sanitary
kits and general health needs. Women’s lack of access to feminine hygiene
products and health resources results in a lot of suffering. Currently, almost
all women in Dolpo have no other option but to make use of the same dirty rags
over and over to stem the flow of their periods. Such makeshift solutions
result in itching, rashes, infections, and scabs.
Planning and strategies of the Gompa Dangpo Program
After some discussion and strategizing, our team finalized
plans for a program centered on menstrual hygiene based on the slogan “A mother’s
health is the foundation of a family’s happiness”. We later named our program Gompa
Dangpo ༼གོམ་པ་དང་པོ།༽
which means ‘first step’ in our language. We decided to provide each woman
helped through our program with one undergarment and two eco sanitary pads from
Dhartimata, delivered in a reusable bag. Having devised this plan, we then
circulated our proposal to locate financial aid from various kind-hearted
donors. Miss Karma Tsultrim, who has good connections and relationships with a
number of communities, contributed tremendously with these fund-raising efforts.
Through her involvement, the Dolpo Tulku Foundation agreed to provide donations
to go towards the purchase of the eco sanitary pads and underwear. Moreover, we
were able to secure funds from many people and plan a trip to visit Dolpo in
May 2020. This trip had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and was
rescheduled for 2021.
Before leaving for Dolpo, our team participated in a virtual
training program given by Nurse Tsering Wangmo who has worked in Dolpo for many
years as part of various health development initiatives, specifically in Dolpo,
Buddha Gaupalika. Nurse Tsering Wangmo shared her experiences with interacting with
villagers and explained the kinds of problems likely to arise during the
journey to Dolpo and how we might tackle them. Later, our team also
corresponded with Mr. Passang Dolpo who is the founder and manager of Aananda
Tree House coffee shop in Boudha, Kathmandu and who works with Dhartimata, the
company which produces the eco-friendly sanitary pads we decided to make use of
in our program and which are sold under the popularly known brand-name of ‘Lovelady’.
Mr Passang Dolpo demonstrated to us how to use and clean the pads correctly.
Before leaving for Dolpo, we also had the opportunity to meet Mr. Lhakpa
Tsering who is secretary of DTCF and who gave us several words of
encouragement. We shared the details of our plans with him and he was very
satisfied with our strategy. We received strong encouragement from all of these
collaborators, who all agreed how important and beneficial it was for us to
organize such a program.
A Short Report on the Gompa Dangpo Program 2021
Our journey began on the 17th of July 2021, when we departed from
Kathmandu for Naplaganj. As Kathmandu was under semi-lockdown at the time, Mr.
Passang Dhandul, who works at Dolpo
Explore, helped us to book tickets up until Jupal, Dolpa. Our journey
went smoothly and according to plan. We were warmly welcomed by Mr. Lhugyal in
Dunai who brought along two horses. We reached Kakot on the 19th of
July 2021 and ran out first Gompa Dangpo program at Kakot, with Mr.Shenang, the
chairman of Charkha Tangshong Gaupalika and other dignities in attendance. Mr.
Dundul opened the program by greeting the dignitaries after which he gave an
introduction to our Gompa Dangpo program. He spoke about the importance of
health, hygiene and sanitation and elaborated on the benefits that mothers’
health and well-being bring to family members. Having concluded his
introduction, he went on to explain the menstrual cycle and why it need not be
surrounded shame and taboo with proper hygiene. Mr. Dundul then shared his
thoughts and ideas with all the men present on how they could support the women
in their lives and empathize with the pain these women experience. He concluded
the session by requesting that everyone be open-minded and accepting of natural
facts of life, explaining that this would ultimately bring about positive
changes in families, Gaupalika and society in general.
Next, Amchi Urgen Bhuti began her presentation by asking a few general questions
following which she offered a more detailed introduction to the menstrual
cycle. She discussed how women could manage their periods and explained the
sorts of physical, mental, and social problems that can arise when periods are
not managed properly. After outlining some essential do’s and don’ts regarding
menstruation, she then demonstrated how to use and maintain the eco-sanitary
pads correctly. She elaborated on the importance and benefits of the pads, in
terms of both individual health and the environment. She then concluded her
presentation with advice and suggestions for the villagers and listened to some
feedback and took some questions from the audience. In the end, our team was
able to distribute reusable bags containing two eco-sanitary and a pair of
undergarments to all women present between the ages of 13 and 50.
After concluding the program we handed over the remaining eco-sanitary pads to
the local school headmaster Ama Syamsavika, along with a poster describing how
to use and clean them. The same program
was run in 11 different villages in Chharkha Tangshan Gaupalika, namely:
Kagkot, Pingding, Shang, Terang, Sheri, Mu, Dukot, Yarlay, Thimnyer, Pungak and
Chharkha.
Throughout these programs we tried to remind parents of their responsibilities
towards children. At the moment, most parents think their only major
responsibility to their children is to send them to the city for their studies.
Once they send their kids away to be educated, most parents, being preoccupied
with their domestic duties in their respective villages, fail to have regular
interaction with their children who are far away. The attachment that parents
and children used to have begins to fade away little by little. As a result, the
bond between parents and the children starts to fade away as well. In some cases
when parents and children reunite after a long time, parents are unable to
understand their children and vice versa. During our program we explained how
parents could continue to bond and maintain good ties with their absent children
through using available mediums and resources. We shared with them our ideas about
the roles that parents should play as part of children’s physical, emotional
and mental development. We concluded our programs by reminding participants of
our core slogan, “A Mother’s Health is the Foundation of a Family’s Prosperity.”
A word from our organizer Mr. Dundul Dorjee Chagsam
First and foremost, I would like to thank my team members
for their tremendous support throughout our mission and all the contributing
sponsors for their generous donations, especially Dolpo Tulku Charitable
Foundation for bearing the expenses for the eco-sanitary pads, undergarments
and packaging. I am delighted that we were able through everyone’s assistance
to accomplish our goals.
Being able to help educate the mothers and sisters of Chharka Tangshong
Gaupalika was a dream come true for me. Being able to give back to my own community
after being educated myself was one of the best moments in my life. Our program
focused on three main issues: educating community members about menstrual hygiene,
reminding parents about their responsibilities to their children, and
impressing on communities that the well-being of mothers is the foundation of
familial and societal happiness. I tried my best to include local students in
our program because they are the future seeds of our nation. I offered them
advice on how to develop their public speaking skills and on how to organize
small meetings.
I would like to thank Mr. Shenang, the Chairman of Chharka Tangshong Gaupalika,
and all the ward chairpersons of Chharka Tangshong Gaupalika for supporting our
mission. I would also like to thank my team members Amchi Urgen Bhuti and Miss Karma
Tsultrim for all of their support and coordination. We received positive
feedback from all the women and community members involved in our programs
across the region. In the end, we were able to run our program in all the 11
villages of Chharka Tangshong Gaupalika. Furthermore, I am very happy that many
men showed interest in our programs and gave them their full attention. Last but
not the least, I would like to thank all the people who directly and indirectly
supported our mission both through prayers and financial aid. I look forward to
organizing many more such programs in the future.
With regards,
Dundul Dorjee Chagsam
A message from Amchi Urgen Bhuti
My Gompa Dangpo (First Step Program) Experience:
I am extremely proud to have been a part of this program. I
am so happy and satisfied with the work that we have done to help our Dolpo mothers
improve their health and to impress upon them that their health and well-being
as mother is fundamental to the happiness of families in general. It is so
necessary and valuable for us, the younger generation of Dolpo people, to give
back and share what we have learned with our communities.
Our trip to Chharka Tangshong RM and its eleven villages was
an awesome journey for me and my team members Mr. Dundul Dorjee and Miss Karma
Tsultrim. I feel that our mission was successful and they we enjoyed the genuine
admiration of our Dolpo community. I look forward to running similar health
awareness building programs in other regions of Dolpo as well in the coming
years. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanksgiving to Dolpo Tulku
Charitable Foundation( DTCF), Chharka Tangshong Gaupalika, and to all our
kind-hearted donors and to my friend Dundul la for his active engagement and expert
coordination our trip. My heartfelt thanks to all the people who were directly and
indirectly involved in this program. Through all your support and prayers, our
first Gompa Dangpo went smoothly and was a resounding success.
With regards,
Amchi Ugyen Bhuti Yangton.
A message from Miss Karma Tsultrim
Even though I did not get the opportunity to go to Dolpo with my team I feel
nonetheless very privileged to work with them and my thoughts and prayers were
with them throughout the journey. Mr. Dundul Dorjee did a tremendous job
organizing our first First Step program, offering proper planning and concrete
strategy right from the start. I had the opportunity to go through all the
photos of my team members’ work and while I did so I felt without a doubt that
I joined a good cause. I would like to thank my team for stepping forward
during such a harsh time with the pandemic and again in the summer when there
was such high possibility of heavy rains and landslides.
Our team focused on educating the women of Chharka Tangshong
Gaupalika about women’s health and hygiene and distributed sanitary kits to
women as well. I would like to thank all the kind sponsors who believed in us
and helped us to accomplish our mission, especially the Dolpo Tulku Charitable
Foundation and Chharka Tangshong Gaupalika. I am so proud to be a part of such a
team and am looking forward to being involved in similar important programs in
the future.
With regards,
Karma Tsultrim
A
summary of our observations and feedback we received from the people and
especially women of Chharka Tangshong Gaupalika
We observed
that most of the women we interacted with had no idea about what sanitary pads
were and how they were used or were they could be accessed. There were some
women, however, who did have some idea about these things. In the beginning of our
sessions, women seemed quite shy. We tried our best to avoid the use of vague
terms and kept our sessions from dragging on too long. Very few women felt
comfortable or confident enough to share their experiences of suffering with
their periods.
Those who did
share experiences with us explained that they had had a really tough time
during their first periods due to a lack of counseling and education. Their
lives became really unpredictable and they were not able to understand various
issues, which led them to become anxious, nervous and afraid. Many women were
still relying on methods like tying thread around their ankles and wearing trousers
to try and block and hide the flow of their periods.
Most of the women were unaware of basic do’s and don’ts for managing
menstruation, which had created major problems in their lives. Being deprived
of modern education had made the villagers somewhat narrow minded which had an impact
on their own health and way of living. Most women avoided consulting with Amchi
(i.e. Sowa Rigpa or Tibetan medical doctors) about problems affecting their private
parts. These problems could eventually turns into stubborn or incurable wounds
or disease and even result in cancer too. As such, educating women and developing
awareness-raising programs is most timely.
One thing is
for sure: we suggest that those who are interested in organizing such programs
in the future select one member from their respective Gaupalikas or rural
municipalities to be in charge of arranging such initiatives. Having a
pre-selected individual will make it much easier to gather together villagers
and transmit important messages. Those who plan to organize such initiatives are
humbly requested to conduct their own surveys at the community level as part of
this work. There are significant and longstanding communication gaps between
men and women, husbands and wives, parents and children and so on, which have
meant that individuals have often been left to deal with their problems alone
and in isolation. Conducting preliminary surveys at the local level to get a
sense of the conditions in particular places and everyday realities and issues
on the ground before launching programs is thus extremely important.
We received
good feedback from the people of Chharka Tangshong Gaupalika and from the
leaders of Chharka Tangshong in particular. Local government leaders supported
us one hundred percent and encouraged us to organize similar kinds of
initiatives in the near future. All the women we met with happily accepted the
eco-sanitary pads and indicated to us that they would be useful to them by
offering us offering scarves. Many women also requested that we come back next year. We also
received a positive response from Ama Samuha (a group of mothers working
voluntarily on public health initiatives) and appreciation from headmasters
from different local schools, from ward Chairmen and from Amchis of Chharka
Tangshong Gaupalika.
List of Donors for Gompa Dangpo (First Step) Program 2021.
First and foremost, we would like to thank all the donors who trusted in our cause and stepped forward to support our program. Dolpo Tulku Charitable Foundation and Chharka Tangshong Gaupalika were the two primary sponsors for the First Step Program 2021. Our program was organized in collaboration with Snow Region Welfare Clinic, founded and run by Amchi Ugyen Bhuti, as well.
1. Dolpo Tulku Rinpoche, the Chairman of Dolpo
Tulku Charitable Foundation, Kathmandu, Nepal
2.
Bhuchung Gyurik, the President of Dolpo Sports
Association, Kathmandu, Nepal
3.
Khenpo Menlha Rinpoche, Chharka, Chharka
Tangshong Gaupalika
4.
Mr. Shenang Gurung, The Chairman of Chharka
Tangshong Gaupalika, Dolpa, Nepal
5.
Nyima Rinpoche, the Founder and Chairman of
Dolpo Society, Kathmandu, Nepal
6.
Dolpo Buddha, the founder and CEO of Snowland
Ranag Light Of Education School, Kathmandu, Nepal
7.
Acha Tashi Choedon, Sey Phoksumdo Gaupalika
8.
Lopon Karma Rigzin, Mukot, Chharka Tangshong
Gaupalika
9.
Rabten, Pinding, Chharka Tangshong Gaupalika
10.
Tashi Tsering, Mustang
11.
Amchi Gyaltsen, Yarlay, Chharka Tangshong
Gaupalika
12.
Khenpo Thinlay Phuntsok, Kagkot, Chharka
Tangshong Gaupalika
13.
Lama Tsewang Dorjee, Sey phoksumdo Gaupalika
14.
Lama Pema, Chharka, Tangshong Gaupalika
especially
15.
Norbu Lama, Chharka, Chharka Tangshong Gaupalika
16.
Karma Lobsang, USA
Special thanks as well to the following people without whom our program would not
have been possible. The following are people who contributed considerably to the
accomplishment of our inaugural Gompa Dangpo Program.
1. Mr. Lugyal:
We thank him for receiving us at Dunai and coordinating
our journey up until Pinding. Since we didn’t know how to properly load our goods
onto horses, his help was invaluable. He helped us with load the horses and also
guided us across difficult roads and terrain.
2. Mr. Shenang:
As the Chairman of Chharka Tangshong Gaupalika he helped
us to hire a porter to assist us as far as Sheri and also paid for the porter’s
wages himself. His contributions towards the accomplishment of our Gompa Dangpo
Program in Chharka Tangshong Gaupalika were immense.
3. Amchi Karma
Tenzin:
Amchi la escorted us from Pinding to Chharka. He gave us
major help with loading and unloading our horses and transported all the eco-sanitary
pads and undergarments from Kathmandu to Kagkot in advance which significantly
reduced the baggage we had to bring with us on our journey.
4. Chagsam Thanguie or Dakri Rinpoche family:
The 7th Hungtam Rinpoche ended up becoming the backbone for our
journey as he was the one who sent the two pack horses to Dunai to welcome us
and those two horses ended up being hugely important throughout our journey.
Without their support it would have been impossible for us to complete our
Gompa Dangpo Program. We therefore thank all the family members of the Chagsam
Thanguie Family from the bottom of our hearts.
5. Last but not least, we would like thank all the people
who helped us directly and indirectly to complete our mission.
Dolpo Tulku Charitable Foundation and the Chharka Tangsong Rural Municipality are two main sponsors for making this program successful. As the Dolpo Tulku Charitable Foundation had agreed to sponsor for pads, undergarment and delivery bag. So we returned the remaining fund to the foundation.
Gompa Dhangpo Program 2021 expenses are
listed below.
|
Serial Number |
Description |
Total Expenses |
|
1. |
Travel & transportation excluding the flight
fare |
45,750/- |
|
2. |
Food and accommodation |
14250/-
|
|
3. |
Miscellaneous Expenses |
35,000/- |
|
4. |
Pads |
330,000/ |
|
5. |
Undergarment for female |
47,460/- |
|
6. |
Delivery bag, poster etc. |
55,680/- |
|
|
Total |
528,140/- |
Total fund received from sponsor are listed
below:
|
Serial number |
Description |
Total fund received |
Total expenses |
Total fund returned |
Extra expenses |
|
1. |
Dolpo Tulku Charitable Foundation |
452,460/- |
433,140/- |
19,320/- |
= |
|
2. |
Total fund received from Donors |
77,200/- |
95,000/- |
= |
17,800/- |
https://doc-0c-1s-prod-03-apps-viewer.googleusercontent.com/viewer2/prod-03/pdf/98pqmtntse7gc3648kjl4me86g4lk8ir/cohi56uadp8fahuuek73dpj6cqaj2ds3/1632804075000/3/107533117293137723399/APznzaYtzLMwx9liH6gMCRhOCCgqBqVYaVqLXtb80c-FFCW6l0mEpf5I9J_GdO_eg_gSoXpL3Wbka-FEmRturxFnURkaphe-vkfEUkSLjFPQcXRJjerM5A66jsGtIeOzffmhBUoiNgaaNWwRHkdPes2I_L89UEj8d8SGO5BdK-Un1cISaKBdfNYoO9T4IO92LS_yn4GyZLRerQ-tQYOZYKq0a8XwuJjhoxF3AsH9gxys6B_XDAx6lQbsCJYYlw9mrPCHQK-y-v9ZdWSBXfV_D0pJXKZuDrmspAuOBT1oE2ks3s1EvqSKMsPKmm5mQG0jd6o29haKvL-xIyNPGJVzT0PsZmGmxyhvCOd8S78MjsS15x2AWHJqrVHnpgfyHc9RcM96l6PqebNE?nonce=aruqm45r2voli&user=107533117293137723399&hash=qfhkk4uhlc89380meh1b0vouh7iccak0
*Report edited by Jigme Dorje/Dr Ben Joffe, 3rd
of September 2021.
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